Oh my gosh. I finished this book yesterday and after giving myself a day to mull it over, I am ready to spew all of my thoughts on what just went down. Pre-warning, this review is going to be all over the place because my mind is currently all over the place haha, also there will be LOTS OF SPOILERS BELOW, so do not read further than this if you haven't finished the book yet.

Okay, first of all I want to say that book was insane. Haymitch's story is crazy sad and very heartbreaking, but also so so insightful to his character and where we see him in the original trilogy. This book largely highlights just how similar he and Katniss are to each other, which he even remarks on during the epilogue (more on that later). My only issue with this book was that it seemed to have a lot of fan-service. At first it felt very exciting to have characters like Clerk Carmine and Tam Amber mentioned, even the Everdeens, but as more and more characters from the other books made cameos, it started to feel like too many to be coincidental and I worried for a bit that the book might have been a cash grab. However, I do think that MOST of the cameos ended up making a lot of sense by the ending of the book and I can see why she did it, as they were all very plausible. My only other critique is that unlike The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (which I thoroughly loved), I do not see this book as having as large an impact on the series meaning apart from reiterating what we've already learned before. Nevertheless the book was still a fascinating insight into the growing rebellion and did add some very interesting information to the series, which I will now discuss (those will be my only criticisms on the book as I move forward with this review, as I did thoroughly enjoy it overall).

First, lets talk about Plutarch. I think his cameo in the book made the most sense, as we never really found out why Plutarch joined the rebellion in Catching Fire, and his character was also very complex. I liked the way that even back during the 50th Hunger Games that Plutarch was finding ways around the Capitol and trying to help the tributes to fight back, even if he himself did so quietly. Beetee also seemed very essential to the plot, as him helping Haymitch and working with rebels (including Plutarch I believe) shows us that the rebellion that takes place in the original trilogy did not just happen overnight. It also proves that Katniss wasn't some magical dystopian girl who ended the rebellion, but that she was the right person at the right time, whereas Haymitch might have also been the right person, but at the wrong time. Knowing also that Beetee suffered so much, watching his own son die in the Hunger Games as he helped mentor was absolutely torturous, but Beetee still had hope for the future which we later see when he teams up with Katniss in Catching Fire and Mockingjay to take down the Capitol.

Now lets discuss the tributes. I was skeptical of everyone other than Louella at first, but i quickly came to love all of the District 12 tributes. Maysilee was my absolute favorite though because of her outright sass towards the Capitol which was countered by her kindness to the tributes (for the most part). It made me so sad to see her go at the end, especially since she seemed like a sister to Haymitch at that point. Wyatt was pretty strange, but even he was very sweet, being so protective of Lou Lou and making sure she was safe, I was also sad to see him go so soon, but kind of expected it. Louella was not in the book for long, but the fact that Haymitch called her sweetheart and said that she was the only one who could ever be his sweetheart just makes me want to cry, knowing that Haymitch calls Katniss that in the first book. From Katniss' perspective, it seems like a sarcastic nickname, but now we all know that really it was the greatest term of endearment that Haymitch could ever give to her. Lou Lou was also very sweet, and I felt so bad for her, knowing that she was trapped in a body that wasn't her own and being forcefully controlled by the Capitol and falling into madness. The way Haymitch reacted to her death was very much a parallel to Katniss' reaction to Rue's death, trying to make the Capitol see what they had done. The deaths that really hurt me though were Ampert's and Wellie's because they were such little children and had some of the most brutal deaths out of the whole series in my opinion. Ampert was so smart and so brave, his skeleton being the only remains left of him rocked me. The fact that Wellie was the last one Haymitch had left in the Arena to fight for and he still lost her also was very tragic. The way Silka held her head and threw it after decapitating her made me feel sick, but I also felt terrible, knowing that Silka was just a kid like the rest of them, crying under the tree at night.

The Games themselves were very interesting, they were so different from any other Arenas that we saw or heard of in the other books, partly because of how beautiful but deadly they were, and also partly because of the volcanic aspect and the maze. (That's all I have to say about the Games).

Lenore Dove wasn't present much in the book, but she was a very fascinating character. She very much reminded me of Lucy Gray, and it doesn't surprise me at all to know that they are related. I think that Maude Ivory must have been Lenore Dove's mother, and that the reason Lucy Gray has a grave at the place Burdock shows to Haymitch is because the Covey needed a way to close that chapter of their lives and honor her memory. I do not think that Lucy Gray is buried beneath that grave, I think that she truly did escape after the end of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. It was also very interesting to see how Snow interacted with Haymitch after seeing his token and knowing that it came from the Covey. Later when Haymitch is alone at the apartment after the games he is fed haunting clips of the past Games on the t.v. and witnesses Lucy Gray performing. He then easily puts together the pieces and realizes that Snow must have loved her at some point but now hates all Covey. I thought the clip was more fan service again, when I realized that Snow let Haymitch see that clip because he was using it to threaten Haymitch, letting him know that Lenore Dove was not safe.

When Haymitch sees Lenore Dove again after the Games and it is revealed that she has eaten the mysterious red gumdrops after Haymitch has lost literally everything else (his mom, his brother Sid, his house, all of his fellow tributes in the games, and his innocence) I felt terrible. Watching Haymitch go from a very normal teenage boy who loves and tries to protect others into someone who has nothing else to live for was very hard. It explained his descent into alcoholism so well, especially knowing that he made liquor, but would never drink it at the beginning. Him cutting himself off from all of his other friends like Burdock, Blair, and Asterid helped also to fully explain why he had never mentioned to Katniss that he knew and was friends with her father, since it must have been a sore spot for him. I think the epilogue beautifully wrapped up Haymitch's story and also shined some hope on it for the readers. I think the fact that he never truly got over Lenore Dove and that he loved her to the end, imagining her a ghost was so beautiful. Also, the way that Katniss brought back goose eggs so that Haymitch could have some geese of his own like Lenore Dove used to was such a Katniss thing, demonstrating her love through her actions instead of words. I also truly loved getting to see just how much Haymitch loves both Katniss and Peeta, and how he feels some sense of closure by the end, knowing that he kept his very last promise to Lenore Dove.

Overall, this book broke me and made me love Haymitch even more than I already did, and I cannot wait for the movie adaptation to come out. Here's to hoping that we will get to see Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lawrence, and Josh Hutcherson make one last appearance!

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