First read in November 2011. 4 stars.

May 2014: 2nd reading, still 4 stars.
I have since seen the first two movies. I hadn't realized how much the second film omits until I reread it. At least 2/3 of the book takes place outside the arena (in District 12, in the other districts on the victory tour, in the capitol, in the training center), with only a short section of the book taking place in the arena. Which makes sense, given that the time spent in the arena is so brief; only a few days, versus a couple weeks in a typical year, according to the book.

Whereas a much bigger section of the second film takes place in the arena. Which also makes sense, given that they assembled a pretty amazing supporting cast who needed something to do to justify their presence. It made for a very watchable film -- I remember thinking it was a better film than the first one.

The sappy teenage love triangle is escalated to pretty ridiculous heights in Book 2. But with all the pre-arena time to fill, Book 2 also emphasizes a slow burn political plot, which (for me at least) is more interesting reading than Death Arena v2.0. It makes for a nice contrast with Book 1, which is essentially All Arena All The Time. The books are distinguished in a way that the films aren't.