Mockingjay

Alert: spoilers abound. The overall pattern of the Hunger Games series is a familiar one to the genre: an ordinary individual (albeit one with some unordinary talents) is thrown into extraordinary circumstances, faces and overcomes an immediate threat to personal survival that turns into a much broader conflict in which this person plays a central part. Some of my favorite books or series follow this motif: Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Dune, Ender's Game, Star Wars, the Hyperion series, His Dark Materials ... the list goes on and on. It is much easier to begin such a series than it is to end one. The beginning is easy, because the scope is smaller: a compelling mystery or situation, an enigmatic or charismatic hero or heroine, a seemingly insurmountable menace ... it all makes for good drama, pregnant with potential promise, with the details to be filled in later. A successful ending is much harder, and even amongst the works I listed earlier, some were able to achieve a successful ending better than others. This is because by the end of such works, the scope has enlarged, the world is bigger: for an author, it is easy for plot lines to spiral out of control (the post-Ender's Game trilogy and the finale of His Dark Materials come to mind) or for the ending to seem too implausibly 'pat', too "happily ever after" to do justice to the difficult journey trekked by the characters we grew close to. And yet, it is safer for an author to hew to the latter course, as there is something innately human about the desire to root for the "one man against the universe" who triumphs over all odds, beats the bad guy, and gets the girl (or boy) and the gold too, as improbable as it might be. That's why we love action movies, even though most deserve the caveat "as long as you don't think about it too much ..." This is why I loved Mockingjay, and found Suzanne Collins' ending to this series to be a remarkably brave choice. The "easy way out" was starkly apparent: Katniss could have saved Peeta (in a unique twist on the 'damsel in distress' motif--I must say, I found the choice of a female protagonist to be remarkably smart on Collins' part and refreshing for the genre), killed the bad guy, and they all could have lived happily ever after (with the man of her choosing). On some level, that might have still been a satisfying ending. But Collins' aim is to raise questions, strip assumptions bare, and leave the reader burned and bothered about the fundamental nature of reality, and of war most specifically. Actions have lasting repercussions, wounds and fear do not simply fade away during the chapter break. For me, the fact that Katniss attempts to run away from her demons makes her extraordinarily real. She has been beaten, stabbed, shot, blown up, poisoned, and tortured; she has killed and watched her closest friends and family be tortured and killed, while bearing responsibility at least in part for these actions; she has endured the genocide of her people. If this did not break her, how could she still be considered human? I would ask the critics who wished for a more stoic Katniss what they would have done in her shoes. Particularly given that the weight of Katniss' burden becomes increasingly weighty as Mockingjay continues and it becomes more and more clear that the liberators are fundamentally little different from the oppressors; a new regime under Coin would be no better--and perhaps worse in some ways--than one under Snow. One might be able to tolerate the pain and death if one believed it would lead to a brighter future, but this does not seem to be true had District 13 become the new masters of Panem. The "mission to kill Snow", which would have ended in the predictable 'triumphant victory of good over evil' in the hands of a less-skilled author quickly became a brilliantly perverse mockery of this trite motif, as it quickly becomes clear that Coin has sent Katniss to die along with some other people Coin viewed as a threat (all while keeping the cameras rolling for usable shots of 'the martyrdom of the Mockingjay'). The manner of Prim's death is also particularly heartbreaking, as is the realization that the revolution is really just the Hunger Games on a larger scale--whether orchestrated by Snow or by Coin, there is only one winner (and it is most decidedly not the superficial "winning tribute" of the Games). Both Snow and Coin's manipulation of reality, through propaganda and the use of the Hunger Games and the revolution as "reality TV" was also chilling, resulting in the need for the main characters to constantly question what was 'real' and what was 'not real': made up for the games, or the propaganda, or the war. As a reader, that moment when Katniss shifted her arrow, sending Coin to her death, was cathartic. She chose a 'third way' of sorts, a choice that meant true freedom and liberation for Panem (even if it potentially meant her own death). Even in this moment, Katniss has likely been manipulated (by Snow, and probably even more importantly by Paylor, whose decision to let Katniss speak to Snow set the final events in motion ... and resulted in Paylor assuming the presidency). Yet, at worst, this 'manipulation' served to fully reveal the truth, allowing Katniss to make a true, fully-informed choice. As if to validate the rightness of this choice, the book ends with the indication that a 'new normal' has been created, one more hopeful than could have been possible under either Snow or Coin. True to form, the wounds remain; yet, life goes on. Through her sacrifice and pain, Katniss has created a better world for the next generation; she has also chosen (wisely I believe) the partner with whom together they can make each other whole. The dynamic between Katniss and Peeta was one of the most important and interesting aspects of the entire series, so personally I found it gratifying to see them together at the end, starting a new family (although even this slight nod to convention was tempered by the need to explain their nightmares and roles in the days of Capitol rule to their children). A more subdued and melancholy ending than is typical for this genre, but one that is ultimately true to its characters and the situations they faced: "happy ever after" is for the 'propos' and Capitol newscasts, not reality. Not understanding this fact would make us little better than the viewers in the Capitol watching the Hunger Games for entertainment, seeing the individuals not as people but as 'characters' there to simply give us a good show. Collins expects and demands more of us. After a long and painful journey, a satisfying, if bittersweet, ending to an emotional, intelligent, and wonderful series that I look forward to going back and re-reading at some point in the future. The Hunger Games series more than met my expectations and has gone down as one of my all-time favorite series that I can highly recommend to others. 5 stars, easily.

