I'm not sure what to say about this. Book one is the GOAT. This one is also good, full of heightened stakes and iconic moments and throughout it all the rising, single note of tension in the background.

The first half of the book is somewhat slow. All Katniss wants to do is live her life and heal from the Games as best she can. Somehow, no matter what she does, she cannot seem to NOT start a revolution. She's trying to twist her way out of the trap, but every move only tightens it around her.

The announcement of the Quarter Quell speeds things up. The prior victors are introduced, but in this book I don't really get to know them very well. Peeta continues to be a brilliant, selfless legend. (If it weren't for the baby!!!!!!!!) I continue to really like Haymitch. The action in the arena is typically interesting, but there's less of a climax than a sudden amputation of the narrative. It ends, and Katniss wakes up in an entirely different battle than the one she thought she was in.

The standout throughout this reread has been Katniss. I appreciate her so much as a character - her cynicism, her narrow ideals, her being great at ONE THING and pretty bad at everything else, her unlikableness, her unconscious search for something better despite mostly believing "something better" doesn't exist. I have massive respect for her construction as a character, and especially as a POV character.