We'll be talking about this entire series in an upcoming episode of Snark Squad Pod. Stay tuned!

I cannot remember when I originally read this book, but I do know that I counted myself amongst those who didn't like it as an ending to the trilogy. I used it repeatedly as an example of a bad ending, and talked passionately about how the end undoes a lot of what Collins was setting up.

Enter rereading in 2020 in the middle of a global pandemic l o l. No, but honestly, rereading this series really gave me such a new appreciation for the story as a whole. I found that often times the complaints I or others have about the story fly in the face of the very thing Collins is trying to do or say. Here, I've seen so many complaints about how this is a story in which Katniss does nothing and has no agency and... yes? YES! She is truly a pawn in these war games and that is 100% the point. Whether or not that is an enjoyable reading experience for you is certainly to be determined, but the commentary about Katniss being used is purposeful and heartbreaking and meant to be as frustrating for the reader as it is for Katniss.

There were several elements here that I really appreciated the exploration of: propaganda and war politics, public relations and different reactions to oppression and the tipping point for people.

Okay, and my deeper understanding of my own past feelings about this book. I was upset by it, for sure, but for in instead of out of story reasons. I was upset in all the ways it wanted me to be, because of the lack of justice, because Katniss's story was always going to have more tragedy than I could bear, because there was no complete happy ending her, but there is a certain happiness in trauma survivors living every day, day by day, and finding the joy they can. I was so upset with what Katniss lost, I chalked it up to bad storytelling, when in fact it was so good it hurt.

I could talk about this series forever, mostly because I had low expectations about rereading, and it held up surprisingly well. And not only that, it felt more plausible and real in the current political climate. The language and the first person narration is simple, the plot framework is straightforward, and yet there is a lot of emotional depth here. I could talk and think about this series for a long, long time.