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Part two of 'The Hunger Games' takes off a few weeks or months after the first book. It's a transitional book, deepening the cruelty and oppression of the world of Panem, and at the same time setting the stage for a rebellion. Collins doesn't quite succeed in this, however, and the book is a little unsatisfactory in the end, as it cannot stand on its own, at all. This is a problem it shares with more middle books, of course, most notably, '[b:The Two Towers|15241|The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1298415523s/15241.jpg|2963845]'.

Collins doesn't really explain well how and why Katniss triggered revolts across the country, and she somehow makes president Snow into the sole villain, in a rather feeble attempt to clear the rest of the Capitol from being the oppressing elite they definitely are. Instead, Collins insists on them being oblivious of any rebellion due to severe propaganda, as if they wouldn't know they were privileged from the Hunger Games alone. Snow even visits Katniss at home, a very unlikely event (imagine Hitler, Stalin or Mao doing something like that?).

But I really wasn't prepared for yet another Hunger Game, and somehow this was a disappointing turn the book took, only adding to the feeling that Collins had to add material to the idea of Panem being at the verge of a collapse. The end of the book is muddy and I certainly hope Collins will conclude her story threads more convincingly than she has spun them in this tome.

Anyhow, Katniss remains a believable character, more than ever oblivious to her effect, and although she matures during the book, she certainly isn't the messiah figure the world is taking her for. Readers can keep relating to her, and will read on, despite Katniss's harsh character traits, despite the mounting brutality and despite the many killings, which by now become rather tiresome.