Video: Jennifer Lawrence: Hunger Games great message for our generation The Hunger Games is an adaptation of the first in a set of three fantasy books aimed at younger readers by Suzanne Collins, in which teenagers culled from the 12 districts of a post-Apocalyptic nation called Panem are pitted against each other in an annual, state-sponsored fight to the death. Jennifer Lawrence stars as the ox-hearted, mud-freckled Katniss, who volunteers as her district's female games contestant to save her younger sister from the draft. "Its such an amazing book to bring to life, she's such a great character that you want to follow and I was excited that they were going to bring them (the books) to the screen," said Ms Lawrence.