It took a bit to get into this having just read The Hunger Games trilogy – the writing style is quite different and in third person as opposed to being from the lead character’s perspective (and it seems to jump around a little bit between Coriolanus’ inner monolgue and third person which gets a bit clunky).
This instalment feels more mature – a lot more happens in each chapter and it’s a much slower story.
It’s interesting to read a prequel as you know where the lead character ends up, so you often second guess what he will do to get there – but it didn’t make the story predictable at all. Quite the opposite in fact.
Collins takes the enemy from The Hunger Games books and makes him the hero of this one – a likeable underdog and who you are cheering for. She doesn’t stop there though – the character development is really well done as you start to see the path Coriolanus takes to the man we know he becomes.
I highly recommend reading this if you’re a fan of the Hunger Games books!
Medium: eBook
When: July 2020
Ellen Wiggins 