2nd time reading this series (my son wanted me to read it to him). Great story, fantastic characters, quite graphic for the faint of heart (or kids too young). Definitely a trilogy that will last the ages though. ( )

I liked it, but not as much as the first two books. A lot of that is dissatisfaction with the ending...I wasn't anticipating a happy ending, certainly, after all that, but it was even more of a downer than I expected. ( )

absolute perfection.
growing up really is realizing that this is the best book in the series. ( )

I never did like Peeta---still don't ( )

Okay, I have a LOT I want to talk about. I don't know if I'll manage to fit everything I want to say into this review, so I'll just try my best.

I honestly believe this is an extremely over-hated book. I'm not going to say that it's perfect or that it's even the best book in the series, but there's a lot about it that I absolutely fucking love.

I'll start by talking about some of my complaints. One of the weakest aspects of this trilogy is the pacing. Once again, the pacing here is not that great. The long, drawn-out stay in District 13 could have been significantly abbreviated. I'm not saying the characters should have stayed there for a shorter period of time; I'm saying that quite a bit of material could have been cut out to make that section of the story flow better.

Another one of my complaints is the massive focus on propaganda shooting under Plutarch Heavensbee. I know a lot of this franchise focuses on putting on a face for the rest of Panem; however, in the first two books, Katniss and Peeta had to do that to survive. Now, they're doing it to give morale to the rebellion. I know these propaganda shots may have helped the war, but there is still a sense of artificialness to the sections involving them, even when the shootings are unscripted. They don't feel real or exciting. They feel hollow, and that is something I do not often accuse these books of being.

Let's move on to what I love about this novel. I have stated that things take quite some time to get moving in this story. However, when they do get moving, oh boy. This becomes an intense, action-packed, and thrilling finale to the series. The final third of this story simply does not relent. It is wild, and I love it.

In addition, I love how much gray area there is in this book when it comes to morality. At first, it seems that you're supposed to root for everyone in the rebellion because of how evil the Capitol is. However, as the story progresses, and you notice the rebellion doing more and more fucked up shit, you start to wonder if Coin as the new leader of Panem would be just as bad, if not worse, than President Snow and the Capitol. Katniss's ambivalence towards the cause only makes her more likable and relatable. Her final kill being Coin instead of Snow is the perfect decision on Collins' part.

Lastly, this book makes me realize how much this series means to me and how entranced I am by it. I've always loved this franchise, but I'm only now starting to realize how enraptured I've become by it. While it has a lot of problems, there's something uniquely attractive about it. It is one of the darkest and most depressing stories ever made. It's not only dark because of all the trauma, death, and destruction Katniss and Peeta have faced over the years, but it's also dark because of the psychological torture they've been put through. By the end of the story, both of them have almost lost the will to live. They've given everything they have to improve the future generations of Panem, resulting in them turning into hollow shells of themselves. Katniss is constantly drugged up, wandering around from place to place, barely doing anything. It's extremely sad. However, Katniss and Peeta do manage to eventually pull themselves back together and slowly start rebuilding their lives. The last 10 pages are probably my favorite ending to any book series I've ever read in my life. They perfectly capture that tragic yet beautiful theme that this trilogy has adopted. Things will never be the same for any of these characters. They're left with physical and mental scars that will last the rest of their lives, but they try to keep themselves going for the sake of everyone else. It is very poetic, and it leaves me emotionally overwhelmed every single time.

So, yeah. I'm not saying these books are perfect, but they have given me emotions no other media franchise could possibly replicate. For that, they will always have a special place in my heart, and Suzanne Collins will always be an admirable figure to me. ( )