This is the third, and final, book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. If you read the first two books, you will read this one. All I can say is to be prepared for one heck of a ride. A lot happens in this book and Collins doesn't hold off on killing off a lot of people. The book starts where Catching Fire left off. Katniss is in District 13 with Gale, her mom, and her sister Prim. The Rebel group based in District 13 is trying to get Katniss to take up the Mockingjay symbol and become the face of their revolution. Katniss is unsure if she wants to go this route or not. Peeta is still missing and presumed captured by President Snow and being held in the Capital. Katniss's journey eventually leads to the capital itself and a final face-off with President Snow. This is a hard book to review without spoilers but I will give it my best shot. The pace of this book is relentless. Collins does not pull punches when it comes to killing off large groups of people, as well as people we love and care about. This is a dark book, and that is putting it mildly. As far as characterization goes we begin to see even more of what defines Katniss as a character; she is not sentimental, she is a survivor foremost and that it what sets her apart from others. A lot of the decisions made by Katniss in this book are driven by that personality trait. In fact at one point Gale and Peeta are discussing Katniss and who she will "choose". Gale sums it up perfectly when he says something to the effect of "Katniss will choose whoever she can't survive without." On to other characters. The ruthlessness we saw in Gale at the end of the Catching Fire is built upon in this book. Gale is ruthless and practical to the point of dislike at times. He begins to look like a character that likes what Katniss stands for, rather than who she is. At the end of book two I was Team Gale all the way. I thought that Gale and Katniss had more in common in survival instincts and could pull off a good relationship based on those characteristics. As this book starts and continues, we see a side of Gale that is more ruthless and dispassionate than ever before. In order to avoid spoilers I won't say much about Peeta, except that he is back in the story for the second half of the book. Collins does an excellent job at showing both sides of the story. You get to see both the good the rebel forces do, and the harm they cause in rebelling against the Capital. As Katniss and team enter the capital, Collins relates the Capital takeover as yet another type of dome just like previous "Hunger Games" this is an interesting idea and ties the three novels together well. In each of them we see our teams of characters struggling to stay alive, doing things no one should have to do. In each book there are brutal deaths. There's quite the twist at the end of this book. People may be surprised at who Katniss kills. All I have to say about this is that I was satisfied with the choice Katniss made, and had actually been hoping that Collins would have it play out that way. Katniss's actions at the end seemed like the best way to follow Katniss's beliefs, while trying to ensure the best ending for humanity as a whole. The epilogue was interesting. It was kind of nice to get a definitive ending to everything that played out before. It wrapped things up nicely. Still, I didn't think the epilogue was necessary and I think the book would have actually been a bit better and more thought-provoking without it. As with the previous books the writing style of this book was incredibly readable and engaging; no matter people think of the plot, you have to admit Collins is one heck of a great writer. Overall I thought this was an excellent conclusion to the series. Readers may not like how some of things play-out; but I thought they played out realistically and I liked the decisions Katniss made at the end...I thought her decisions really stayed true to the core personality trait of her character, which was to survive. I am eagerly awaiting whatever Collins comes up with next.

