Suzanne Collins Quotes

"So you're supposed to give us some advice", I say to Haymitch. "Here's some advice. Stay Alive," says Haymitch and bursts out laughing.

Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don’t think of District 12 as a place that cares about me. But a shift has occurred since I stepped up to take Prim's place, and now it seems I have become someone precious. At first one, then another, then almost every member of the crowd touches the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to me. It is an old and rarely used gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means good-bye to someone you love.

And may the odds—" He tosses a berry in a high arc toward me. I catch it in my mouth and break the delicate skin with my teeth. The sweet tartness explodes across my tongue. "—be ever in your favor!

So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts.

She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.

Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun.

Gregor turned on the television and flipped through the channels. He stopped at the news. A bomb had blown up in a marketplace somewhere, killing forty-nine. There were body parts and smoke and relatives wailing. The next story was about refugees dying on the road, driven from their homes by an enemy army. The news anchor was just starting to show a grainy video of a soldier who had been taken hostage when his mother reached in and switched off the television. She looked so sad. "I think you've seen enough, Gregor." <br/k> It had all looked pretty familiar. The bodies, the fear, the desperation. These things had always been here in the Overland, he supposed, but he had never really paid any attention to them until now.

If you think back, my comments were very open to interpretation. And you happen to be easily misled. As for the queen, who is difficult to lead anywhere... I have always been and intend to be entirely straightforward.

So, what brings the Children's Crusade into the Firelands? I don't flatter myself you were looking for me. <br/k> We got lost on a picnic.

I thought I detected in you a sense of fair play. Most dangerous in the Underland, boy.

You know, where I come from, we don't think much of someone who sneaks up and stabs a person in their sleep.

Luxa and I do not serve food, we are royalty. <br/k> Yeah, well, I'm the warrior and Boots is a princess. And you two are going to get pretty hungry if you're waiting for me to serve you. <br/k> Tell him, boy. Tell him your country fought a war so you wouldn't have to answer to kings and queens.

BEWARE UNDERLANDERS, TIME HANGS BY A THREAD, <BR/K> THE HUNTERS ARE HUNTED, WHITE WATER RUNS RED. <BR/K> THE GNAWERS WILL STRIKE TO EXTINGUISH THE REST. <BR/K> THE HOPE OF THE HOPELESS RESIDES IN A QUEST.

In our world, I rank music somewhere between hair ribbons and rainbows in terms of usefulness.

The Hunger Games is a reality television program. An extreme one, but that's what it is. And while I think some of those shows can succeed on different levels, there's also the voyeuristic thrill, watching people being humiliated or brought to tears or suffering physically. And that's what I find very disturbing. There's this potential for desensitizing the audience so that when they see real tragedy playing out on the news, it doesn't have the impact it should. It all just blurs into one program. And I think it's very important not just for young people, but for adults to make sure they're making the distinction. Because the young soldier's dying in the war in Iraq, it's not going to end at the commercial break. It's not something fabricated, it's not a game. It's your life.