The Hunger Games Tribute Guide Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Address to the Citizens of Panem

  Introduction

  The Reaping

  The Tributes

  The Train

  The Remake Center

  Meet the Gamemakers

  The Tribute Parade

  The Training Center

  Individual Sessions

  Interviews

  Journey to the Arena

  Acknowledgments

  Copyright

  There was once a place called North America. But droughts and fires, hurricanes and tornados, and encroaching seas took their toll. Brutal wars broke out as people fought for the few remaining resources. The earth was scarred and desolate, the people terrified and hopeless.

  But out of the ashes and the wreckage rose Panem, a nation made up of a great Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens for many generations.

  Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. The shining light of our nation was clouded by war — terrible war. The thirteen districts rebelled against the country that fed them, loved them, and protected them. Their revolt left the country in tatters. Motherless children filled the streets. The land was torn asunder. After a long struggle, in which many died, there came a hard-won peace. Twelve districts were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. When the traitors were at last suppressed, we swore as a nation we would never allow such treason again.

  Thus was the Treaty of Treason written and signed, providing us with new laws to live by — laws that would guarantee peace. As a yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never come again, it was decreed on the same day each year, the various districts would offer up in tribute one brave young man and one brave young woman to fight in a pageant of honor, courage, and sacrifice — the Hunger Games. The twenty-four tributes are sent to an outdoor arena, where they struggle to overcome both man and nature, and triumph over the odds. Each year, the lone victor serves as a reminder of the nation’s generosity and forgiveness.

  This season is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks. This is how we remember our past. This is how we safeguard our future.

  Now the great nation of Panem, ruled by the shining Capitol, consists of twelve districts, each essential in its own way. Each district concentrates on producing one resource, so that only together do the districts form a cohesive, powerful whole. The Capitol collects and redistributes the food and the fuel so that every district, and every family, has what it needs to prosper.

  District 1: Luxury

  District 1 makes the luxury goods that decorate and beautify our great Capitol. Its excellent taste and craftsmanship keep Capitol residents bewigged and bedazzled year-round.

  District 2: Masonry

  Our nation would be nothing without District 2’s superb stonework. It builds and fortifies our cities, and its citizens are known individually for their strength.

  District 3: Technology

  Panem is one of the most advanced nations in mankind’s history, thanks to the efforts of District 3. Its computers keep us all connected, and its electronic gadgets keep us all entertained.

  District 4: Fishing

  Do you like seafood? Shrimp and crabmeat? Often overlooked, District 4 plays an essential role, bringing us the bounty of the sea. These citizens are adept with nets and tridents, and can swim like fish themselves.

  District 5: Power

  Electric, solar, and nuclear — District 5 harnesses the energy of the earth and the sky in order to power our great nation.

  District 6: Transportation

  Our hovercraft, our high-speed trains, and our cargo trains come to us from District 6. Ironically, the citizens here have little love for travel.

  District 7: Lumber

  This beautiful district is lush with trees, from which these citizens supply our lumber and paper. The people of District 7 are hardworking and down-to-earth.

  District 8: Textiles

  From the simple, lovely fabrics of the districts to the beautiful brocades favored in the Capitol, District 8 makes it all.

  District 9: Grain

  District 9 is Panem’s bread bowl, giving us the fertile harvest we need to keep rising as a nation. Its amber waves of grain are an inspiration to us all.

  District 10: Livestock

  The gentle lowing of cattle is the first thing a visitor to District 10 hears. This region raises strong, healthy livestock, which becomes the meat that helps us raise strong, healthy children of Panem.

  District 11: Agriculture

  Known for its bountiful orchards, District 11’s workers spend their days among rustling fruit trees and sizable farms.

  District 12: Mining

  One of the outer districts, this is nonetheless a crucial one. These brave and hardy workers descend deep into the earth each day to mine the coal that keeps our nation running.

  On the reaping day, citizens in all the districts across Panem gather in their town squares. In each district, two names are selected from two large glass globes — the names of the new male and female tributes. In front of the Hall of Justice and the seal of Panem, the people of the districts wait to hear who will represent them in the Games.

  All citizens in all twelve districts from the ages of twelve to eighteen are entered into the selection pool for the Hunger Games. At age twelve, your name is entered once. At thirteen, twice. By the age of eighteen, the final year of eligibility, your name goes into the pool seven times.

  A citizen can also choose to receive a tessera — a year’s supply of grain and oil — in return for adding his or her name an additional time to the pool. One can choose to do this for family members, too. Many people take the gamble, opting for the extra rations and facing the increased risk.

  Upon arrival, each citizen of eligible age must register with a worker from the Capitol. The worker wears rubber gloves in order to perform the job safely. One by one, this worker takes each citizen’s finger, quickly pricks it, and blots the blood into a ledger. Then a small scanner is passed over the blood, registering the person’s information. “EVERDEEN, KATNISS. 16/YO.” “EVERDEEN, PRIMROSE. 12/YO.” This way, the Capitol can keep track of who is newly eligible, who has taken tesserae, and who has grown too old for the Games.