Warning! This review is written differently then all my other reviews. It does contain spoilers throughout, but you will get a warning once spoilers will begin. The third and final book in the Hunger Games trilogy - Mockingjay has been one of the most anticipated books of fans of this much loved series. The first two books - The Hunger Games and Catching Fire - told a story rich in characters we all fell in love with and rooted for from beginning to end. With the release of Mockingjay readers were more then excited to find out the conclusion to this epic tale. Giving Mockingjay the 4 stars that I did was in fact a hard choice to make. Writing this review is tough. I thought giving myself a few days or longer might clear away the questions I had to make writing this easier, which needless to say didn't work out as planned. I usually don't write a review with spoilers, nor do I write reviews where I talk things out at such length, but it needed to be done and this time there's just no way around it. So, please know that from this point on I will be addressing key points that will give things away - so be warned there will be SOME spoilers laced throughout! ****Spoiler Alert**** First, I have to say that I read half of this book with my breath held and the other half with a kind of, the only way I can explain it was that I was lost. The characters felt so different from where we left them in Catching Fire that at times it was hard to recognize them from the previous two books. Katniss didn't seem like her normal fighting self. And I often wondered if that was because she questioned Coin and if she even wondered if things would be different with Coin as president. In the beginning of the book when they are trying to talk Katniss into being the Mockingjay there was a conversation with Coin that made me believe she felt she not only didn't have much of a choice in the matter but that she questioned just what Coin's true motives are behind everything. Is this why Katniss wasn't her normal fighting self? Was she just tired of running a race in a never ending up hill battle where she then believed no matter what she did the way of the world would never change? Or did she believe there was nothing she, just one teenage girl could really do to make positive changes in the world of Panem? Or was it the fact that she was pretty much injured throughout the whole book? The lack of Peeta was also hard and what little interaction these two had I enjoyed more so then I did with her and Gale. I found Gale to be more then lost within Mockingjay, and found how easily he went from the hunter, gather and provider to uncaring and cold soldier a bit too easily. I mean everything with the mountain and his answer to how to take it down was more then callous and shocking to say the least. However the flip side is, Panem is a rough place to live and was Gale finally pushed over the edge too? Still, either way you look at this, it just didn't feel like "Gale" to me. Sad but true. The ending was shocking. I felt it was rushed by many pages and left more holes in it then Swiss cheese. I mean, Gale is a HUGE character and to leave his story so open ended was wrong and extremely harsh. There was no closure with Gale - he's there one page and gone the next. I felt that Katniss's mother was selfish on so many levels. I understand all that her mother has gone through from before the beginning of book one, however Katniss has suffered through SO much for her whole family and all the people within Panem and her mother can't take a trip back to their home to make sure if her now only daughter is alright? That just didn't sit well with me and actually made me frustrated. I mean common! Look at all Katniss did and all she survived for the love of her family! And yes, I know Peeta and Haymitch had more of a hand in keeping Katniss alive then I'm giving credit here, however I'm really talking about how her relationship with her mother was within those last few pages of this book. These were the main aspects of the book that I didn't agree with or understand. However, I did give Mockingjay 4 stars and now that I worked through all the negativity and got that out of the way, I believe that in all reviews, the ending should focus on the good and that's just what I plan to do here. Peeta being tortured was a given, this wasn't a good thing, but... let me explain - anyone who reads Mockingjay will know its coming. However the degree to which this is done is not only epic but fit with the one character that I felt never changed - and that was Snow. Everything that was shocking to me in this whole series is what I found as part of the best of the best. Peeta being tortured and just how he was tortured was not only a key part in his story as mentioned above, it was so true to Snow that anything less then this just would have been far off course for this ruthless character. The struggles in Peeta because of just how he was tortured, and then within his relationship with Katniss - it opened up and showed a different side to the two. I might not have liked what I saw, but if you think back to their relationship throughout the whole trilogy this was just another uphill battle they are forced to climb to figure out what their relationship meant to each other. The story did give me many conclusions and endings to main and subplots. Where there might have been some holes, however there were answers and endings - both good and bad. The good surpassed the bad. The wedding between Finnick and Annie gave hope to everyone that was much needed throughout all of Panem. The little bits of strength that Katniss gains from Finnick were nuggets of gold within the pages of Mockingjay. Finnick, while suffering alone was able to rise above everything to be there for Katniss when she needed to be pulled up and out of the haze I often found her in. Collins writing was there shining through again in Mockingjay, and while I didn't agree with many parts of this conclusion, sometimes a clear happy ending just isn't in the cards and that alone is sometimes need and often is refreshing in books. In each of the three titles there had to be bad to get through to the good and it's the same with Mockingjay. I recently read something about how people are upset with the Epilogue and I can see where some would feel it was forced and some might find it a cop out. Yet I've read it a couple of times and I go back and forth on this one. Today I see how wonderful it is. For me, it shows that all Katniss struggled for wasn't lost. That in the end she won. Peeta won and that in the end they both found just want they needed in the world and each other. That nothing is perfect and everything isn't easy and sometimes you have to struggle to get to the good in life. All in all, Collins has written another book that many will be thinking and talking about for a long time to come. With the end of any much beloved trilogy or series there's always a chance people will be upset because of how things ended and without a doubt there might be people not pleased by various things in this book. There might be things I didn't agree with, nor understand; however, in the end, I do have to say that the good outweighed the bad. I'll be suggesting these books for a long time to come to other fellow readers and I'll look forward to rereading each of these books numerous times. I'm more then looking forward to seeing just what Collins writes next. Enjoy. 