Celine

I'm writing this review around four years after my entire German class DNF the book, so this review will be more of a mini rant than a serious review.

The 16 year old sophomore that was me, did not enjoy this book. I find and have always found philosophy interesting, but in my opinion, the way this book tries to teach philosophy is boring. I find that it tried to force a plot between the lessons/lectures to appeal to a younger audience, but my entire class (10-12 grades) struggled to read this book (the only reason why we were even reading this book is because it was an AP class and my teacher wanted us to read a “serious/mature” book in German).

On the day we decided that this book was either a) too boring for us or b) too advanced for some of the students to understand in German, everybody concluded that the dog was the only thing worthwhile about this book.

I'm not sure if I would find this book more interesting now that I've “matured” or if I'd enjoy it more if I read it in English instead of German, since unfortunately as a native speaker, reading German is annoyingly difficult for me.

The Hunger Games is possibly one of my favorite franchises/series to exist. I remember when I was in the seventh grade (nearly a decade ago!) beginning the trilogy. I remember watching Catching Fire in the movies with my best friend and watching Mocking Jay part 1 with my dad. Good times :)

This prequel has me slightly over the fence. The beginning felt slow, the romance towards the end felt unnecessary and stretched out. The middle, once the Games start, is what I found to be the most influential part. Actual commentary as the Hunger Games should be. I shed tears over most of the tributes and also for best boy Sejanus when he was hanged. Cory on the other hand can choke. But I already felt that way when I finished Mockingjay when I was in 8th grade and this prequel supports those feelings.

Lucy Gray was meh and so was the Dean. Dr. Gaul was kinda cool in a mad scientist way and side character Festus is also best boy along with Sejanus. Cory having his own little Hunger Games moment towards the end with his love was exhilarating and provided a parallel to Katniss and Peeta. I also enjoyed the little “Easter eggs” that hint towards the trilogy, they made me happy.


For my last remark I have to say that the book was too long and certain scenes and moments could've been left out or shortened and reading the last 100 pages was difficult as I felt the romance drag out the book, but nevertheless I enjoyed the book.


Also: would've preferred a book on the first rebellion, life before Panem, how Panem came to be, or even a book on Haymitch's Quarter Quell! Way more interesting than Snow >:(

2.5 stars

So I picked up this book back when I was 16 or 17 years old. My reading comprehension must've been absolutely abysmal, because the plot of the book was completely different from what my former self read.

You see, in the description on the back, it is mentioned that Rachel recently lost her life. I took that literally. I came to the conclusion that this book was about a young girl (because why would “The Girl on the Train” be about a middle aged divorced alcoholic woman?) who is a ghost and rides the train on a daily basis. This ghost listens in to the daily lives of commuters and one day she witnessed something horrible. For some reason, Rachel (even though she is a ghost) can be seen by other people and that's why she's able to communicate to the police, but she isn't able to tell them who she is (because she's dead, duh!) and that makes her a “unreliable witness”.


Now, four to three years later and I have finally left teenagerhood behind and my reading comprehension is probably average, I've read the book. Unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations, but nevertheless provided entertainment during the quarantine.

Did I enjoy the book? Yes!
Would I read it again and enjoy it? No!
Would I recommend the book to a friend? No!

Why? Because while the plot was interesting and entertaining enough to keep me flipping the pages, the rambling of an divorced alcoholic woman who isn't in rehab for some reason (does the NHS cover rehab?) is 1) hitting too close to home and 2) not that interesting and gets frustrating really fast. I also didn't find it amusing that two of the three “main” woman seem to have no issue on hopping on men they shouldn't be hopping onto.


I will most definitely forget this book, but that's mostly due to the fact that books that don't change my life don't get to enter the long-term memory section of my fried brain and barely stay on the short-term section. Overall, it's a fun read if you don't have anything else on hand.