Just like the first book, I loved this book. As always, the action was beautiful, the story as well. I liked many things about this book: the struggle, pain, lies, and the complexity of it.
I loved how Katniss and Peeta had only a few months of freedom until the capital made them do the victory tour. They had to re-live their pain through the games all over again, just when they were finally feeling better about the games. It was almost as if the world paused for a few months, then suddenly it exploded into a realization of what’s been happening around the world with the rebellion from the other districts, having to pretend to be in love again, President Snow’s threats, the Quarter Quell.
It’s so crazy and exciting when they go back into the arena, where it is now truly the beginning of Katniss’s fight against the capital. It’s unexpected how Haymitch asks Katniss and Peeta to make allies when they weren’t asked of this before.
Katniss’s whole world just freezes once she finds out she has to go back into the Quarter quell. How she knows she is going to die, trying to protect Peeta.
Above all, I love the mystery and confusion of it. You don’t know everything that’s happening within the world that Katniss does not. You just know what Katniss knows. You ask the same questions Katniss wonders; it’s almost you’re living her life in those moments. So as a reader, you ask, “Was it a coincidence the capital wanted her dead, and the quarter quell is the way it is?” “Is Finnick, Joanna, Wiress, Beetee, and Mags truly on Katniss’s side?”
Of course, not all books are perfect. As you know, Katniss goes back into the arena. Based on the capital’s hate on Katniss and that the book’s main attraction is the games, we could already guess that something involving Katniss and the arena would happen. We could easily guess that the capital was going to send Katniss into the games once again. We could also infer that there’s going to be some fight with the capital. Especially since similar things are in other books I read. It’s predictable.
Another thing I don’t like about this book is Peeta. He doesn’t warn Katniss that he’s going to announce his love of Katniss to the public or that he’s going to lie to them about her baby. If you think about it, it’s kind of rude because he didn’t get her ok about it. Although he does know Katniss is lying to him about things, so I guess it is fair.
Like I said in the book talk, I vote this book a 9/10, 10 being the best. Would so read again if I ever got the chance. If you haven’t read this book yet, please pick it up and do so; if you read the first book, it’s worth your time.
The Writer Reader 