This book had too much cussing for comfort. Yeah, most books either have it or don't, I mean, it ya, right? But most have less, I guess? This book just made me uncomfortable. 
 The action increases until you reach the end of the book. And then bam... the end. Not that it was sudden, it wasn't, but everything just falls flat at the end, especially the last scene. (And the preview to the next book just left me confused, but that could be sorted out later) 
 It's like a fire: destroy (in the book's case, conquer) until there's nothing left anymore. But even though the beginning seems kind of static compared to the rest of the book, it's plenty compared to some other books out there. 
 This could be divided into two parts: the first where he's under Mars, mining and living with his family and thinking they're pioneers to the planet (kind of boring), and the second where you basically have Hunger Games arena which they call "school" and you feel this Lord of the Flies savageness that the Hunger Games never had. The second part, the longest part (it felt like it was the longest idk) was the best part of the book. Like this book was basically what Hunger Games never was; HG was softened by romance - it made it seem less nightmarish - while the minimal romance in this book makes it he gruesome parts stand out more.