"The Hunger Games as you've never seen it before--in a remarkable illustrated edition. Even at the age of sixteen, Katniss Everdeen knows it takes hard work, keen observation, and inner fortitude to survive in the world. Her home, District 12, is under the merciless rule of the Capitol, continually forced to pay after losing a long-ago civil war in the nation of Panem. One of the ways the Capitol keeps control is its annual Hunger Games, a televised...

By winning the annual Hunger Games, District 12 tributes Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have secured a life of safety and plenty for themselves and their families, but because they won by defying the rules, they unwittingly become the faces of an impending rebellion.

Katniss Everdeen, having survived the Hunger Games twice, learns she and her family and friends are in danger because the Capitol holds her responsible for the unrest and races against time to protect those she cares about and the people of District 12.

Though the last of the US troops didn't pull out until late in 2011, few areas of Iraq are free from violence, and the Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish people continue to vie for adequate representation in the new government. Readers are provided with a comprehensive look at the recent history of Iraq, beginning with the rise of Hussein.