Suzanne Collins' dystopian adventure series has been met with critical and commercial success across the globe, spawning three novels and four major blockbuster films. Essays in this volume analyze the importance of The Hunger Games' success on young adults.

On Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games Trilogy -- Suzanne Collins : one life, three acts, scripted by war -- Lotteries and scapegoats : literary antecedents and influences on The Hunger Games Trilogy -- Dystopian copycat or YA lit on fire? The critical reception of The Hunger Games novels -- Rebelling against the rebellion : frustrating readerly desire in Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay -- His fordship in the capitol and big brother in the districts : The Hunger Games and the modern dystopian tradition -- "You love me. Real" : gender in The Hunger Games Trology -- Game macabre : fear as an essential element in The Hunger Games -- "Where you can starve to death in safety" : Appalachia and The Hunger Games -- "What I did was a radical thing" : Panem's corrupted gift economy -- "As long as you can find yourself, you'll never starve" : consuming Katniss in The Hunger Games Trilogy -- Pavlov, Peeta, and PTSD : historical and contemporary research on scientific principles underlying hijacking -- Labyrinthine challenges and degenerate strategies in The Hunger Games -- The girl with the mockingjay : roman allusions, repercussions of war, and ideological transformation -- The presidents and power : Machiavellian elements in The Hunger Games series -- The Hunger Games series as text for the democracy, justice, and civic engagement classroom.