Post #1, chapters 1-7

I read the first 84 pages of the book "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. Up to this point in the book i am very surprised by the twists and turns that the plot has taken and the difficulty i face every time i try to put this book down. At the beginning of this book I was introduced to a futuristic city called Panem. The book talks about the social structure of this society, the Capitol is the aristocratic section and the districts surrounding it are very poor. The author introduces a young girl named Katniss Everdeen at the beginning, she speaks of her sister Prim who she loves very much. I could relate to this love as I have both a brother and a sister whom i love. When Katniss is introduced she is a content young girl living in a poor neighborhood in her tinny yet sufficient house. I was suprised to learn that Katniss was happy with these living arrangements even when she was so used to a much nicer life before her father died. The Everdeen family is horrified when they learn that Prim, Katniss's sister is picked to be a contestant in the annually televised hunger games. In these hunger games they rich people of the Capitol choose 2 kids from each district to fight to the death. I find it crazy that the rich people could do such a thing as sentence 23 kids to die. I was also surprised to see that Katniss decided to volunteer for the hunger games in the place of Prim. Katniss was taken to the Capitol to be fed well for some days to come so they would be in good shape to fight. At this point katniss looses all hope for her life. This is shown when she says "I wonder if she will enjoy watching me die"(p. 85). She says this speaking of a girl back in her district that she did not get along with. This shows a huge change in Katniss's attitude because she was very positive back at her house and in the capitol she is just hoping her death is quick. So far this book is very intense and I look forward to reading on to the next section.