  In District 12, the reaping takes place in the town square, where a temporary stage holds a microphone and chairs for local officials and the district’s only living victor. The town square is a good meeting place for most of the year, but on reaping day, it can be a bit crowded and imposing. The citizens of the districts are all decked out in their finest outfits for the reaping. They’re eager, but also silent and respectful as the ceremony is about to begin. The twelve- through eighteen-year-olds stand in a cordoned-off area, grouped by age, with the oldest in the front. Adults must stay behind the ropes, as they are there purely as spectators. Peacekeepers line the squares. They stand at attention, making sure the day proceeds smoothly and according to plan.

  There is a festive feeling in the air. The districts eagerly anticipate competing against one another for the victor’s crown. And while the folks back home will root for their tributes, they will also be thinking of the benefits they will receive if one of their own emerges victorious: The winner’s district is showered with extra food rations — grain, oil, and sugar in abundance.

  Once everyone is registered and in place, the district’s escort starts the ceremony. Effie Trinket is the lovely escort for District 12. With a new wig for every occasion, Effie knows how to keep things fresh and fun. She spends the majority of her year home in the Capitol, but comes out to the district in order to help shepherd the new tributes through t
he sometimes overwhelming process of preparing for the Games. She also acts as announcer for District 12’s reaping.

  “Happy Hunger Games!” she says. “And may the odds be ever in your favor!”

  She graciously thanks everyone, smiling and saying what a huge honor it is for her to be here. After showing a film that reviews the history of the Hunger Games — how it began seventy-four years ago, after the Capitol put down the rebellion, and how the Games serve as a reminder to the districts never to rebel again — Effie is ready to pick the names.

  “Ladies first!” she says.

  She reaches her pale, elegant arm deep into a large glass ball, and rummages around. This action is performed twenty-four times over the course of the day, and each time there is total silence across Panem.

  Who will it be this year? The nation holds its breath.

  Effie removes her hand. “Primrose Everdeen.”

  A slight, blonde twelve-year-old begins to walk forward to accept the honor. But before she can get very far, a voice rings out above the crowd. “Prim!” Dashing forward is a dark-haired girl in a plain blue dress. “I volunteer!” she calls. “I volunteer as tribute!”

  This replacement is an especially gripping turn of events because, while volunteers are a common occurrence in Districts 1 and 2, we rarely see them step up in the other districts. A murmur of surprise runs through the crowd as they react to this sudden change of fortunes.

  “Ladies and gentleman, what an exciting moment!” Effie Trinket exclaims.

  As the young woman steps onto the stage, Effie asks the audience for a big round of applause, then introduces this newcomer to Panem. And so Katniss Everdeen becomes the female tribute from District 12. On the reaping day, Katniss doesn’t seem too chatty. But the audience knows she’ll open up for her big interview in the Capitol!

  Meanwhile, a handsome, dark-haired young man has to carry little Primrose away from her sister. Viewers around the nation are spellbound by the family drama playing out on the big screen. The young man disappears into the crowd. Sources will not confirm whether he is a friend or a family member.

  In the back of the crowd, behind the roped-off area, Katniss’s mother watches silently from the crowd. She also declines to comment.

  But now it’s time to choose the male tribute! Effie reaches into another glass ball and snatches a paper slip from the very top.

  “Peeta Mellark!”

  The new tribute makes his way to the stage. He is of medium height and stocky build, with dirty blond hair that lies in smooth waves. He remains composed as he walks forward.

  Though this year’s District 12 male tribute, Peeta Mellark, is initially overshadowed by Katniss’s act of generosity, he’s still someone to look out for in the arena.

  The reaping is complete, and Katniss and Peeta now take their places among the twenty-four tributes of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games!

  The next step in the journey of the tributes is to board the luxury train that whisks them from their home districts to the Capitol. Many tributes have never left their home districts, so this sudden adventure is always exciting. The Capitol trains are very different from the coal trains a district citizen might be used to. These trains can average 250 miles per hour.

  The interior of the train is just as impressive. Tributes get their own chambers, which include a bedroom, dressing room, and private bathroom. They get to enjoy the best of the Capitol as they speed across the country: gorgeous floral arrangements, delectable foods, and lush surroundings. Beverages of every flavor and every color. Crystal chandeliers, china teacups, and silver candelabra. It’s all very new to the tributes from the outer districts. They’re not accustomed to the bounty of the Capitol. Tributes have been known to stuff themselves with the rich Capitol food and arrive at the Training Center with a stomachache.

  As they travel, the tributes can peer out the windows at the countryside flying by. They might get a brief glimpse of another district — or of the ruins of a fallen city from long-ago North America. Tributes often say that this high-speed tour of the country is one of the highlights of the time leading up to the Hunger Games.

