Strongly want to deduct a star because I have to type this review out again.

Not entirely what I want to rate this but I’m going to give it 3 stars for now.

Let me start this off with I hate Coriolanus Snow with a burning passion that was cemented in this book. He was so infuriating and boring, I can’t tell you how many times I rolled my eyes at him or predicted his psychotic behavior before it would happen. He only every cared about himself and his image and would use any situation to make himself look better.

The fact that he became the Plinth heir…atrocious.

I did like the Academy stuff and how they had the students working with the tributes as part of the games. Most of them ended up seeing something human in their tributes and feeling bad about them having to participate. It was almost like they thought of the games as abstract until they were involve and could see things happening up close. They also had the students come up with new ways to make people more invested in the games as part of their project which is where the betting and sponsorships came from. Towards the end more things were discussed that we know become part of the games. The lead up to the games and the games themself were the most actiony/interesting part of the book but it was a struggle before and afterwards.

For the most part none of the characters were really likeable or compelling. We’ve already discussed my hatred of Snow, Lucy Gray was alright but even her character came off really boring, the rest of the academy students were obnoxious in their own ways, I liked the Covey characters but they didn’t really have much time to make an impression. The only characters I could say I liked were Sejanus and Tigris. Sejanus came to the Capitol from District 2 so he’s never felt like he fit in and still has a loyalty to the districts. He doesn’t think that the Games are right and is pretty much the only one to make a clear stand against them and the people running it. He tries his hardest to assist them anyway he can prior to the games by bringing them food because they’re starving them.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he let Marcus escape during the bombing and maybe tried to give him some knowledge on how he might survive.

Even later on in the books once he gets away from the Capitol he still feels like it has a hold on him and he ends becoming a rebel sympathizer

which I think would have been a good path for him if Coriolanus hadn’t had a hand in his death

. Tigris cares very deeply for her family and does whatever she can to provide for them. She was always there for Coriolanus to talk to when he wanted to ponder something or help him figure out ways he could get into University to further his career and reclaim their name and fortune. I really want to know how their relationship unfolds over the years because they were so close in this book and we know in the future she ends up helping Katniss sneak through the Capitol which leads you to believe they had some kind of falling out. What could he have done to sever her loyalty to him kind of rhetorical because he’s a prick and I could probably name thousands of things that went wrong.

Anyways overall, was this book necessary? No. Did it provide some insight into things? Yes. But it was not worth the slow start and slow end you had to trudge your way through.