District 12 has not had a winner in 24 years, and tributes are chosen at random to participate. Only children ages 12-17 are allowed to be in the Hunger Games and how old you are decides how many times your name automatically goes into the drawing. If you are twelve, your name is put in once. If you are thirteen, you go in twice and if you are fourteen, your name is put in three times, etc. You can also opt to have your name put in extra times in exchange for grain to make food.

Katniss, whose family struggles, has her name put into the drawing 20+ times because of how often she has opted for more grain. Her friend, Gale, has his name in the drawing 40+ times for the same reason. Even though they hunt together in the forest, their hunting is not enough to feed their families. Katniss, whose father was killed in a mining accident, must provide for her sister Prim and her unemployed mother. Katniss eventually makes her way into the Hunger Games, where she must fight for her survival to save everyone she loves.

If this sounds interesting to you, you should definitely check out The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. I've just talked about the first book, but there are two others in the series as well. There is also a prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, that you could read too.