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This was a brilliant conclusion to the trilogy. I can only compare it to "Ender's Game" - and that is extremely high praise, indeed. When I first closed the book last night, I felt shattered, empty, and drained. And that was the point, I think. I'm glad I waited to review the book because I'm not sure what my review would have been. For the first two books, I think most of us readers have all been laboring under the assumption that Katniss Everdeen would eventually choose one of the two terrific men in her life: Gale, her childhood companion or Peeta, the one who accompanied her to the Hunger Games twice. She'd pick one of them and live happily ever after with him, surrounded by friends and family. Somehow, along the way, Katniss would get rid of the awful President Snow and stop the evil Hunger Games. How one teenage girl would do all that, we weren't too sure, but we all had faith and hope that she would. "Mockingjay" relentlessly strips aside those feelings of faith and hope - much as District 13 must have done to Katniss. Katniss realizes that she is just as much a pawn for District 13 as she ever was for the Colony and that evil can exist in places outside of the Colony. And that's when the reader realizes that this will be a very different journey. And that maybe the first two books were a setup for a very different ride. That, at its heart, this wasn't a story about Katniss making her romantic decisions set against a backdrop of war. This is a story of war. And what it means to be a volunteer and yet still be a pawn. We have an entirely volunteer military now that is spread entirely too thin for the tasks we ask of it. The burden we place upon it is great. And at the end of the day, when the personal war is over for each of them, each is left alone to pick up the pieces as best he/she can. For some, like Peeta, it means hanging onto the back of a chair until the voices in his head stop and he's safe to be around again. Each copes in the best way he can. We ask - no, demand - incredible things of our men and women in arms, and then relegate them to the sidelines afterwards because we don't want to be reminded of the things they did in battle. What do you do with people who are trained to kill when they come back home? And what if there's no real home to come back to - if, heaven forbid, the war is fought in your own home? We need our soldiers when we need them, but they make us uncomfortable when the fighting stops. All of that is bigger than a love story - than Peeta or Gale. And yet, Katniss' war does come to an end. And she does have to pick up the pieces of her life and figure out where to go at the end. So she does make a choice. But compared to the tragedy of everything that comes before it, it doesn't seem "enough". And I think that's the point. That once you've been to hell and lost so much, your life will never be the same. Katniss will never be the same. For a large part of this book, we see Katniss acting in a way that we can only see as being combat-stress or PTSD-related - running and hiding in closets. This isn't our Katniss, this isn't our warrior girl. But this is what makes it so much more realistic, I think. Some may see this as a failing in plot - that Katniss is suddenly acting out of character. But as someone who has been around very strong soldiers returning home from deployments, this story, more than the other two, made Katniss come alive for me in a much more believable way. I realize many out there will hate the epilogue and find it trite. At first, I did too. But in retrospect, it really was perfect. Katniss gave her life already - back when she volunteered for Prim in "The Hunger Games". It's just that she actually physically kept living. The HBO miniseries, "Band of Brothers", has a quote that sums this up perfectly. When Captain Spiers says, "The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function: without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. All war depends upon it." But how do you go from that, to living again in society? You really don't. So I'm not sure Katniss ever really did - live again. She just ... kept going. And there's not really much to celebrate in that. Seeing someone keep going, despite being asked - no, demanded - to do unconscionably horrifying things, and then being relegated to the fringes of society, and then to keep going - to pick up the pieces and keep on going, there is something fine and admirable and infinitely sad and pure and noble about that. But the fact is, it should never happen in the first place. And that was the point, I think.

I originally wrote this review in my Devo journal, so some of the thoughts might seem a little scrambled. But I cover most of the points that stood out to me the most. It's a bit lengthy, but most of it was premeditated, and I needed to stop talking to myself. Let me start out by saying I really liked this book. It was a thrilling and terrifying ending to this fantastic series. The other two books I would give 5 out of 5 stars because I thought they were better (Mockingjay I gave 4.5/5, I rounded up). But I still like Mockingjay a lot. Two things stand out to me the most about it. The first is the fact that the tone and mood of this book was entirely and undeniably depressing. Completely apart from Finnick and Prim's deaths (which do contribute to the sad feel), Katniss's attitude throughout is always occupied with worries about her next action and the situations with Peeta and Gale. She felt sorry for herself a lot, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I mean anyone in her place would feel that way. Also Katniss and Gale's relationship is strained, and they didn't share many happy moments together. The second thing that really made an impact on me is the lack of closure about characters at the end of the book. We got a couple sentences on the whereabouts of Gale, Katniss's mother, and Annie, but what's happened to Johanna ? Was Haymitch a big part of Katniss and Peeta's life ? Who, if anyone, did Gale marry and start a family with ? Did Annie raise her son successfully Finnick ? Did Katniss's prep team ever see anything beautiful again ? I mean, I just felt so uncomplete. And I'm not saying this is a flaw to the novel. Maybe Ms. Collins wanted to leave us with a sense of mystery to have us use our own imaginations, or maybe this is how Katniss felt (Doubt it, though) ? I just want to know if Katniss ever saw Gale again. Also if the reason Katniss and Gale didn't end up together was that it was HIS bomb that killed Prim. I was really surprised when Katniss and Peeta ended up together. We got a bit of closure about them, but not enough to settle my mind. I would have liked to know her children's names. In this book a lot of people die, but the one that really shocked the crap out of me was Prim's. Because SHE is the reason, not so much the cause, of why this revolution started. It was Katniss's love for her sister that made uprisings begin. I really felt Katniss's pain when Prim died, and I was surprised she could even continue living. It took two reads of the book to figure out it was Gale and Beetee's bomb that killed Prim. I think this is the reason that Katniss and Gale didn't end up together. Every time Katniss looked at Gale, she would think of Prim, and that is enough to mentally destroy anyone. Johanna is another person I would have liked to know what happened to because she grew to be one of my favorite characters in this book. She became friends with Katniss, when most of her friends were gone. Johanna had lost everyone she loved, but in the midst of all that she found Katniss, someone to love. When I first read the big scene of the crew running around the tunnels of the capital, I got freaked out. Mostly because of the mutts that chase them throughout the tunnels, and eventually end Finnick's life. Their descriptions were terrifying: white scaly creatures resembling humans, but in lizard form. The hissing they made while tracking down Katniss. Do not read this part in a dark room whilst home alone. If I was younger, I would have gotten nightmares. Overall I loved this book a great deal. After I finished it the first time, I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I had to read it again. Despite the lack of closure and the sad nature of this book, Ms. Collins has really proved to be an amazing storyteller with a titanic imagination, almost JK Rowling-like. The fact that any normal person can come up with this intricate world is beyond me. One the whole, well done, Ms. Collins, well done.

