The Hunger Games (novel)/Fanfic Recs

Proof that the remaining 10% is worth dying for here.

These are recommendations made by Tropers for The Hunger Games fanfics, all of which have to be signed to stay on the page. Feel free to add a fanfic of your own to the list, but remember to use the template found here.

You can also add to the current recommendations if you want. Refrain from posting Conversation in The Main Page though; that goes in the discussion page.

Authors, and Websites
Electrumqueen
 * Recommended by Clandestine Clear
 * Pairing(s): Various
 * Comments: Electrumqueen captures the desperate, somber atmosphere of the Hunger Games perfectly. Her writing is very poetic, very poignant, and very beautiful.
 * Seconded by Analiza. All her work is very good (though some is a little too shipping-focused for my taste). I'd like to add a specific recommendation for "The Panem Victors Breakfast Club." One of the best stories detailing the relationship between the Victors (and there are plenty of good ones out there), this story moves between darkly funny and just dark, with a surprisingly poignant (and incredibly sweet in its way) ending.

Be-nice-to-nerds
 * Recommended by Analiza
 * Comments: A very good writer who manages to get inside the head of every single character she writes. "No One Left" and "Fearful to Fearsome", both focused on Johanna Mason, are two of the best fanfics this Troper has ever read.

The entries for the Pearl Awards
 * Recommended by Clandestine Clear
 * Comments: The Pearl Awards is fanfiction and fanart competition where entries have to be nominated to get in, so most of the fics submitted are well-written and worthy of recs. In addition, there are different categories for fics e.g. Best One-Shot, Best Comedy, Best Author etc.

Gethsemane342
 * Recommended by Obiwanlivesforever
 * Comments: Gethsemane covers a wide range of characters and topics, bringing life and personality to some of the most minor tributes in the series. She has created a vast web of interlocking O Cs and plots referenced throughout her stories, maintaining the authenticity of her fanon universe. In my opinion, "Sponsors," "Game Over," and "The Person He Never Was," are her finest work.

General Fics
''Stories focused on the family and the friendly relationships of the cast. Plot-focused stories or light day-in-the-life stories. Pretty much anything that isn't focused on romance.''

No Accident by Rhythm and Blues
 * Recommended by: knightinshiningdots
 * Status: In progress. Frequent updates.
 * Rating: T. Allusions to prostitution, mildly disturbing death scene.
 * Summary: The story of Annie Cresta, the rebellion she incited, and its death with her victory. Cannon compliant.
 * Comments: At first, this fic sounds like another of those generic stories outlining the Games of a past victor, but it steadily builds into the story of a failed rebellion that took place half in the arena and half out. The author effectively creates likable but flawed original characters, such as the male tribute from District Four, that the reader knows will inevitably die.

Much More Important Things by elithewho
 * Recommended by: Clandestine Clear
 * Characters/pairing(s): OC, mentions of Katniss and Peeta
 * Summary: Starlight should be doing her homework, but she really has much more important things to do with her time.
 * Comments: This fic is told from the POV of a teenage Capitol child watching the Katniss and Peeta's Games, and manages to be fantastically creepy and ridiculous at the same time, conveying the true Crapsack World nature of Panem very well under Starlight's superficial, saccharine monologue.

Volts by Heart the Squid
 * Recommended by Analiza
 * Status: Complete
 * Summary: A story from Beetee's point of view, starting with the day his name is drawn for the Games, going through his years as a mentor, the Quarter Quell, and the rebellion.
 * Comments: This fic stays close to the style of the original trilogy with an interesting portrayal of its narrator, Beetee. It does an excellent job of making its characters and setting seem both true to canon and very original. The friendship between Beetee and Wiress and the portrayal of victors such as Seeder are particularly good.

