short thg verse summary! izzie is from district 6... her father was already married when he had an affair with izzie's mom and he refused to take responsibility for izzie or her mother, so she was raised with very little. when she was old enough, she tried taking various odd jobs she could find to support both her and her mother as well as taking out tesserae.
when izzie's fifteen years old, she falls in love with one of the boys working in one of the factories. she becomes pregnant. the boy cuts ties with her, having mainly been into her just for her looks, and nasty rumors spread about izzie, resulting in her becoming ostracised from the rest of the district. knowing she has no way of supporting a child, she brokers a deal with one of the richer families in district 6. the wife had been unable to bear children, so izzie gives up her baby to them in exchange for a few month's supply of food. in the end it's not about the food for izzie, but about wanting her baby to have a better life. the story others hear is that izzie lost the baby in a miscarriage.
a year later at sixteen years old, a few months after having given up her daughter, she gets reaped for the 62th hunger games (i am changing enoboria to winning the 61th hunger games it just works better for me age wise sorry). while she isn't seen as one of the stronger tributes, she does become pretty popular because of her looks. just like back at home, she uses this to her advantage to get sponsors, while simultaneously working the angle of appearing as a slightly ditzy blonde. when she's in the arena, her smarts really show themselves and she's able to survive and hold her own, eventually winning her games.
when she returns home as a victor, her reputation has suddenly turned shining, but izzie doesn't forget the way she or her mother were treated before and closes herself off from the rest of her district folk. much like the other victors popular for their looks, izzie becomes a sought after prize. izzie does what it takes to survive. just as she has always done. she mentors young new tributes every year and goes along with capitol life.
just after the 74th hunger games, izzie falls sick with an illness even the capitol can't cure. by the time of the quarter quell, it's becoming almost impossible to hide. she knows she's dying. part of her wants to volunteer to take the place of one of the morphlings, but she's aware a rebellion is brewing and she thinks she's of more help outside of the arena. izzie does what she can to aid haymitch, plutarch and the rest of the resistance within the capitol.
when the forcefield around the arena gets blown up, izzie is one of the victors taken by the capitol. in most verses, she will not make it out, succumbing to her sickness before they are freed. in some others, she will be freed together with the remaining victors, only to live a short life in district 13 and a subsequent liberated panem before she will inevitably die of her illness.
