This was one of the most disturbing series i have read in a while, not because of the blood, deaths, and gore, but because the characters were very real to me. In so many books that have a similar theme (i.e., war, oppression, rebellion), the main characters seem to be relatively unaffected by the violence around them. But the Katniss pays dearly for her involvement with the rebellion. Even at the end, when she should have a happy life with Peeta, it is marred by memories of the horrors she witnessed in the hunger games and the war.

Most of all, this book, and indeed this series, is about how powerful a tool the media is, and how easily people are manipulated by propaganda.

This book really hit home how destructive war is; even the side that supposedly fights to liberate those who are oppressed can be just as ruthless and cruel as the oppressors. In the end, everyone is scarred in some way. Soldiers and citizens alike are all just pawns in the game of war.