An exciting dystopian fantasy thriller series, The Hunger Games began its life as a trilogy of books by Suzanne Collins, the first released in 2008. An immediate success, the first installment had a first printing of 50,000 hardcover copies, which quickly ballooned to 200,000. Spending one hundred consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, the book was put into development for release on the big screen. The first two films, starring Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, broke box office records, and the final installment is expected to follow suit.

Fan Phenomena: The Hunger Games charts the series’s success through the increasingly vocal online communities that drive the young adult book market. Essays here consider the fashion that the series has created and how the costumes, memorabilia, merchandising, and branding have become an ever bigger part of the fandom experience. Issues explored include debates over the movie stars’ race and size, which tap into greater issues within the fan community and popular culture in general and the current argument that has divided fans and critics: whether or not the third book, Mockingjay, should be split into two films.

With this scholarly compendium, navigating the postapocalyptic landscape of Panem will be as effortless as Katniss Everdeen’s archery and ensure that the odds will be forever in your favor.