Emily

After how much I enjoyed rereading the original trilogy as an adult, I felt this book fell flat in comparison. I guess ultimately I don't really see the point -- I felt that the themes it explored were very clearly covered in the original trilogy and the information on the early Hunger Games wasn't that interesting. I also have some major issues with the timeline and pacing of the book -- it was so slow at first and seemed like it was going to be much more of a character exploration than an action packed book, and then at the end events were so rushed that we never got to fully explore why certain characters made the choices they did!

Also, there is nothing that can make me believe Lucy Gray was only 16. 18 I could maybe have seen, but 16? No way.

My biggest disappointment was how little time the book covered for as long as it was. I desperately wanted to know what made Tigris hate Snow so much in Mockingjay, but it never even remotely came up.

If you like horror that is more a bout the depravity of humanity than the actual monsters, this is a good one. A non-spoiler heads up that I didn't anticipate from the blub/other reviews: half the book is in the POV of the sex offender. It's very well done, but still deeply disturbing and not something I particularly appreciated being surprised by.

Katniss. I get where she's coming from and why she's backslid so badly mentally, but good lord that was an unpleasant slog to read.

Still four stars because Collin's thoughts on war and trauma are spot on.

A rare YA book that reads even better as an adult. I remember being so frustrated with Katniss the first time I read it, and I think I just wasn't old enough to recognize how traumatized she is and how inaccurate her interpretations of events are.

Devastating.

A few too many characters from the earlier and later books conveniently popped up to make it entirely believable, but otherwise excellent.