If you liked The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, this book may not be for you. This review will contain spoilers. Okay, let me back up. I loved Mockingjay. But I think I loved it for reasons that a lot of other people didn't like it. Namely that it broke conventions and moved out of the comfort zone that the previous two books sit nicely in. It's hard to call 'Children murdering each other in an arena for the enjoyment of the masses' a comfort zone. But considering how disturbing the premise of the story is, the writing style and content of the first two books were clearly written in a safe way that were meant to appeal more to younger teens. This is not to say I (being in my early 20's) did not enjoy the first two books, but while reading them I got the same feeling I get when watching an action movie with lots of killing but little blood. There was that loss of immersion because the content did not match up nicely with the mood. In a kids movie, for instance, if a child breaks their arm let's say, it isn't necessary to explain the wound in detail, because the focus of a kids movie is not going to be about the injury, but rather the consequences of the injury. In a book like The Hunger Games or Catching Fire, though, the injury or kill should be in your face, to provide that contrast between the self-absorbed Capitol citizens and the horrendous nature of the Hunger Games themselves. To me, when that level of detail is added, it really brings the seriousness of the book's reality to the forefront, and when the writing is reserved, so is my emotional connection to it. Mockingjay is very much a departure from the previous two books, and even though it has a couple of problems, they are forgivable to me because the rest of the book is so masterful. First off, Mockingjay is very dark, which is something I wanted from the first two books. It was hinted at, but the author never really brought me to those depths along with Katniss. Here though, there are points in which it is so dark I almost wished they'd give me a little light. And you really don't get any until the end. It could not have been as easy book to write, especially since it was so different from the previous two, and I imagine the author knew she was going to be alienating some fans of the first two, but I give her a lot of credit for that. Secondly, because of the way the second book ends and this one begins, the whole love triangle thing that I thought was so unnecessary really isn't an issue throughout most of this book. Those two aspects are the two main reasons that this book really worked for me. It was almost like the author took my two biggest complaints from the first two and did away with both of them, allowing this trilogy to become what I wanted it to be from the beginning. Because of this, though, I know that there were probably a lot of unhappy readers when this book was finished. I can't call anyone else wrong, really, or myself right. This is just what I took away from Mockingjay, and for me, it was pretty fantastic. I can easily see how other readers might have been left feeling like 'No seriously, where's the real third book?' Thirdly, the characterization in this book really stuck with me. Having seen a lot of movies and read a lot of books, you get to know cliches in stories pretty well. There are the general ones that everyone seems to know about, but over time you start to develop your own. There are broad cliches and ones suited to different genres and so on and so forth. But one of the other things that I loved about Mockingjay was that even though there were some overt cliches (and let's be honest, few things are original anymore and it is hard to avoid cliches), there were also some very surprising instances towards the end and I was pleasantly surprised by them. Most importantly, I have read quite a few reviews that talk about how Katniss never really came into her own. She never started to make decisions on her own. In The Hunger Games, as the books opens you are told she is essentially very emotionally damaged, by the physical absence of her father, and then the emotional absence of her mother. Katniss becomes the sole provider for the family. She is a very flawed person, and as the trilogy goes on, instead of overcoming obstacles, she seems, more often than not, to get run over by them. At the end of Mockingjay I began to hope (as did she) that she would just die, because she was so tortured and damaged that it would have been a relief to find a release from all the suffering. But there was nothing. However, although I agree that Katniss never became the consummate hero, I did think that there was a climax of sorts, with her internal struggle to assert control over her life. I am referring to the execution at the end. Katniss finally makes a decision on her own, knowing that the consequence will be death. She truly believes that her action will end her own life, and she does it anyways. I think the only problem with the scene is that her emotional feeling is not something that is explored by the author. Even though there is really only one reason why she does what she does, I felt that it could have been explored even a little bit. And even afterwards no one asks why she did it, as if they all know why. But if that's the case, then why didn't they do something about it? That's my only real gripe about the story. I have also heard a lot of complaints about the ending. How it was much too fast, and not enough time was given to explaining what became of all the characters. And especially that they were unhappy about the way in which Katniss and Peeta ended up together. But I have to say, the Katniss-Gale-Peeta triangle was annoying from the get for me. It was an unwelcome distraction at the end of book one and all throughout book two. I liked that things did not end happily-ever-after. And I know those who complain about the ending weren't necessarily looking for some fairy-tale ending, I guess for me, I just really connected with the idea that life can leave you damaged, and you just can't recover from some things. You just do you best to get on with your life the best you can. And in the case of Katniss and Peeta, it made sense to me that they would end up together. They both experienced horror in multiple forms, they were both left very broken, so to me it was logical that they would end up together. I liked that things were left a bit unresolved, like they have to deal with their past on a daily basis, but that regardless of it, they have made the best of their lives that they could. If they had made some progress at the end, it would really have felt unrealistic. I liked that they really only returned to "normal" from being completely ravaged, instead of turning into emotional stones and brushing everything off. Their lives had holes, their bodies were burnt and tortured, but they emerged from the other side and continued surviving. All in all, I would recommend reading the first two books just to get to this one. And nothing against the first two. They are both very good for what they are.

