I don't think i could've anticipated the conclusion to this series at all. The third and final book is nothing like the other two; it's so much darker and sadder and more depressing. And that's saying a lot. I find that my enjoyment of a novel depends hugely on how much i like the characters. If i don't like the characters, i don't like the book. And it turns out that if i like them too much, that can also be a bad thing. 
 I feel like Suzanne Collins doesn't just make characters, she crafts real people. They're so human and so fragile, and they break and then they heal again but they're altered forever. The characters you fall in love with in the first book are all but gone by the third. And that's so very hard to enjoy in any way. 
 It's definitely not a bad story by any means. I didn't think it was a bad ending. It just wasn't at all what i'm used to. I don't know how they're going to turn this one into a movie; the other two are heart-pumping and visually exciting and dangerous but fun, and this one is just a deranged wandering between a hospital and a battlefield where everyone is methodically being picked off or marred beyond recognition. 
 I don't know how to sum this book up and do it any justice. I understand now why these books are written the way they are--rather simplistically, from a first-person point of view. Being in Katniss's head makes the story plenty real, and any more imagery or word play would've made it much too penetrating. It's not fair how easy they are to read, really. I can't believe that my twelve-year-old nephew has read these. It's like 1984, but even more devastating because it draws you in so close. It's like The Giver, but so much more real and definite; there's no ambiguity to this story. It just looks you right it the face and says "look at this. This is your world. Can you deny it?" 
 The story has a strong, clear message, but there's no moral, exactly. Human nature is an ugly, twisted thing any way you slice it, and all we can do is hold on to the little shreds of goodness in us and weather the ebb and flow of things. There may be no solution to the predicament. History repeats itself. It's hard to even hold on to the ones you love. And that is extremely depressing, and that's ultimately what these books boil down to.