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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

As always, Suzanne Collins continues to be one of my favourite authors. I feared as I got older, her books would no longer hold immense power, but I stand so great fully wrong. Everytime I pick up a book in this series I am reminded about the importance of the long game, the power of community, and the humanity in fear. I love her work, her message, and am so grateful she continues to add to the depth of this series. 

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

As someone who had just read rhe series for the first time last year, wow. This was stunning. This gave all of what we need for Haymitch's background to understand him as a character. I loved times where I could reference back to the main series of where his reactions to certain things originated. Suzanne broke my heart, but I am so glad to have read this book in this time. This speaks volumes for America right now. Suzanne only writes when she has something to say, and I feel that she may soon write again.

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Every time Suzanne Collins saw a thirst trap of Coriolanus Snow, she opened her word doc and made Haymitch suffer a little bit more

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dark sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

did I finish this book or did this book finish me??? 

Suzanne Collins, you are a fucking genius and I love you like all-fire.

this was genuinely one of the most heartbreaking books I've ever read. I knew how it was going to end because of the brief talk Haymitch gives about it on Mockingjay but OH. MY. GOD. it was even more painful than I was expecting. I loved his family, I loved his allies... I'm just... I'm so sad... (so obviously I loved this book and will be recommendeding it to everyone)

also, why was snow still thinking about his situationship from 40 years ago???? LIKE??

Spoilers on this paragraph (the paragraph after is safe)!!!
AND THE LORE??? CAN WE TALK ABOUT IT??? some of it made some characters lives even more painful like.... Beetee... oh Beetee ily so much I'm so sorry 😭 and Katniss' dad being one of Haymitch's best friends before the reaping or how Katniss and her father are related to Lucy Grey and Lenore Dove 😭 and the way he talks about Maggs in Catching Fire really hits different now 😭 and how he calls Katniss sweetheart in the OG trilogy 😭 AND THE EPILOGUE??? the geese eggs 😭😭😭

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME SUZANNE??? (I'll literally read anything you write pls never stop, pls keep destroying my heart into tiny little pieces).

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book feels like watching a famous greek tragedy. You know how it is going to end (in tears), but the bits in the middle are vague and confusing.

We watch Haymitch turn from a beloved teenage ordinary boy into a Victor in the Haymitch from the original series, and it is a mindboggling fascinating transformation. This books adds so much additional context into this universe, and character motivations and explains the eventually uprising in the 75th games. It is also interesting to add this book onto the timeline and see the gradual evolution of the games till it became that techno-murder fest of the 74th games.

also, snow is a loser. Yeah, yeah for obvious reasons. But it's been like 20 something years and you are still hung up on your situationship from the district??? What is wrong with you??? Alot, obviously.

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dark emotional sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The prequel I needed for Haymitch. Strong comeback from Suzanne Collins: compelling narrative voice, twists and turns every few pages, a very faithful representation of the 50th Hunger Games, frozen in time. I really enjoyed seeing again the characters we met and loved throughout the trilogy. I also cried loads. What a wonderful and heartbreaking reading experience.

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dark tense fast-paced

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I liked Ballad more but this was still very good. 
I liked the focus on propaganda. Maysilee was a delightful character. Effie was a highlight, too.

I did think it was slightly too crowded and I cared less about individual characters as a result. 

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