The nation of Panem is a post-apocalyptic version of North America. It consists of 12 poorer districts and the powerful and wealthy Capitol. Early in it’s history, the 13 districts rebelled against the Capitol which resulted in the destruction of the 13th district and, as punishment, an annual televised show called the Hunger Games. Each year, all the districts must choose a boy and a girl to send to the games that are forced to fight to the death, until only one survivor remains to claim victory. When Katniss’ sister Prim is chosen, she volunteers to stand in her place.
Sheltered and naive. That's the narrator of this book. She's always lived a protected, easy life, and doesn't have much to be anxious about. Of course, she lives in a world without poverty. Where there has never been a murder in her lifetime. Where crime, accidents, and disease are minimal, and almost everyone lives happily and safely to old age. (As far as she knows, anyway.) So life is good and there's no reason to question anything.
The year is 2054 and India has a ratio of 5 boys to 1 girl. Girls have now become valuable assets. To combat the selling of daughters to the highest bidder, a group of women have founded a closed country they named Koyanagar. In Koyanagar, young men are chosen to compete for a chance to marry a girl. It is now Sudasa's turn to witness the testing of five young men and then choose one to become her future husband. Sudasa does not want a husband, she does not want to marry and bear children.
Madeline Landry is the heiress of Landry Park, the richest estate in the country, which has been in her family for generations. However, as she starts to doubt her father, she meets David Dana, who is more than meets the eye.
Mare Barrow's fate is sealed. She is a lowly red, born to work hard and serve the ruling silvers. With her birthday approaching and no job prospects, Mare will be conscripted in to the army like her older brothers. Fighting in an endless war, Mare will surely die on the battlefield. Desperate and out of options, Mare takes a big risk to sneak into the castle for a chance to pick pocket from the rich and powerful silvers that hold her fate in their hands. Stealing from silvers isn't as easy as it sounds as each is gifted with an ability due to their silver blood.
Darrow has the most dangerous job on Mars. He is the helldiver of Lycos, running the drill deep underground that mines Mars for valuable natural resources. Helldivers to not generally live long lives, like his father who died when he was a child. But Darrow has other plans, he is going to make something of himself, and his clan. But he can only rise so far, the caste system of society keeps his people down. They are Reds, deemed to be good at nothing but hard labor. They are ruled over by the Blues, Greys, and at the top...the Golds, the apex of human evolution.
Standish Treadwell stands on the brink of bringing down an elaborate hoax perpetrated by the insidious rulers of the Motherland, an alternate-universe mashup of Stalinist Russia and the Nazi-era Germany. Messing with the Greenflies, as they’re known, means certain death. After all, they imprisoned and tortured his best friend Hector, killed his teacher, and threatened his family. They would certainly do worse to Standish, whose bravery does not go unnoticed by the evil rulers. However, success means striking the Greenflies where they’re most vulnerable.
Everyone has felt the pressure around standardized tests. The thought, real or imagined, that how you perform in this one moment will decide the rest of your life. While we may be lending a dramatic flair to our own examinations, that fear is real for Cia. She has been chosen along with 3 other classmates from the 5 Lakes Colony to participate in The Testing. Every year, the best and brightest high school graduates are brought to Tosu City to undergo a series of exams that will decide who goes on to University.
One of my favorite books of all time is Unwind by Neal Shusterman. The epic story takes place after a second civil war, fought over the morality and legality of abortion leads to peace through the Unwind Accords. This agreement outlaws abortion...however, from the ages of 13 to 18 any child may be unwound by their parents.
