Mockingjay - no spoilers

I have to admit that I did not complete my plan to re-read the first two Hunger Games books before I read Mockingjay. I am a busy reader and I don't re-read much, unless I am reading to children. Since it had been about a year since Catching Fire and two since Hunger Games, I was a little lost at the beginning of Mockingjay. I got through the confusion, though, and like Catching Fire, Mockingjay hits the ground running and shooting. It is important to me that I not spoil this sucker for anyone else (there are currently 293 people waiting for this book at my public library) so I'm going to be pretty vague here and maybe post something more specific a little later. One vague thing that I have to say is that the pace is very interesting. In her other books, Collins took us right up to the edge and left us there breathless. In this book, things slow down, almost like we're stuck in some weird brain molasses, in the last quarter of the book. I think this is the reason that I've heard young people say they didn't like this as much as the first two books. Maybe? I don't know. I think it's pretty rare that any book in a series is as good as the first one, especially in fantasy and SF. It's usually in the first book that I am blown away by the world-building of the author. After that, no matter how great the plot or how interesting the characters, I am just less awed. Still, I can see what the kids are talking about with this trilogy. I'll hold the rest of my response until at least the rest of my family has finished this one.