I recently saw someone describe SOTR as a clash of tropes and BookTok-esque writing and I have never agreed more with a sentiment in my life.
Claim it wasn’t “fan service” all you want, but Collins dropped the ball with this book by writing it with the fans in mind rather than as a vital contribution to the series.
There’s a heavy-handed focus on a romance that we don’t even see happen—we are quite literally TOLD to like it and believe it, despite the plot-suspending intervals dedicated solely to this character who has no true weight in the events at play.
Moreover, the cringey ass one-liners? I hate using that term to describe literature, but seriously Suzanne—it seemed at times as though you had plucked the dialogue from some corny 80s film.
The literary references were extremely redundant and on-the-nose. With Ballad, we were provided the hint of the Wordsworth poem with Lucy Gray’s name. Here, it’s entirely impossible not to feel suffocated by Poe and consequently, Lenore Dove.
I went into this book with high expectations and left thinking much less of an author who I previously praised. I see so much flack for anyone who speaks their truth about these books, which I chalk up to the younger (and sometimes older, unfortunately) audiences regarding Suzanne as this savior authority, likening her to a god who does no wrong and deserves only worship.
On that note, the lack of descriptors for the characters in this book. Only Maysilee is established as a blonde with blue eyes…while the others? I don’t recall seeing a single physical trait besides muscular or skinny, frail, etc. Which then calls into question the choice to allude to cultures from Appalachia (and the other districts) but refuse to establish race. This felt rather cowardly, and I can’t help but think this was done to make casting “easier,” opening the door for them to choose white actors like with the original films.
The message was so abundantly clear, clean-cut and contrived that it rehashed themes from the other books which have already been gathered, mulled over. The other books did commentary with nuance and subtlety, making for a good read. SOTR does the opposite.
I won’t continue (though I could) because I know this won’t reach a large crowd. However, it’s important that we point these things out and CRITICIZE where critique is warranted, as no piece of literature is exempt from criticism. And, as far as The Hunger Games goes, this narrative is a disservice to not only the series itself, but fans with a knowledge and passion for the previous books.