Twenty-Four Victors, Twenty-Four Tributes: Meet Your Quarter Quell Contestants
 * Recommended by Analiza
 * Status: Complete.
 * Summary: Twenty-four short (ranging from a sentence to about a page) pieces of writing about each of the twenty-four victors in the 75th Hunger Games.
 * Comments: This is a perfect snapshot of the lives, thoughts and histories of the victors we see in Catching Fire. Each piece reads like a poem; the narration style is understated, yet dark, lyrical, and intensely personal for each character. Be warned: some parts, particularly the ones devoted to Cashmere, Quoila, Heliquo and Johanna are quite disturbing and/or contain adult themes.

Just Another Piece in the Games by Winter Echoes
 * Recommended by: Discovery
 * Status: Complete
 * Summary: So many tributes died in the Hunger Games, and although we never gave a second thought to most, they all have a story. One-shot about a certain tribute's last day in the arena that proves that things, and people, aren't always the way they seem.
 * Comments: This was a really interesting and well written fan fic; I've never read any fics written from this character's point of view before. It's only a one-shot, but it's still very sastifying. While I was reading this I got out the book and read the scene as it's written from Katniss' point of view, and the two parallel and intertwine very nicely. You won't regret taking the time to read this.

The Beauty of Freedom and its sequels, The Illusion of Freedom and The Dream of Freedom by Caisha702. (Rated T for violence and forced prostitution.)
 * Recommended by: Obiwanlivesforever
 * Status: Entire trilogy complete
 * Summary: History will remember me as the first to be chosen for the Victor's Quarter Quell. It will forget that my story has a beginning as well as an end, but a beginning it has and this is it. This is the 66th Hunger Games. This is my story.
 * Comments: Caisha writes with masterful depth and maturity, transforming the minor villains Cashmere and Gloss into engaging, sympathetic protagonists. This Fan Fiction blurs the lines between typical views of 'good' and 'evil' in the Hunger Games world and has actually had me rooting for Careers over the other tributes at certain points! Packed with intense character development, a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the world of Panem, and a stunning cast of O Cs, the Freedom Trilogy is a must-read for all Hunger Games fans.

The Flaw in the Plan by PK 9
 * Recommended by: Obiwanlivesforever
 * Status: Complete
 * Summary: Before the berries, the rule change, even Rue's flowers, he did something that no one had ever imagined in 73 years of Hunger Games, and so became a contender, until Katniss Everdeen ruined everything. The untold story of Landmine Boy from District 3.
 * Comments: Truly one of the best Fan Fictions I have ever read, The Flaw in the Plan takes a character with several sentences of screen time - the district 3 boy in Katniss' games - and turns him into an engaging, likeable, and sympathetic protagonist. It turned a faceless extra into a personal favorite character, something which takes true talent. I just cannot describe how unbelievably awesome this story is. Read it for yourself. You will not be disappointed. However, as can be expected, it has a very sad ending.

Peeta Mellark's Five Favorite Things to Bake by aimmyarrowshigh
 * Recommended by: cedarleaf
 * Summary: Peeta keeps his memories and the people he loves alive in the things he bakes.
 * Comments: Sweet, clever, sad, and hopeful. All in one.
 * Seconded, with the recommendation that you read it on the author's Livejournal, where there's recipes.

Unintended by Caisha702
 * Recommended by: Obiwanlivesforever
 * Status: In progress
 * Rating: T
 * Summary: If someone told me before the war I'd end up where I am now, I'd have said they were mad. I never expected to be more than just another District 8 factory worker. But then I became a rebel who became a president and everything changed **Paylor's story**
 * Comments: This story has just begun, but it already contains the maturity, darkness and detail that have become staples of a Caisha epic. As usual, the protagonist - Commander Paylor - is a minor character whom the author has already breathed life and spirit into. The focus on District 8 introduces the reader to an oft-ignored district, a wealth of interesting O Cs, and a battle that went almost unnoticed in the face of Katniss' struggles. If anyone wants to read how the rebellion truly began, take a look at the life of an overlooked but crucial character, or just immerse themselves in the excitement, tragedy and hope of Panem's struggle for freedom, I'd definitely recommend checking this out.

