The Hunger Games is a series of books by Suzanne Collins. The series includes The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (#0.5), The Hunger Games (#1), Catching Fire (#2), and Mockingjay (#3). The story is set in the nation of Panem, a Capitol surrounded by twelve districts. The Capitol forces each district to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. The story follows sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. She becomes a contender and must make choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.