The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins

My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress.

My little sister, Prim, curled up on her side, cocooned in my mother's body, their cheeks pressed together.

It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks," intones the mayor.

Scrawny kitten, belly swollen with worms, crawling with fleas.

Sometimes, when I clean a kill, I feed Buttercup the entrails.

Supple leather that has molded to my feet.

I pull on trousers, a shirt, tuck my long dark braid up into a cap, and grab my forage bag.

Shutters on the squat gray houses are closed.

In theory, it's supposed to be electrified twenty- four hours a day as a deterrent to the predators that live in the woods -- packs of wild dogs, lone cougars, bears -- that used to threaten our streets.

a combatant who is able to defeat rivals

Inside the woods they roam freely, and there are added concerns like venomous snakes, rabid animals, and no real paths to follow.

But most are not bold enough to venture out with just a knife.

My father could have made good money selling them, but if the officials found out he would have been publicly executed for inciting a rebellion.

My father could have made good money selling them, but if the officials found out he would have been publicly executed for inciting a rebellion.

So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts.

It's real bakery bread, not the flat, dense loaves we make from our grain rations.

Think the old man was feeling sentimental this morning," says Gale.

Suddenly he falls into a Capitol accent as he mimics Effie Trinket, the maniacally upbeat woman who arrives once a year to read out the names at the leaping.

I finish with equal verve.

They ran an apothecary shop in the nicer part of District 12.

The mayor looks distressed.

From this place, we are invisible but have a clear view of the valley, which is teeming with summer life, greens to gather, roots to dig, fish iridescent in the sunlight.

The idea is so preposterous.

And Gale is devoted to his family.

All year, the Capitol will show the winning district gifts of grain and oil and even delicacies like sugar while the rest of us battle starvation.