Career: A Hunger Games story by Technomad
 * Recommended by Eoppen
 * Summary: This is the POV of a Career Tribute, from an unspecified district, in the Seventieth Hunger Games.
 * Comments: The Careers themselves have a very different perspective on the Hunger Games...and, at seventh and last, as little choice about what they do as Katniss did. This particular Career has a lot in common with Katniss...

Panem by gethsemane342
 * Recommended by Nothingtoseehere
 * Summery: A collection of oneshots about pretty much every character in the books. From Plutarch to Gloss, each gets a glimpse through their eyes.

Shipping Fics
Stories focused on the romantic relationships between the cast.

Scylla and Charybdis by Mithrigil and Puella_Nerdii (rated R for sex, drug use, violence, and forced prostitution)
 * Recommended by: Clandestine Clear
 * Pairing(s): Finnick/Annie
 * Summary: Finnick decides that, come hell or high water, he is bringing his tribute home from the seventieth Hunger Games. That tribute is Annie Cresta. But Finnick never thought that he would have to choose between bringing her home and keeping her safe, and he wants both. How Annie Cresta crept up on Finnick Odair.
 * Comments: This fic is amazing--everyone's voices are so clear and so flawlessly characterized, from Finnick to Johanna to Snow and the writing is absolutely wonderful, whether if it's about the desperation and violence in Annie's Games or the relaxed, easygoing atmosphere of Finnick and Annie's families in District 4. The plot and atmosphere of this fic fits in perfectly with Collins' universe, especially on how the worst part about the Games isn't winning it, but living through the aftermath, and the ending just seems to expertly tie the entire story together. Incidentally, all the chapters can be found linked here.

Five Words Peeta Only Says at Night by aimmyarrowshigh
 * Recommended by: cedarleaf
 * Pairings: Katniss/Peeta
 * Summary: She had never been a very talkative girl, but she found ways to share her thoughts with Peeta when it counted (and to Peeta, her thoughts always counted for quite a lot). She was a hard girl, on first blush, but she was always soft and gentle with Peeta – ever since the cave. She likes the way his fingertips always smell of vanilla and sugar and he knows that, although she'd never admit it. A girl like Katniss – always covered in forest dirt and calluses – was not supposed to want a man who smelled of vanilla and sugar. But Katniss had chosen him over the man who smelled of leather and pine. And Peeta never took that for granted.
 * Comments: Short, sweet, but deep when where it counts.

Stars And The Moon by LetTheSunshineIn
 * Recommended by: newyorkcityblackout
 * Pairings: Finnick/Annie
 * Summary: "I'd like to go there... someday." Annie loves the sky, and Finnick can tell her almost as much about it as he can the sea. Also known as total Fannie fluff.
 * Comments: A simple Finnick/Annie drabble set a year after her Games. Worth giving it a read.

Oh, Fury Loves Company by prettyworthless
 * Warnings: Rated M for language and violence.
 * Pairings: Clove/Cato
 * Recommended by: jewelia13
 * Summary: "He can see himself breaking her bones and stroking the rushes of her blood as they dissipate and it consumes him, the all-encompassing desire of having her on his hands. Finally, finally, this is our moment of glory."
 * Comments: A creepy, fascinating and gorgeously written piece set before and during the Games, focusing on the relationship between Cato and Clove - he was supposed to be the one to kill her, she was only his to kill...
 * Favourite line - "Cato watches the boy declare his love to the girl on fire and thinks, "Oh, let's play with fire, but you're just matches." "

Alternate Universe Fics
Stories about what could have been, or what might be in the future.

