As a devoted fan of the Hunger Games, I grabbed this as soon as I had a chance, and devoured it in a week! (I know some people read multiple books in a week, but for me this is pretty much the fastest I go).
This prequel tells us the story of Haymitch, who was one of the mentors from the original trilogy. The book is set 24 years earlier, at the 50th Hunger Games, and twice as many children as normal are sent into the arena to mark the occasion – from District 12, one of the boys is 16 year old Haymitch.
I did wonder how much tension the book would have when we know from the original books that Haymitch a) survives, and b) wins, but there is so much going on, and it becomes about so much more than that, that there’s plenty to keep you engaged and guessing.
It’s so weird after you’ve been introduced to a character, to picture them a different age, when their personality was really quite different. But what it’s really doing is giving so much depth and background to the guy we later meet in his 40s. I want to go back to the first books now and reread them with this context!
If you liked the other books, this is definitely worth a read!
ineke.co.uk 