I didn't understand Katniss's---or really anyone's---motivations in this one. The characters seem less well developed (where the heck did the Haymitch of the first two books go?) and the action just sort of muddled. And the present tense really started to annoy me this time around. Instead of using present tense to reflect and enhance the urgency that already existed in the story (as she did very well in the first book and not quite as well in the second), Collins seemed to rely almost exclusively on the present tense rather than on the story itself to create the urgency in the third book. I don't think one can depend on present tense alone to do that. 
 I did enjoy the idea that we each only see things from a limited perspective and because of this, how can we tell what's real and what's not real? How can we know the whole story? But a lot of the lessons were really heavy-handed. I mean, I know it's meant for a YA audience, but does that mean you have to spoon-feed the reader every bit of symbolism? A little more finesse would have made this book more enjoyable for me. (And a completely different ending would have helped, too, as would an explanation of where Panem got the immense amount of energy it would have needed to power not only the excesses in the Capitol but electrified fences around the Districts and a new elaborate arena every year. And what's going on in the rest of the world? Surely there'd be some contact. And if not, where the heck did they get coffee and cocoa?) 
 My favorite part about this book was the surreal feeling I got when I took a break from reading to find Lego minifig body parts all over the toy room floor. Most likely my five-year-old did this in the normal course of play, but I did pause to wonder if he'd dismembered his minifigs just to creep me out.