Katnis is a compelling character living in a time of deprevation and oppression. It is her actions in the face of this world that set her apart, that inspire others to action. But it is her humility, her lack of belief or understanding in her own self worth that make her so lovable. For the most part Katnis keeps her feelings and emotions guarded or hidden. These things make it hard for her to accept at face value that anyone could love her, or want to help her.
I loved the first book, it is hard to comprehend a world in which these oppressive living conditions and the games were an accepted part of life, to see how Katnis reacted to this world and the games, and to see her love of life and her compassion for others in face of the oppression and injustice of the games.
I need to confess to a book prejudice...the ending is a major factor in my judgment about a book, and this one failed on several accounts. First the book builds this tension throughout about which boy Katnis loves or will love, but it turns out she just settles for one? And, for the most part Katnis is a girl of action in book one, and for the most part she's portrayed as a pawn especially in book three. You feel like jumping for joy when she yanks out her ear bud and runs to the roof top in the bombing raid, acting on her own, disobeying orders, but the rest of the book...
Since, for review purposes, I'm treating these three books as one I feel I need to asterisk my choice of stars, book #1 would be a 5 star, book #2 would be a 4 star and book #3 would be a 2 star in my mind.