Out of sheer love and fear for Prim’s life, Katniss volunteers as the girl tribute in place of her Prim. In the first person point of view dominating the books we have no chance of actually getting to know the other characters, not even though the Mockingjay's eyes - the whole world is Katniss, Katniss, Katniss. In any case, the beauty is that these two sacrifices from each of the twelve remaining districts are not just killed outright, like on an altar atop a stone ziggurat Aztec-style.

Instead of the characters and plot being the focus, they are merely vessels for exploring the presented themes.Set during the early years of the Hunger Games, this novel focuses on a young Coriolanus Snow, the future tyrant president of Panem.

Note:If you are looking for a series filled with physical romance, this is not that book, though it does have its moments. Now, I did not reread before the Mockinjay movie releases, part 1 in 2014 and tonight's release of Mockingjay part 2 in 2015. I still encourage people to pick up The Hunger Games, but I barely give the next two in the trilogy more than a cursory mention. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her younger sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence.Had to take a brief rest so I wouldn't get saturated but I needed that instant gratification and read the next two books cover-to-cover in just a few days. which appears to be enough to propel people through the remaining two books otherwise there wouldn't be the continued poor reaction to the ending.