Genuinely better than the first!

One of my chief criticisms of the first installment was the complete lack of pacing and sense of time. I don't know if Collins improved on that front or I just accepted it and moved on.

The characters are really engaging (though the whole Gale/Peeta thing feels a bit too much like a Edward/Jacob relationship). The effects of violence in the society are really felt by the characters and the turmoil of the characters comes across better than most attempts in young adult fiction.

This is the sort of series that if you've made it through the first book, you'll want to see how it ends. The second book doesn't disappoint in that respect.