Re-read - March 2013 
 I still think this is my favorite of the three. There is so much going on, and in the last half of the book is when you really, really get the sense that there is something more going on. It's when the story begins turning darker and more disturbingly realistic, emotionally. The first book was a brilliant concept, paced perfectly with a very fitting and exciting end. This second book is like a bunch of tremors in the earth before a volcano blows. The characters grow, and you're introduced to new characters that add so much to the story. Then the last third of the book is when everything starts to really rumble, before exploding at last and introducing you to the traumatic and chaotic preview of Mockingjay. I am now dying to start a re-read of that one as well, but have promised to actually continue reading DaVinci Code.... This Hunger Games series just really blows my mind and keeps it spinning for weeks. 
 The Hunger Games was amazing, but this book was just as incredible. It matches the intensity of the first and you have the added bonus of learning so much about the other characters in the story too. It was in this book that Peeta and Katniss became almost real for me, and the ending left me so frazzled that I had to begin the third book that night!