EDITED below to add my comments in response to another review as requested by comments here. The most powerful book in the series, Collins dives straight in to the realities of rebellion and war. At times hard to read, Mockingjay unflinchingly portrays war as it is... characters fighting over how far is to far in war, loss of innocence and innocent lives, knowing which side you are fighting for, along with the role media propaganda plays. Collins set out to tell kids in a way they can understand, the realities of war behind the images we see on TV. She succeeded... and even more so she succeeded without a particular left or right wing slant to the book, which is rare for these types of works. It is dark for YA, but it is also real and in that reality is it's value as a read for teens, who in 5 or less years could be on frontlines themselves. What makes this book so powerful is the characters that Collins creates. Over the course of the 3 books you grow to know and love them, so seeing bad things happen to them, or them make bad decisions or grow apart hurts. But this speaks to the mastery of the work. If it wasn't so good, you wouldn't care so much. In a story about war the relationships will be tested, people will be lost, and yes, people will be broken. It could not have been any different and still be the story about the realities of war that Collins wanted to tell. Highly recommend this entire series. ***************** Below my comments in response to Suzanne G's great review (link below): ***************** http://www.amazon.com/review/R1R6D1DAM9L0ZF/ref=cm_cd_pg_pg2?ie=UTF8&asin=0439023513&cdForum=Fx229UU4T33F95N&cdPage=2&cdThread=Tx2F3UH15I2LUG3&store=books#wasThisHelpful I think your review is one of the most coherent and thoughtful of the negative reviews, but I still can't bring myself to agree entirely with it. One of the more minor reasons is your use of the phrase "anti-war." This book is anything but anti-war. It is clearly laid out in the two preceding books all the reasons there must be a war, that war is the only option. Life in Panem is greatly improved after the war. A true anti-war piece of literature would have found other options besides war, or would have made post war life bleaker as a result of war. I think to reduce the message to "anti-war" or "war is awful" cheapens it. Instead this book examines the realities of war, not just that war is awful but things such as the moral relativism that occurs in times of war. Gale's idea for the nut is a great example of this. For me this is where Gale crossed the line, but it could also be equally well argued that the Nut had to be either captured or destroyed for the rebels to ever win the war and since capture was impossible, Gale's plan was the only way to prevent further loss of lives and protect against the Capitol's rule. You can see this as well in the argument of the double bomb when Katniss is questioning Beetee and Gale about "playing from the Capitol's handbook" (at what point do we become the evil we fight against), but you also see her rationalizing it post-argument and wondering why she is so against it if it can defeat the Capitol. You made a comment about there being too much talk of strategy but I think in the strategy discussions is where you saw so much revealing info about who Katniss was and why, why Coin wasn't the solution, and why Katniss and Gale couldn't be together. The dynamic between Gale and Katniss is so interesting in this book because they have such different perspectives upon entering the war. One of the reasons Katniss is so impotent for part of this book (drugged, hiding, crying) is because she is terrified to make any decision at all. This is well in line with what I would expect of any character who had every decision she made in HG and CF backfire to unintended consequences that only hurt those around her. This puts her in stark contrast to her longtime friend, Gale who is not afraid of making tough decisions but has never had to live with the results of them (until the end of MJ). Gale has had to fight hard for the survival of his family, he has been forced to work in the mines he hates, been beaten and whipped. He has had to watch as the girl he loved fell for another because of the Capitol's games. Yet he has never been given the opportunity to know any Capitol people closely or to truly fight back and likewise has never had to feel the ramifications (particularly as they affect others) of his actions against them. Katniss, on the other hand, has had the opportunity to know what it is like after you kill. She understands the ramifications of her actions. She knows that your actions don't always bring about the intended consequences. She has had the chance to know, and come to care for people in the Capitol, thus humanizing her enemy. You said something about Katniss being in no position to judge Gale, but I never thought she was judging him. She understood his decisions even when she didn't agree with them (and found herself wondering why she didn't agree). I think she would have made the same decisions as Gale had she not had the experiences she had, that led her to understand things Gale could not (such as how it felt having to live with those tough decisions). But she did have those experiences, and having had them she couldn't ignore them. You said in one of your comments that you expected to see the bond between Gale and Katniss, and I think that bond was there in the way they felt comfortable challenging one another (something they had always done and that Katniss didn't do with those who didn't have her trust) and in Gale's knowledge of how Katniss worked. But here is a relationship that was built from day 1 on survival of their families, where they always differed