So, I completed the second installment in the Hunger Games novels and I have to say that I wasn’t disappointed in it! I found that the problems that I had with the first novel (catching myself analyzing the writing style) weren’t as evident in this novel.
So… to begin my drabblings, I’ll once more do a little move/book comparison. I’ve honestly never seen a novel series that did so well translated into movies. I don’t know what it is, but they really have managed to make sure that they capture the essence of the book in the movie. However, something that I really enjoy that is a complete contrast is the fact that it is all from the POV of Katniss. There is no panning away to see what other people are doing, saying, feeling. It’s just her, her POV, her thoughts, her feelings. We are never jarred out of the world of her emotions, and I love that. It makes me feel so much closer to the character than I would have otherwise, and that’s something that I really enjoy about a novel.
Going on from that, I really liked the character development. Perhaps it’s just me, but I always feel like I get to know characters better via books than I ever could through movies. I once more found Peeta such a hearbreakingly wonderful character that I couldn’t help but to love him. He is so earnest in his emotions for Katniss that it is palpable. More than that, the description of how Katniss feels when she kisses him makes the bond forged between them so much more believable. It shows the great development of emotions that spans across the two books, and it’s something that I support!
Even the other side characters such as Finnick and Johanna were more developed. I really started to get into the character of Finnick just by the descriptions of his actions, the things that he did throughout the book. And, of course, Johanna was as perfectly standoffish as in the movie, but still an amazing character.
Overall, I was once more extremely fond of the vivid descriptions – each slice of the arena that was described gave me a huge sense of how cruel the game masters were, how much so many of the people simply don’t care about the lives of the people in the arena. Even the heartfelt emotions of the people during their interviews… I can’t say enough about the descriptions of this book, though I don’t want to say too much on the off chance that someone hasn’t read it.
Overall… love the book. I’d give it at least a 8/10 on the must read scale!
Author Amanda McCormick 