Since the first Hunger Games book was published in 2008, Suzanne Collins’s dystopian, part politics, part war, part romance YA series has become an international phenomenon. With a strong female protagonist at the heart of the action-packed adventure, The Hunger Games has resonated with readers of all ages.
Now, as the final film of the series, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, hits our screens, we’re celebrating Katniss Everdeen with the 10 best quotes from all three books that highlight her strength, heroism and revolutionary spirit:
Tonight. After the reaping, everyone is supposed to celebrate. And a lot of people do, out of relief that their children have been spared for another year. But at least two families will pull their shutters, lock their doors, and try to figure out how they will survive the painful weeks to come.
With one sweep of my arm, I push her behind me.
“I volunteer!” I gasp. “I volunteer as tribute!”
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.
No one will forget me. Not my look, not my name. Katniss. The girl who was on fire.
I’m taken aback by the directness and even the sincerity of this speech. As if his primary concern is the welfare of the citizens of Panem, when nothing could be further from the truth. I don’t know how I dare to say the next words, but I do. “It must be very fragile, if a handful of berries can bring it down.”
I stand there, feeling broken and small, thousands of eyes trained on me. There’s a long pause. Then, from somewhere in the crowd, someone whistles Rue’s four-note mocking-jay tune. The one that meant safety in the arena.
“If I had just killed myself with those berries, none of this would’ve happened. Peeta could have come home and lived, and everyone else would have been safe, too.”
“Safe to do what?” he says in a gentler tone. “Starve? Work like slaves? Send their kids to the reaping? You haven’t hurt people - you’ve given them an opportunity. They just have to be brave enough to take it.”
“We had to save you because you’re the mockingjay, Katniss,” says Plutarch. “While you live, the revolution lives.”
The authorities in District 13 were against my coming back. They viewed it as a costly and pointless venture, given that at least a dozen visible hovercraft are circling overhead for my protection and there’s no intelligence to be gained. I had to see it though.
What am I going to do?
I take a deep breath. My arms raise slightly - as if recalling the black-and-white wings Cinna gave me - then come to rest at my sides.
“I’m going to be the Mockingjay.”
Let us know if we’ve missed out on other great Hunger Games quotations by emailing childrens.books@theguardian.com or on Twitter @GdnChildrensBk.