in their extremeness against the Capitol (Gale always being the more vocal, more extreme). And now they are placed in an environment where food and daily survival are a given for their families (who are not actively engaged in the rebellion, and are receiving food and care regardless of if Gale and Katniss provide it), and where the battle against the Capitol is their primary concern. So their reasons for being together are less, and the things that separate them are more noticeable, all their tender moments together are based on past memories, not current feelings. In battle they are partners, because that's what they've always been, partners protecting each others backs. But when Katniss needs someone she seeks out Finnick or Haymitch, because they (having experienced what she has) will get it. Here again is where I think Gale and Katniss were always a tragic love story. Because, if not for Katniss' time in the arena, they may have grown to love each other equally over the years in district 12, but they still couldn't have been together because without the time in the games and the rebellion, Katniss (firm in her decision to never marry or have children) would have never allowed herself to succumb to the love and actually be with Gale. Another complaint of yours, I think, was the treatment of Peeta and that Katniss barely fought for him. One, I think the fact that Peeta was hijacked (while making the book harder to read because it contained less of the tender moments from the previous 2) was what made Katniss truly come to appreciate Peeta. It gave her the opportunity to want the Peeta she had so often taken for granted and we see this in Katniss' feelings as they travel on their mission throughout the Capitol. Two, As far as why she didn't fight harder to get him back... well Katniss wasn't the most emotionally self-aware person. In HG on the train back to 12 she breaks Peeta's heart. And in the beginning of CF we find her wanting to be close with him again but not doing a damn thing about it, although everything in Peeta's nature says he would have forgiven her. So basically she spends 6 months letting Peeta mope, wanting him and doing nothing until Peeta makes the move to rebuild their relationship. Throughout CF we see her repeatedly pulling from him, because she doesn't think she deserves to have him since she will never fully commit to him (with the exception of the beach scene when she lets herself go but only to try and persuade him to save his life, and only temporarily giving in to her emotions). So no, I don't really find it out of character for her to not fight for him in MJ. I think it is completely her character. She thinks because she has decided on a life without a partner she has no right to fight for him. When hijacked Peeta confronts her about who she really is (you're a piece of work, aren't you"), she agrees with his assessment. So as much as she misses and wants the old Peeta who loved her and didn't see her cold, manipulative side, she can't find it within herself to particularly disagree with everything he sees in her now or to fight against that. This too is an interesting aspect of the story for me. Because yes pre-hijack Peeta loved her in a very self-sacrificing way. But what did he truly know of the real Katniss? He had loved her since the first time he saw her, without ever having an actual conversation with her, and by the time he got to know her, he was blinded to her faults by his love for her. Katniss only knew Peeta in terms of his loving her. She recognized his steadiness, and the hope and tenderness he brought to things, but it was always a given, she never sought to be good enough to earn it. Post-hijacking Peeta saw everything about Katniss her good, and her bad. Katniss couldn't take Peeta for granted anymore. So when they "grew together" IMO they grew to a much deeper love than they could have otherwise experienced. As far as Katniss's decision Peeta or Gale being made in the last 4 pages... to me it was clear from HG on that Peeta was always the choice... She felt things when kissing him she never felt with Gale, any moment of inhibition (sleep medicine, or semi-consiousness, etc) she found herself wanting Peeta, even after she so-called "chose" Gale in CF she was trying to talk herself out of wanting Peeta. So maybe that wasn't played out in the text officially until the last pages, but it is weaved throughout the books. I think from the moment you read the line referencing the meadow and "a place where Peeta's child would be safe" it is clear that the book will end with Peeta's child in a meadow. So even if it passed quickly in MJ it's was foreshadowed long before. I've read a lot calling it a "default ending" because Peeta was the one who came back. And true I don't think she would have ever chased him down. It wasn't her nature to chase a man, or to feel like she deserved a man like Peeta after all she had done. But after a time of healing ("slowly I came back to life"), and in particular healing alongside Peeta she is ready. I don't think anywhere is it evident that she is dead inside. For me, when she declares she loves Peeta that is her victory, her declaration that the war has ended. Because she never would allow herself to admit to love or have a partner under the Capitol's rule. It meant she had healed enough to allow herself to love and be loved and to have forgiven herself enough to have been deserving of love. She waited 15 more years to have kids because experience taught her that the incoming power may not be better than the old power. And to me I imagine those 15 years as the time it took to rebuild, and fully demolish the arenas and build the memorials (look at how we are 10 years past 9-11 with the memorial still under construction, rebuilding still happening, and the after effects still being fought, I think 15 years is realistic). Dead inside, means no emotions good or bad. Instead, Katniss very realistically has good days and bad days. She says "when the bad days come" (meaning that there are good days in between). She talks about the terror of being pregnant with her daughter (which is very real for someone having lost so many people she cared about), but she also talks about the joy of holding her daughter in her arms. Anyways, those are just my thoughts. I enjoyed your review and your comments a lot because it made me really examine why I felt the way I did about the book.

