Take a photo of a barcode or cover
I suppose because I knew the ending going in, including
If I had to name an emotion to summarise the experience of reading it, it'd be that I found the whole thing very interesting. I was fascinated to see some of our big name characters from the original series 25 years younger. I loved in particular the seeding of
The best thing about this book, in my opinion,
If you're a hunger games fan, this is an obvious recommendation. Don't worry about it spoiling the original series or anything like that. This is a slam dunk of a prequel. Informative of characters we know and love from the originals and illustrative of how far back some of the plots really go.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug use, Slavery
I was also really confused by the reappearance of certain characters in a different context. It made me rethink my previous knowledge of them in a way trying to fit the pieces together for continuity. And maybe I'm remembering things wrong but it wasn't really seamless. I also wonder if the author was influenced by the portrayal of the characters in the movies.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Classism
Minor: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Mental illness, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War
Minor: Rape
*SPOILERS BELOW*
The only reason I don't give this book five stars is because of the recurring characters from other books, and how forced it felt. What are the chances that Haymitch is best friends with Katniss's dad, saves Peeta's dad, has Wiress and Mags as his mentors, Effie as his stylist, and Beetee and Plutarch behind the scenes helping him break the arena? It just felt so forced. I could understand a few of these connections- and I loved the plotline with Beetee and Ampert- but it was just overdone, and I felt myself growing annoyed every time another character came back.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Vomit
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Miscarriage, Medical content
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Pregnancy, War
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror
Overall, I think this was a fine addition to the series. It answers a question that I never really considered or was curious before as a casual enjoyer of the IP, which is: How and when did the Victors rebelling start (at like in practice rather than just in theory)? Because looking back now, I know that there's no way the Quarter Quell tributes would've been able to nail bludgeoning the arena during their first go. It's due to this question being answered that I wasn't really bothered by certain characters appearing and helping out. It made a lot of sense. There's only one instance of a character showing up that really felt unnecessary.
My biggest non-spoilery gripe about this book is how quickly everything happens. The moments of what should be full of emotional impact left me feeling like I had whiplash because of how fast they came and went, with no real time to digest what had happened. Which leads me to my biggest disappointment in the book, the thing ultimately took my rating down lower than I originally thought it would be...
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, War, Classism
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Pregnancy
Oh my fucking goodness I loved this book SO MUCHHHH. And I swear on my life, if "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers doesn't play in the end credits for the movie I'm lowkey gonna crash out.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Classism
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Suicide