Megan

I originally rated this 3 stars when I created my Goodreads account. I had finished Mockingjay many years before that, so I rated the whole series the same. I knew I liked the final book less than the others, but oh boy did I forget how much less. I know I almost DNF'd it the first time around, and I almost DNF'd the audiobook this time. I almost never DNF audiobooks, and usually it's only because the narrator is annoying me.

I can't really put my finger on precisely why, but this book irritates me. It was such a lackluster end to a pretty good series. I felt for Katniss during the first two books, but I got really sick of the self-imposed martyrdom in this one. The fade-to-black should not be used for the conclusion of an entire series worth of physical and emotional conflict.

I think my favorite thing about this author is how much credit he gives to those who have helped him. You don't often hear about all the undergrads who put in hours of grunt work to make research possible. I really appreciated that Dr. Seeley didn't just mention them as an after notes either. He highlighted their work ethic and importance to his successful research.

I'm definitely biased about this book because attending Dr. Seeley's seminar on “The Flight Guidance Mechanisms of Honey Bee Swarms” motivated me more than anything during my second semester of college. His enthusiasm for honeybee behavior is incredibly contagious.

I'm really glad I was encouraged to pick up this book so many years later. Dr. Seeley does a great job of explaining things in layman's terms and answers questions quickly after they enter the reader's mind.

Very cute! The Kiki's Deliver Service inspiration is pretty heavy-handed, but I can see where the author is going and diverging from that initial inspiration by the end. I can see how this will be even better in the next book, which I plan to pick up. I don't love the rhyming incantations because it feels extra childish and bizarre to read an adult saying cute little sayings, but other than that the magic system was actually quite interesting! The friendships are wonderful too. The biggest problem I had was that almost everything and everyone felt developed at, or just below, surface level. I think as the series goes on this could definitely improve though!

Jurassic Park is a fast paced, action packed, plot driven story full of fairly flat characters and annoying children. There is way more death than I expected, but honestly I was there for all of it. The short chapters are typical of what I consider “fast fiction” and help you fly through the book.

Overall this hit me right in the 80s nostalgia and made me feel like I was playing all these old games right alongside my brother in our childhood game room. It's by no means a groundbreaking story or anything along those lines. Honestly though, I had a lot of fun reading it and would recommend it to anyone who wants to read something easy.