so the book was simply okay. it was just okay. in a past post that i made whilst i was reading the book, i mentioned that i felt like it relied heavily on nostalgia at times and now that i've read the book, i still feel that way. certain characters remain a complete mystery (i'm looking at you, plutarch) which isn't necessarily an issue, but it would have been fun and interesting to see his character 25 years before we meet him in the og trilogy. because ultimately, even though we know beetee, mags and wiress, we know the version of them that exists in the 75th hunger games. that being said, the lack of characterisation isn't really that big of a deal for me in this case? since they're not the main focus, then it's understandable and bearable. however, with the book being so nostalgia-heavy, i feel like that made some of the interactions unnatural because the book was in turn relying on the reader to remember or recall the rapport that some of these characters already have. like the first interaction between beetee and haymitch is OFF, and it feels so abnormal, and i still can't exactly articulate why. sometimes, it became a bit too much, and it felt like a sitcom where a really famous person makes a guest appearance so you spend a lot of time going, "oh person a is here!" or "wow, it's so cool that person b made an appearance!" i have quite a few gripes with the book that i either can't remember (shoutout to adhd) or can't articulate right now. all i can firmly say is that whilst i didn't hate the book, it is definitely my least favourite of the thg series, which is unfortunate, as haymitch is my favourite character in the entire series. i'm attributing my discontent with the book to aspects that i don't think would have occurred if not for the fact that this was such a highly requested and anticipated book. so many people had been asking for a haymitch prequel so there was a lot of pressure to live up to that but also maintain the general feel of the series. one thing i do appreciate is that it continues with the book version of events rather than the films'. i think it makes it easier to read for people who may not want to watch the films before reading the books and it flows better, in my opinion. i love hayffie but i also recognise that it is not in the books so i was fairly happy that the epilogue maintained that haymitch remains single. but yeah, those are my thoughts, would love to hear how other people felt!!
