thebankofbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Medical trauma, Confinement, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Classism, Violence, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Body horror, Death of parent, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Addiction, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, War, and Genocide
Moderate: Cannibalism
katattack345'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It is far more darker than the original trilogy but I still loved every page.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Murder, Grief, Gore, Addiction, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Death, Blood, Child death, Vomit, War, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: War, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Cannibalism, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Forced institutionalization, and Drug use
Minor: Dementia, Torture, Colonisation, Body horror, Dysphoria, Classism, Cursing, Infidelity, and Terminal illness
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
chrisljm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Going to expand on my review for the sake of explaining that I don't dislike this book. I just dislike losers. I liked that Suzanne Collins gave us a prequel and gave background to the games and how it essentially all started, but I just wasn't too invested in the story because I never cared to learn more about Snow's life.
I think it's fair that other readers didn't enjoy this book because it does get a bit long and the last third does drag, but I think the people who see this book as an attempt to sympathize Snow as a villain just doesn't understand Suzanne Collins or what she wrote. We see how Snow had a tough childhood, being poor and living through war, but he is very much still cruel and narcissistic. There is in no way for this book to be taken as an attempt to get you on Snow's side.
While I personally didn't give a fuck about Snow's backstory, I think this is worth reading if you want insight on how the modern version of the games came to be. In my opinion it's less about Snow and more of an origin story to the Panem we see in The Hunger Games trilogy, and I think the book is more enjoyable if you read it with this in mind.
I also want to say that the dislike this book gets makes me firm on my stance in hating when people ask for more books on the other Hunger Game years. We have all we need to know from the trilogy. It's unnecessary and just another way for people to thoughtlessly consume media. The Hunger Games portion of this book was very uncomfortable to read, especially since I already sat through the cruelty of the games twice for the trilogy. If we were to read anymore of the games, it would just become cruelty for entertainment, which literally goes against the theme of the series.
Graphic: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Addiction, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Child death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Medical content
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Gore, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Chronic illness
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic and Suicidal thoughts