I was surprised with my second read-through how much I enjoyed these books. But this one has scenes of straight-up Nazi-style genocide, and I'm not sure if my 10 year old is ready for it yet. There's an argument to be made to hold off on the whole series another year or two, just because the subject matter here is so heavy. Collins does it well. I look forward to have some intense discussions about it. 
 Ultimately, this is a LOT for a couple twelve year olds. Luxa and Gregor are so winsome in the first book particularly because they are eleven. In this one, I just wish more time had passed. I would prefer to have all this come down on the heads of fifteen year olds, because that is still Crazy Young, but just a bit more believable. Instead, these kids are behaving with more maturity than the protagonists of most YA fantasy.