The Capitol Games by Vividly Visceral (Rated T for graphic violence)
 * Recommended by: The Signature Thief
 * Summary: This Quarter Quell will be the most difficult. They're the tributes, the tributes who- never in a million years, thought they'd fight in the Hunger Games. Why? Because these are the CAPITOL'S children being reaped this time. And this'll be quite a show...
 * Comments: Wow. The Capitol Games is an epic, over 800 pages long and not yet past the pre-games. Vividly Visceral delights in challenging the assumptions of critics of the Submit a Tribute genre, as well as in the violent murder of her characters. Accompanying the typical submitted cast of 24 Capitol children are a rich tapestry of Vividly Visceral's own creations. Eccentric escorts, the affably evil Iilivsea Crane, and the mentors... oh, the mentors. The AU she creates is just as deep and interesting as Suzanne Collins' original work.

Fox Games by Farla
 * Recommended by: Fool, User:Suspiciouscookie
 * Summary: The last two tributes may both make it home. Peeta tries one of the berries when he finds the bushes, and Katniss is left to decide.

How Rue Became the Mockingjay by aimmyarrowshigh
 * Recommended by: Caellach Tiger Eye
 * Summary: She's teamed up with the little girl instead of the boy who loves her. Katniss Everdeen and the girl from Eleven are ruining their best-laid plans. So, "Caesar," they say, "Announce the change." -This is an alternate chronology for The Hunger Games.-
 * Comments: I fell in love with this one-shot right from the start. It has great characterisation, development, and character-based twists throughout (despite the ending largely being a Foregone Conclusion). The story consists of snippets that occur within this shifting tale of the game, yet despite compressing the first book they manage to capture and characterise the players very well. It was heartbreaking, also, to see how this story emphasises Rue's youth, manifesting in her naivety, and it was touching to see something we'd all have loved to see: . The last few lines, in particular, are simply heart-rending. For anyone who wanted a fic where Rue survives the 74th Games, you're looking in the right place.

Zero Sum by Ember A. Keelty
 * Recommended by: Fool
 * Summary: Rue survives the District 1 boy's attack. For Katniss, this turns out to be horribly inconvenient.

To the Victor, the Spoil by Annakovsky
 * Warnings: (Possibly, depending on your location) underage sex, large age-difference, attempted suicide, and references to prostitution, pedophilia, and a tiny bit of slash.
 * Recommended by: Yessiika
 * Summary: No berries, no mockingjay, no rebellion. Katniss killed Peeta in the arena, and now she has to live with herself like every other victor.
 * Comments: A couple of things about this fic: 1.) the pairing of Haymith/Katniss is truly born of crack and encompasses an enormous age difference; 2.) there is explicit sex; and 3.) it is incredibly well-written. The only true complaint this troper has with the fic is its derailment of Katniss' character right at the very end. Regardless, it really is an amazing, heartbreaking piece of work that moves within the universe of the Hunger Games like it's an extension of canon. Highly recommended.

Grow Together by Miss Scarlett 05
 * Warnings: its rated T, but there isn't too much
 * Status: In progress.
 * Summary: What happened during the Epilogue of Mockingjay? How DID Katniss and Peeta Grow back together. This is meant to be like a 4th book.

Dark Toast by aimmyarrowshigh
 * Recommended by: plumsiren
 * Warnings: Rated M. Character death, suicide, mentions of domestic abuse, hints at dub-con.
 * Status: This part is complete, though the series overall is still in progress.
 * Pairings: Katniss/Peeta and others
 * Summary: How Katniss and Peeta fell in love without the Reaping: in a Panem dictated by a violent Peace instead of twisted Games, Katniss and Peeta Mellark try to piece their lives together as they watch another girl catch fire.
 * Comments: An AU in which the Capitol controls its citizens by means of choosing what they do, where they live, and who they marry, and demands every couple produce exactly three children. This could also go under shippy fics, but the AU encompasses so much more than just the relationship between Katniss and Peeta. It's so brilliantly handled, I started to get confused between this series and book canon. Note that Dark Toast is the first of three completed parts in what should be a five-part series.