Celine

The Hunger Games is possibly one of my favorite franchises/series to exist. I remember when I was in the seventh grade (nearly a decade ago!) beginning the trilogy. I remember watching Catching Fire in the movies with my best friend and watching Mocking Jay part 1 with my dad. Good times :)

This prequel has me slightly over the fence. The beginning felt slow, the romance towards the end felt unnecessary and stretched out. The middle, once the Games start, is what I found to be the most influential part. Actual commentary as the Hunger Games should be. I shed tears over most of the tributes and also for best boy Sejanus when he was hanged. Cory on the other hand can choke. But I already felt that way when I finished Mockingjay when I was in 8th grade and this prequel supports those feelings.

Lucy Gray was meh and so was the Dean. Dr. Gaul was kinda cool in a mad scientist way and side character Festus is also best boy along with Sejanus. Cory having his own little Hunger Games moment towards the end with his love was exhilarating and provided a parallel to Katniss and Peeta. I also enjoyed the little “Easter eggs” that hint towards the trilogy, they made me happy.


For my last remark I have to say that the book was too long and certain scenes and moments could've been left out or shortened and reading the last 100 pages was difficult as I felt the romance drag out the book, but nevertheless I enjoyed the book.


Also: would've preferred a book on the first rebellion, life before Panem, how Panem came to be, or even a book on Haymitch's Quarter Quell! Way more interesting than Snow >:(

2.5 stars

So I picked up this book back when I was 16 or 17 years old. My reading comprehension must've been absolutely abysmal, because the plot of the book was completely different from what my former self read.

You see, in the description on the back, it is mentioned that Rachel recently lost her life. I took that literally. I came to the conclusion that this book was about a young girl (because why would “The Girl on the Train” be about a middle aged divorced alcoholic woman?) who is a ghost and rides the train on a daily basis. This ghost listens in to the daily lives of commuters and one day she witnessed something horrible. For some reason, Rachel (even though she is a ghost) can be seen by other people and that's why she's able to communicate to the police, but she isn't able to tell them who she is (because she's dead, duh!) and that makes her a “unreliable witness”.


Now, four to three years later and I have finally left teenagerhood behind and my reading comprehension is probably average, I've read the book. Unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations, but nevertheless provided entertainment during the quarantine.

Did I enjoy the book? Yes!
Would I read it again and enjoy it? No!
Would I recommend the book to a friend? No!

Why? Because while the plot was interesting and entertaining enough to keep me flipping the pages, the rambling of an divorced alcoholic woman who isn't in rehab for some reason (does the NHS cover rehab?) is 1) hitting too close to home and 2) not that interesting and gets frustrating really fast. I also didn't find it amusing that two of the three “main” woman seem to have no issue on hopping on men they shouldn't be hopping onto.


I will most definitely forget this book, but that's mostly due to the fact that books that don't change my life don't get to enter the long-term memory section of my fried brain and barely stay on the short-term section. Overall, it's a fun read if you don't have anything else on hand.

I cannot remember how often I've started reading this book, but putting it back down after a chapter or two. I found it boring when I was elementary school, middle school and high school. Now as a college student, I'm not even going to bother reading this book and will do anything to get rid of it after 9 years of having it.

I don't know what it is about this book that makes it so boring and lackluster. Maybe the start is very slow and I for the life of me cannot get past it and into the potentially more interesting part. Maybe the writing is just bland and the main character comes across as Bella Swan 2.0.

The fact that this book uses Indian culture/religion/mythology is great since most books use Greek/Roman/Norse. This could've been a great way for my younger self to get interested in other mythology, but there was this invisible force that prevented me from even getting halfway into the book.

2.5 Stars

A 2.5 star rating might seem like I didn't like this book, but no! The story of Mateo and Rufus has a lot of potential. People have described their heartbreak over this book and for the two lovers, but I can't sympathize with that. The entire premise and ending of the story is tragic and I did tear up at numerous moments (ex. the homeless man, Rufus being a sole survivor, Mateo suddenly and brutally dying), but I often found that the circumstances of the characters got me sad, but the characters themselves didn't have the ability to win me over.

For the most part, Mateo's perspective was enjoyable. I would've liked to hear more about his struggle with his sexuality, which was made obvious through the story as he seemed to not understand himself. I would've also liked for Rufus and Mateo's romantic feelings for one another to have a better build up. Their romance felt somewhat out of left field, especially their “I love you”s seemed sudden and us readers weren't given a deeper insight to that. I would imagine knowing you have 24 hours to live means emotions are on constant 100 and falling in love is made easy, but we don't really receive much thoughts from neither in this moment, and I felt unsatisfied.

I couldn't enjoy Rufus' perspective that much, mostly because he talked/though weird. Not because of me not liking “hood” talk, but because Rufus used words in ways that is odd for people in the suburbs or the hood. It made me cringe and gave me second-hand embarrassment. It felt like listening to your teacher trying to fit in with the cool kids, even though they are closer to retirement than they are to their 1st day as a teacher. He often reads like the wattpad character of a middle schooler :/
I also found myself more interested in the side characters, like Delilah or Vin (even though he sounds like a grade A incel).

Overall, the book was enjoyable and got me out of a reading funk that Dune put me in and I would lend someone my copy if asked, but wouldn't praise the world out of it at a bookstore.

All I can say about the book is...meh. It's good enough to get some enjoyment out of it, but not bad enough to get frustrated. The plot is interesting, but the length of the book doesn't lend itself well to it. That's all really...