So as you all probably saw on Facebook, I said that I "basically hated" the book while reading it. That is an exaggeration, but as you can see from my previous paragraph, it was harder for me to enjoy. In hindsight, I liked it. But I did not love it, not like The Hunger Games, and not like Catching Fire, which I did really like, but not nearly as much as The Hunger Games. A lot of this can be blamed on my extreme sensitivity, but in hindsight the violence doesn't bother me as much, and I can enjoy the book for the overall picture and story. I get that they're in war, and that the Capitol is evil and people are going to die. That makes the book realistic and I don't have a problem with that once I get through the initial pain.
But there are still several issues that are still lingering over me now almost 24 hours after I closed the book. This book is just not as well written as the previous two, in my opinion. I mean, the description and dialogue is about the same, but at the end there were too many loose ends that are not tied and the ending was completely rushed. And while after a climax you're supposed to end quickly, you're not supposed to do it that quickly, and while I think I know what the climax was supposed to be... it didn't actually feel like it. I'm sure the author was probably on a timetable and had to get this released at a certain time, and the book was just not 100% ready yet. I just wish her publishers/editors would have helped her out a little bit on that. I have some specific rants that include spoliers, which I want to get out mostly for myself, and feel free to check back when you're finished reading the books, and or to go ahead and look if you already have read them, and let me know what you think! Spoilers after the picture. But first, one last thing: Is it worth it to read the whole series? Yes, it is. It is worth it. So if you end up like me, just hang in there!
This may end up sounding incoherent, but I'll do my best...
My number one issue with this book is I feel like we never get the full story on all the political ramifications. I caught that Coin couldn't be trusted, I wasn't even all that shocked when Katniss killed her, but I didn't actually know why she couldn't be trusted (other than District 13 seemed just as controlling as the Capitol, juts a little nicer and less wasteful) and why Katniss killed her with the arrow saved for Snow. And why Katniss agreed to a new Hunger Games, even though she seemed to pretty much counteract that with killing Coin. Just to make her feel she had won? Of course I rushed through everything after the assassination because I was just waiting to see if anything good happened in the last five pages of the book, so maybe someone can explain something I missed because I'm not ready to look back quite yet.
And of course, tied in with that is Boggs' warning, to kill Peeta, not trust the others, etc. Katniss seems to weigh his words carefully, but at the end it seems that the others can be trusted, or at least they're all willing to die for the mission... they were probably fiercely devoted to Coin though, but I still don't know why this is a problem. And then there the thing about killing Peeta, which obviously she does not do, and I'm glad she doesn't do, but it seemed important to Boggs, as important as the warning of the others being untrustworthy. I just don't know what to make of all that since it's never explained. Or again, maybe I missed it?
So then when Katniss kills Coin, oh well, all if forgiven hooray, go to District 12 and try not to go too far off the deep end. Oh, and Gale's going to be a TV star and your mom is going to work at this hospital so see ya. Uh... what? I really did not like the very brief "and here's where this major character is" with no interaction whatsoever.
So after we get through all that, Katniss is dealing with severe psychological trauma. Understandable. So why, pray tell, do we have to go through all that with her but then her recovery process is only about two pages long? I mean, that takes time too. I feel like that deserved at least a chapter, and could have done so without dragging the book along too far. And Peeta has quite a process to go through himself, from his hijacked self to his old self. And while we see some of his progress throughout the book, I felt like there should have been at least one more moment (though preferably more) between them that would show the rekindling of a possible romance between them as he grows to love her again and she realizes she truly loves him. To have just a little bit more to build up to before we get to the very, very end, which was in fact perfect.
...he whsipers, "You love me. Real or not real."
I tell him, "Real."
Sigh. If only we could have had more build-up to make that moment even more perfect. I would have rather had all that than the random epilogue about their kids. (Maybe not completely random since Peeta told Katniss she would make a good mother and Katniss never wanted them, but still, the epilogue was pretty weak compared to what it could and should have been.) Anybody else have these issues? Anything that reconciles these issues that I'm missing? I just felt sort of unsatisfied and incomplete about everything. But I am very happy that Katniss and Peeta do end up together, because he's just perfectly sweet and wonderful.
1 comment:
i think i want to read these books.. maybe next summer. haha. i remember chem with him! I love chemistry!! It was all math based so it came easy for me. Thanks for the reminder. I had forgotten that.
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