User Profile

This was very deeply researched and very academic. Summers did a deep dive into decades and decades of archives. I especially appreciated when individual case studies were used to illustrate a point in the hospital's history.

The book didn't really feel like it put parts together. This had much more value as a presentation of research than a piece of writing. I had trouble latching onto a coherent thesis or throughline.

This sort of reminded me of the Netflix series Adolescence in that I found it more interesting as conceptual exercise than a story.

The book is in (usually) very short chapters and jumps back and forth between the viewpoint characters. In that way it's kind of an ADHD simulator. Early in the book I found it hard to tell Bastian and Lore apart from each other. That's sort of a commentary on how we tend to classify and box people in by ethnicity and gender expression, but it also forced me to take notes to remember which character was which. Later in the book we learned how Lore had to keep notes for everything, so the book succeeded at putting me into the shoes of the character.

This was a small story that focused on the inner lives of the two viewpoint characters and everyone else was pretty one dimensional. There's nothing wrong with a small story sometimes, but I felt that the world under the lake was underutilized. It was very richly described, but it taught the characters a simple lesson and then didn't figure much into the last third of the book.

All in all, very interesting conceptually and gave me a better emotional understanding of ADHD and Dyslexia, but not a lot of fun to read and I wasn't eager to get to each new chapter.

This was a very solid entry that built on the world and fleshed out Haymitch's character. I was invested in the narrative and found Haymitch believable and compelling. Maysilee was a "mean girl" archetype written sympathetically, which was uncommon and enjoyable. Downside here was a bit too much prequel syndrome: trying a little too hard to fit in things from the original books.

I've long thought the the world building parts and the anticipation in the leadup to the games were more interesting than the games themselves, and Collins apparently agrees. The games don't start until halfway through and only take up about 30% of the book. Even then, Haymitch spends the majority of them staying out of the action.

The drumbeat of Haymitch taking on an ally and then watching them die starts to seem repetitive and that he barely gets a chance to know them, but that's kind of the point. It reminded me of the movie The Iron Claw in that way.

This book was more mature but less subtle than the previous entries, which is an odd fit. The writing was aged up a little with the audience, but the themes were somehow even less subtle than the original books. The thesis is stated in the epigraph, then pounded in throughout the book.

The book includes a brief epilogue set after the main series and a sample chapter of the first Hunger Games book, which I don't like because it would be pretty funny if you read this with no knowledge of the other books. Ultimate downer ending.

The casting for the movie is amazing, and I'll be there opening weekend.

Excited, I'm a big Hunger Games fan, and the movie already has a great cast.

This took me awhile to read as I took breaks for a couple of other books. I feel it could have worked better as two shorter books. There was a clear break in the middle, and the author could have worked in a separate climax.

This had a better handle on the characters than the first one, but didn't feel as propulsive. I wasn't as eager to get to the next chapter. Characters continue to be introduced and killed so quickly that the reader is hesitant to get attached. I liked the development of Adarna.

This was very cozy and comforting, but also bittersweet. This is the most on-point narration from a child's point of view that I can remember since Room (the child is older and more aware, here though).

Each character had emotional depth, and it was a joy to see the narrator become more confident.

Listened to as an audiobook in one sitting. Author's voice sounded like how I imagined the character. Definitely a re-listen in the future.