Mockingjay

Summary: Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss’s family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. Distrcit 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and It is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. Distrcit 13 has come out of the plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans—except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss’s willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels’ Mockingjay—no matter what the personal cost.

Review: Like most fans who read this book by the time I was done I had mixed feelings. There were certain moments in this book where I was struck by the utter talent of Suzanne Collins. Obviously, I knew she was an amazing writer to tackle this subject matter in the way she did, but there were moments that just had me honestly impressed because the scene was so haunting. Oddly enough, though, these moments were not the ones with the fighting or the death (of which there were plenty gruesome ones), but the moments in thirteen. For instance, the scene where Katniss sings the Hanging Tree in the forest outside of District 12. The other big moment that sticks out in my mind is Finnick and Katniss walking up to the hologram of the Capitol and together saying, “Let the Seventy-Sixth Hunger Games begin!” I can’t even describe what it was about these moments and several others, but it stuck with me because it felt true and real.

The reality of it all is another great aspect of the book. PTSD. It’s fairly obvious that both Katniss and Finnick are suffering from this when they begin, even after. Katniss has nightmares, breakdowns, and is deemed for a time mentally unstable. I love Collins for this. I know a lot of people hated that Katniss seemed to become weak, but Katniss was only a seventeen/eighteen year old girl. She is strong, but she is breakable. She was still strong and her determination never wavered, but she was human. That is Collins single best achievement through these series is the utter truth she captures of humanity. The good and bad sides of it all and the murky gray areas in between.

There is so much I could talk about in this book. I will get to what I didn’t like, though. The deaths and such did not have the affect on me the first two books did. I’m a fairly sensitive person who actively avoids upsetting books and movies and the some of the deaths in the Hunger Games series have really rattled me, but none did in Mockingjay. [SPOILER!] I was upset when Finnick died and down right appalled with the way Prim died, but aside from that not very emotional through the entire book. [END SPOILER]

The writing is amazing, but it lacks in some points and I didn’t really connect with the characters all that much. I liked certain ones, but I saw them all very objectively. I understood Gale’s lust for the death of anyone having to do with the Capitol, but did not sympathize with it. I understood Katniss’s feelings towards Peeta, but again didn’t necessarily support her decisions throughout the book. I truly felt like an outsider, I didn’t really connect with anyone. And that may be the book’s greatest fault. The writing it fantastic, but it only does so much if you are not emotionally connected to the story.

Before I wrap this up, just gotta touch on the ending that upset a lot of people. If you have not reaqd Mockingjay and do not wish to be spoiled, do not read after this point. Got it? STOP! All right…only people who have read now? Good. Peeta and Katniss were meant to be together. Gale was too extreme for her. Katniss always needed someone steady and strong, and Peeta had always been that someone to calm her down. Katniss had enough fire for the both of them. It was meant to be and they were as happily ever after as they could be. OKAY PEOPLE WHO STOPPED READING CAN READ AGAIN!

Basically, the writing was great, but I didn’t connect with the characters and the plot was only so-so. Still a must read simply because it’s the conclusion to one of greatest series that has gripped a lot of the nation. It certainly has made me even more excited for the film to come out in March.

Rating: 3.5/5

Reviews from the Pros:

"Collins does several things brilliantly, not the least of which is to provide heart-stopping chapter endings that turn events on their heads and then twist them once more. But more ambitious is the way she brings readers to questions and conclusions about war throughout the story. There’s nothing didactic here, and sometimes the rush of events even obscures what message there is. Yet readers will instinctively understand what Katniss knows in her soul, that war mixes all the slogans and justifications, the deceptions and plans, the causes and ideals into an unsavory stew whose taste brings madness. That there is still a human spirit that yearns for good is the book’s primrose of hope."
--Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

"This dystopic-fantasy series, which began in 2008, has had such tremendous crossover appeal that teens and parents may discover themselves vying for -- and talking about -- the family copy of "Mockingjay." And there's much to talk about because this powerful novel pierces cheery complacency like a Katniss-launched arrow. Look skeptically at computer and television images, it suggests, be aware of spin, gaze upon the young faces of the world's soldiers. Children forced to kill children? It's not just in the pages of a novel."
--The Washington Post

"The indelible conclusion to Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy proves once more that the greatest fantasy novels hold an incandescent mirror up to reality."
--Parade, Parade Picks

"The final installment, the grimmest yet, is a riveting meditation on the costs of war...Clear your schedule before you start: This is a powerful, emotionally exhausting final volume."
--People Magazine,4 OUT OF 4 STARS

"This concluding volume in Collins's Hunger Games trilogy accomplishes a rare feat, the last installment being the best yet, a beautifully orchestrated and intelligent novel that succeeds on every level... In short, there's something here for nearly every reader, all of it completely engrossing."
--Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

That’s only some of them! If you want to read more, here is the link to the page I got these from. http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/mockingjay_102797.htm Happy Reading Everyone! A review for Angel Burn will be coming soon.

-She Who Reads A Lot