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egbella's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book kept me on my toes! I’ve read the other Hunger Games books (and watched the movies) so I’m very familiar with the typical violence, political intrigue, and drama that the series holds. This contained the same elements but from a villain’s perspective – which was interesting! (It’s a prequel.)
The tie-ins to the rest of the series were fun, but overall, it was the characters that made the story for me. Each of them had so much depth and I never knew who to trust or to feel sympathy for. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, or what a plot twist would be, I was surprised by how much more was actually happening behind the scenes. I couldn’t put this one down.
And I chose it for this love theme because of the heartbreaking romance between main characters. It’s certainly not your typical happily-ever-after, but it made me feel so many different emotions and was very thought-provoking. What would happen if lovers were on opposite sides? Is there any way things could work out? This isn’t a light book, so read at your own discretion, but I enjoyed the dive into a character’s perspective that I previously took for granted, and the exploration of right vs wrong. A solid read!
Tricky Content: Brutal violence, bombings, war, scene hinting at cannibalism, death (beatings, poisoning, snake bites, hanging, weapons), character succumbs to rabies, brief kisses and references, mild language
I’d Recommend It To: Young adults and older that have read and enjoyed the previous Hunger Games books, can handle the violence and darkness of those books, and enjoy prequel stories with twisting and complicated character relationships, mystery, and plenty of political intrigue.
The tie-ins to the rest of the series were fun, but overall, it was the characters that made the story for me. Each of them had so much depth and I never knew who to trust or to feel sympathy for. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, or what a plot twist would be, I was surprised by how much more was actually happening behind the scenes. I couldn’t put this one down.
And I chose it for this love theme because of the heartbreaking romance between main characters. It’s certainly not your typical happily-ever-after, but it made me feel so many different emotions and was very thought-provoking. What would happen if lovers were on opposite sides? Is there any way things could work out? This isn’t a light book, so read at your own discretion, but I enjoyed the dive into a character’s perspective that I previously took for granted, and the exploration of right vs wrong. A solid read!
Tricky Content: Brutal violence, bombings, war, scene hinting at cannibalism, death (beatings, poisoning, snake bites, hanging, weapons), character succumbs to rabies, brief kisses and references, mild language
I’d Recommend It To: Young adults and older that have read and enjoyed the previous Hunger Games books, can handle the violence and darkness of those books, and enjoy prequel stories with twisting and complicated character relationships, mystery, and plenty of political intrigue.
danagraph's review against another edition
5.0
4.5
es que este libro me tuvo enganchada de principio a fin, viendo las facetas de Snow; el que pone una actuación para ocultar su pobreza, el que es egoísta y quiere salir primero, su cuestionamiento a las acciones de los demás y como se enamora a pesar de que va en contra de todos sus ideales. me pongo de pie para aplaudir a Suzanne y el hecho de escucharlo en inglés por un audiolibro me permitió ver como hay ciertas rimas en sus párrafos, sumando que el lector tenía una manera de sumergirme en las palabras de ella. este libro va a vivir en mi mente por un tiempo y “the hanging tree” va a acompañar esos pensamientos.
es que este libro me tuvo enganchada de principio a fin, viendo las facetas de Snow; el que pone una actuación para ocultar su pobreza, el que es egoísta y quiere salir primero, su cuestionamiento a las acciones de los demás y como se enamora a pesar de que va en contra de todos sus ideales. me pongo de pie para aplaudir a Suzanne y el hecho de escucharlo en inglés por un audiolibro me permitió ver como hay ciertas rimas en sus párrafos, sumando que el lector tenía una manera de sumergirme en las palabras de ella. este libro va a vivir en mi mente por un tiempo y “the hanging tree” va a acompañar esos pensamientos.
uselesspirateraven's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
marenent's review against another edition
4.75
sooo good, i love the unreliable narrator aspect and what the inner monologues reveal abt the character. i regret watching the movie before reading the book
sokleopa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
katiejean12's review against another edition
4.0
Very well-written! Definitely kept me interested. As for the ending, I had a feeling something like that may happen, I just didn’t expect it to happen as it did. Chapter 30 had so much inside that it felt a bit rushed (without giving spoiler alerts). Overall, I did really enjoy it!
redheadreader73's review against another edition
3.0
I couldn’t put down the first three books and so welcomed this book as a reminder of the horrors and pleasures of the originals. Not as good, but still
An enjoyable ready. X
An enjoyable ready. X
murdersquirrrel's review against another edition
4.0
Due to timing and what I’d heard about the book I decided to see the movie before reading it, and I think that made my experience of reading it better in a lot of ways. The book is extremely long and definitely drags at points and it was a lot easier to get invested in the story when I’d already seen jt play out in a very well done movie. Also the full pages of song lyrics would’ve been incredibly annoying but it wasn’t so bad when I could just have the album open and play the very good Rachel Zegler rendition of them. I really enjoyed this book and the information it gave regarding the world building of the Hunger Games, but I definitely would’ve been very bored if I had not seen the movie first.
suzieq_013's review against another edition
4.0
I like that the book introduced us to the thinking of Snow and thus it was actually confirmed, once again, that people cannot be just divided into good and bad.