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luna_is_superior's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Classism, Gaslighting, Gore, Torture, Toxic friendship, Blood, Confinement, Police brutality, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Violence, War, Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, and Vomit
nenaveenstra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Now it's three years later and I've re-read the entire trilogy as well as rewatched all of the movies before diving back into this one, in preparation for the new movie coming out, and I have a lot of new insights (also thanks to people on the internet talking about this book again). I think the most important takeaway is this: above all else, this book is a character study of Coriolanus Snow, a boy who has grown up by the idea that the Capitol is Good and the Districts are Bad, and that Bad people need to be controlled by Good people. In a sense, he resembles men who accept the patriarchy as unfaultable, and he acts like a 'Nice Guy' too.
*spoilers below*
From the very beginning of this book, it's very clear that Snow doesn't view people as anything other than tools. He doesn't have friends, he has allies. He doesn't connect with people, he keeps them on his side. Sejanus is the loudest example of this, where even after his death, he is useful to Snow because his parents are willing to give him money. But it also happens with Lucy Gray: first and foremost, keeping her alive is a way for Snow to get a step ahead in life.
There's a second layer to his relationship with Lucy Gray, though: possession. Throughout the entire story, Snow might think he's in love with her, but actually he wants to own her. She is his girl, he keeps repeating in his head. He gets incredibly angry at even the thought of her having a life outside of the Capitol, wants her to erase all the songs she wrote about Billy Taupe, and he feels like she owes him love because he saved her life (he has a similar thought about Sejanus, too: that he saved his life and therefore he owed him, even though Snow caused his death sentence).
Lucy Gray seems to reciprocate Coriolanus's love, as in: she kisses him back, flirts with him, even writes songs about him. But we also know about her that she flirts a lot with people as part of her job, to make them give the Covey more money. And we know that she's very clever. So it might all just be an act - which is confirmed at the end of the book, when she gets Snow alone, interrogates him, and then flees after he finds the weapons, leaving a snake to bite him. The flirting, the loving - it was all a ruse to get him to leave, one way or another. And Coriolanus notices that, and he gets very scary for a moment - like Jack Torrence or any other horror villain, he promises his victim that he's not going to hurt her when he inevitably will. Because if he can't have her, no one can (plus he's trying to save face, like he always has).
All of this is very subtle and I missed it upon my first read - what I thought was, that this book was a poorly done romance that I didn't quite root for, but now I know that all of it was intentional. Just like the other Hunger Games books had subtle emotional undertones that I didn't get the first time I read those. I think that just speaks to the craftmanship of Suzanne Collins.
I do still agree, though, that the plot is a little bit messy, especially towards the end. He gets shipped back to the Capitol and finds out that his stint as a Peacekeeper was just a summer job, then he has a conversation with Dr. Gaul about what the Hunger Games really mean, and then he has a conversation with Dean Highbottom that I think could've been explored more. In a way it makes sense that Snow wouldn't really care to ruminate on the things he said but I thought it was really interesting that in a way, Snow was filling his Dad's shoes by 'improving' the Hunger Games together with Dr. Gaul and I'd like to think about what he actually meant by 'like moths to a flame'. I feel like there's multiple interpretations there.
*end of spoilers*
Long story short, I think there is much more to this book than meets the eye. It's not one for the masses, I fear, but I respect that. I'm very excited to go see the movie this weekend and I hope it's just as good - although I fear that it won't be. This movie series doesn't have a history of portraying the subtleties of the books that well, instead focusing on the spectacle, which is very ironic if you think about it.
Graphic: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: War, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Medical content, and Vomit
david_slack110507's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It was such an interesting choice to centre the book around the very antagonist of the original series in President Snow, who is simply just Coriolanus here and nothing much else other than having the last name Snow and the reputation that comes with that name. This was a good way of characterising Snow more so then what was done in the original entries into the franchise, and it was done so in being able to add layers to Snow's character while also being able to show how morally corrupt he was and how he didn't suddenly become evil, rather it was a slow process that becomes cemented in the final few chapters of the book and the epilogue in particular - essentially it does not just write off his actions as byproducts of what happened to him in this book and make him a misunderstood villain but rather that the intention behind his later actions was always there but just amplified by this book's events. Lucy Gray was also such a fascinating character too as she truly is someone in the wrong place at the wrong time that brings out the best in someone as bad as Snow and gets nothing good for her efforts and contributions, I like how different she is to Katniss and how being a performer, she immediately adapts to the publicity of the Games and survives because of it. I really liked the two of them as characters but there were also many others that I really liked and/or found fascinating and wanted to see more of such as Tigris, Sejanus, Dean Highbottom, Dr Gaul and more.
Speaking of the Games, they were really interesting to read about as we get it from the perspective of an onlooker (Coriolanus) while Lucy Gray, the one of the two that is actually in the Hunger Games, is trying to survive and fight for her life and so we don't read about any of the action that takes place other than what is seen on the monitors and yet it doesn't get boring and instead adds to the level of mystery and intrigue of the book which is something that it continues on with it's ending and resolution or there lack of for Lucy Gray's fate. It was also really interesting to have the Games as a sort of midway point in the book and to end the first half or so of the book rather than have it be the climatic battle/act that you would expect it to be instead allowing for Snow and Lucy Gray's relationship to grow following the aftermath of Games and their respective participation in it as mentor and competitor/participant, when they both return to District 12. This really solidified the strength of the book for me as it continued to thrive past its main selling point of the Hunger Games and instead allowed for more of a character study of the two to take place.
I feel like my only issue with this really is the fact that at times the pacing felt a little off as it stayed a little too focused on something that didn't seem to have too much significance but that's only really a minor issue I had with the book and only knocks it down a little from being an actual 5 star book to one that's rounded up from 4.5. I'm really interested in seeing how the movie adaptation manages to cover all this information as there is a lot here and I'm sure that there are references scattered about, besides from the obvious ones, to the original trilogy so I really hope that it delivers as this is such a wonderfully written and engaging story that has you become deeply invested in a previously unseen and unheard of character (That actually makes sense given the context) and the central villain who appeared to be just pure evil but is much more layered than that.
Graphic: Murder, War, Blood, Toxic relationship, Child death, Grief, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Torture, Violence, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Gaslighting, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexism, Misogyny, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Drug use
natanbcpc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Unlike the original trilogy, I got attached to very few characters since his point of view tends to go over most people. Although it does make sense, it makes for a less engaging story.
Overall, I liked the book though and was happy to get back to the Hunger Games universe.
Moderate: Death, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: War, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
theuncannydani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Gore, Slavery, Xenophobia, Death, Grief, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Body horror, Torture, and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Vomit, Addiction, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, Sexism, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Drug use and Terminal illness
puckeverlasting's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Slavery, War, Xenophobia, Murder, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Grief
All your typical Hunger Games TWs, but perhaps a touch more extensiveinkfish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Xenophobia, Suicide, Physical abuse, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Police brutality, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gore, Alcohol, Classism, and Murder
Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
becca_w_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Addiction, Blood, Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Gore, Violence, Animal death, Child death, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Vomit, War, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Torture, Trafficking, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Kidnapping, Slavery, Body horror, and Bullying
Minor: Body horror, Stalking, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
c_dmckinney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Classism, Xenophobia, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Racism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Grief
Minor: War, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Deportation, and Trafficking
dativa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
It is a heavy read in the sense of understanding the ways it is explicitly and implicitly exposing real life; something like watching a Black Mirror episode I guess.