  On the train, the tributes have a chance to sit down for a long chat with their new mentors. All mentors are winners of previous Hunger Games. Haymitch Abernathy is the District 12 mentor, and currently the only living victor from that district. At the age of sixteen, Haymitch became victor of the Fiftieth Hunger Games — a Quarter Quell — which had four tributes from each district, rather than two. It was an unusually challenging year, making Haymitch’s victory all the more impressive.

  A seasoned veteran of the game and an experienced mentor, Haymitch is also known for liking liquor a bit too much. He’s often a source of entertainment when he arrives in the Capitol each year. However, he’s not known for getting sponsors for his protégés. Let’s hope he gets his act together and gives Katniss and Peeta some good advice this year!

  Effie is also on the train — and has brought plenty of wild outfits with her. Effie instructs the tributes on how they can best ingratiate themselves in the Capitol environment. Believe it or not, some tributes have to be told not to eat with their fingers! Not these two, though. It’s clear Katniss and Peeta have both been raised well. This will help them as they head to the Remake Center.

  When the tributes arrive in the Capitol, they’re immediately taken to the Remake Center. Standards of care are not as high in the districts, where people bathe less frequently and barely give a thought to how they present themselves.

  In the Remake Center, the prep teams scrub the dirt and grime of the outer districts away. The tributes enjoy letting the stress of their travels fall away under the soothing hands of the prep teams. The prep teams burnish the tributes’ skin with exfoliating foam, untangle and brush out their hair, give them manicures and pedicures, and remove body hair with warm wax when necessary. In the end, the tributes emerge sparkling clean, with smooth, glowing skin, ready for the stylists to work their magic!

  All the prep teams have been training their whole lives. Working on the look of the tributes is a great honor. Katniss’s prep team consists of Venia, Flavius, and Octavia. They’re completely fashionable, and can do wonders with a little makeup.

  Next, tributes meet with their stylists. Cinna is the stylist for the District 12 female, Katniss, and is known in the Capitol as a bit of a renegade — a real artist. A handsome man in his late thirties, Cinna doesn’t follow the fickle fashions of the Capitol or try to impress with elaborate wigs. He’s always simply dressed in plain black clothes, perhaps with an elegant necklace and just a touch of sparkling eye makeup.

  Portia is the stylist for the District 12 male, Peeta. Together, she and Cinna make the perfect team.

  What will Cinna and Portia come up with for tributes Katniss and Peeta? Traditionally, District 12 tributes have appeared in the tribute parade as some interpretation of coal miners. One year, the tributes emerged stark naked and covered in coal dust. We’ll have to wait and see what the stylists create this year!

  President Snow, our noble leader, has helped our country become prosperous and secure. He watches over all the districts and metes out justice with a firm hand. He traditionally makes a short speech welcoming the tributes during the opening ceremonies, but leaves most of the running of the Games to the Head Gamemaker, and to the announcer, Claudius Templesmith.

  Still, just because you don’t see President Snow, it doesn’t mean he’s not watching every minute of the action. To our president, the Games are the heart of Panem.

  Seneca Crane is the Head Gamemaker of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. A consummate showman and a true entertainer, Seneca is sure to make this one of the most breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat Hunger Games yet! Plus, he’s known in fashion circles for his unique beard.

  But what does it really mean to be Head Gamemaker? Seneca Crane’s responsibilities include supervising the construction of the arena, making sure the opening ceremonies run smoothly, assessing the talents
of the various tributes, and adjusting the features of the arena to fit their strengths and weaknesses. Once the Games begin, the Gamemakers retreat to their Games Center, which is a virtual center where they control all aspects of the Hunger Games: the weather, the environment, and the action.

  Once their prep teams and stylists have put on the finishing touches, the opening ceremonies are ready to begin!

  One by one, each pair rides a horse-drawn chariot down the Avenue of the Tributes, past President Snow and other government officials. The streets are packed with people, and the crowds go wild when they see the first tributes emerge. The costumes are spectacular!

  First out are Glimmer and Marvel from District 1. Their district’s specialty is luxury goods — and doesn’t that show in their fabulous getups! Tall, regal Glimmer looks magnificent with a pink feather headdress and a full-length gown. Note the feathery shoulder treatment. Exquisite! Next to her, Marvel is looking marvelous in black leather boots and a fuchsia cape. We think these two will be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming Games!

  Wow! Next out are Clove and Cato from District 2, and they are truly stunning. In traditional-style garb, like ancient Greek gods, the two look positively divine. Clove’s golden helmet emphasizes her beautiful bone structure. We can’t help but wonder if her stylists are trying to foreshadow another golden crown — the victor’s crown, which would look spectacular on Clove’s dark hair. Cato’s sleeveless costume shows off his arms to good effect — wouldn’t want to wrestle with him in the arena! These two look like the serious contenders that they are.