With this third volume in the series, Collins brings her incredibly popular Hunger Games series to a conclusion. Katniss Everdeen is settling into a new life in District 13, the district that was supposedly destroyed years earlier by Capitol. Instead, the district has been using its time in preparation for rising up against the Capital.

Because of her experiences in the Hunger Games and the Quarter Quell Games, Katniss has become a symbol of rebellion for the residents of all of the districts and President Coin of District 13 is planning on using that to help in finally bringing down the Capitol and President Snow. The best way to do that is to make Katniss a literal poster child.

Ironically, that means bringing in a team to cloth and maker her up for a series of interviews and staged events as part of a propaganda plan. This is not really all that different from what the Capitol had made her and the other players in the Hunger Games due in the lead up to the annual events.

Since Katniss has really become a woman of action, this doesn't seem to be enough, and she demands that she be allowed to go to the front lines to help with the civil war being fought. Reluctantly President Coin and the rest of the leadership agree that Katniss and a team of operatives should be allowed to help. It would make good film and help the cause, too. This results in a secret mission. One that will change everything for Katniss and everyone else who lives in Panem.

This novel brings about a major shift in the series. Gone are the out-of-control games of survival that pit children and adolescents against each other in a fight to the death to bring honor to themselves and their district. Instead, our favorite characters are brought to the depths of despair as they are confronted with a harsh civil war, harsh interrogation and brainwashing techniques, and first-hand experiences on the battlefield and attacks on civilians. Some of our favorite characters do not make it through the novel alive and none of them make it through without being changed forever.

It is nice to see the return of characters like Katniss' mother and sister, who have settled into District 13 with opportunities to improve their lives while helping in the hospitals. The romantic triangle between Katniss and her two potential beaus (Gale, with whom she shared a love of huntin, and Peeta, who was her lifeline as she survived both sets of the Hunger games) continues as our heroine barely finds enough time to sort through her feelings between the horrors of war.

Katniss also finds herself quickly being disillusioned as the hoped-for utopia that everyone wants to happen with the fall of Capitol seems to be a false one. President Coin and the leadership of District 13 seem willing to use a lot of the same harsh tools that Capitol has used to keep the districts in line in the hopes of winning everyone their freedom. It really leads Katniss to wonder about the ends justifying the means.

All of this brings about a new layer of depth for the series and the reader, who is left wondering about what does make a good government and if politicians really can rule without falling to the darker aspects of politics. There is also no shortage of action and adventure to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

My only problem with the book is the conclusion, which sort of results with the series ending with a bit of an unrewarding whimper rather than a strong, roaring conclusion. Our hero is totally deconstructed and everything just sorta mends itself.