If you love the slow budding, complicated and raw relationship between Peeta and Katniss and you just can't wait to read the ending that Suzanne Collins would write, because you just KNOW that she'll do right by them and give them the kind of ending that two people who have been through so much hurt, and pain, and hardship deserve, well- you won't find it here! The ending of a three book series consists of a five page wrap up. WTF Suzanne Collins... WTF. I sincerely hope whatever writers get hired to do this movie have a better understanding of your own audience then you do! With a story this complicated a wrap up is NOT the kind of ending your audience was looking for. I wrote my own ending, if you'd like to read it go for it: Continuing from where Katniss says, she gave all her bacon to Buttercup…. The days start to go by, somehow. Life continues. It's funny like that. Even when everything you love has disappeared from the face of the Earth, never to be seen again, their laughter never to be heard again, their smiles never to be seen again… life does go on in the cruel way that it does. What I had thought was impossible begins to happen without my knowledge- it crept up on me. I slowly started to accept the fact that the lives lost, the ones I cared for, are gone. I will have to continue my life without them here with me. At least not physically. Sometimes I would talk to them when I had no one else to turn to- after Greasy Sae left for her own makeshift home where the Hob used to be. It seems weird to admit it to myself, but I begin to crave human company. After being constantly surrounded by people, the solitude that I was used to before the madness of the Hunger Games seems so foreign to me now that I’m home. That's when I talk to Prim about random things that I see throughout the day, or to Cinna, describing to him the colors that I see around me, or to Finnick, telling him about how Annie was doing according to the letters she sends faithfully every month. One late afternoon I muster up the energy and set off to the meadow, place my bow down next to me and throw aside my shoes to try to find a grain of peace here that my home can never give. The grass and leaves are lush and green- soft under my feet, I try to recount the good things that once happened here gail, my father, even the crew members from 13. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, willing myself not to think of the staggering loss that threatens the corners of my mind. I recite in my head the phrases I so often replayed in my mind, my meager attempt to hold on to my sanity: my name is Katniss Everdeen. I am eighteen. I live in District Twelve. I am the Mockingjay. I was the Mockingjay. The Capitol is gone. Gale, my best friend, is now in District Two. He is safe. I don't know where I stand with Peeta but Peeta is safe. I'm back home in District Twelv., I am finally safe. I let out a deep breath as I open my eyes and stare at the sky, lying down in the Meadow where the new buds of life cushion my body from the soil underneath. The sun has just begun to set and the sky was magnificent, painted in shades of light pinks, dull yellows, brilliant reds, and soft hues of orange. Orange. Seeing his favorite color painted all across the endless sky triggers an influx of memories. Its so hard having him live so close and yet knowing how far away we really are. I find myself longing for the feeling of his hand in mine- the way his eyes used to light up just for me. The way he always double knotted his shoelaces, the relief and the surge of warmth that I felt when we kissed. Really kissed. That relief and surge of happiness that I was too afraid to admit to myself was present when he was finally safe, when he was finally near, back at district 12. The feeling of elation when he wrapped his arms around me as we fell into the soft pillow of snow as one. That seems so long ago. I closed my eyes, imagining his beautiful blue eyes which used to bring such warmth, trying not to forget them and the way they pierced into mine in the gentlest way possible, filled with undeniable love. The way he used to look at me never has fully returned since the Capitol hijacked his memories. Their plan did not prevail, but in some ways, the Capitol and Snow had their victory before their downfalls. Although Peeta was not successful in killing me physically, they took the only sure thing I knew. Peeta loved me, he loved the heartless girl who doesn't trust a soul in the world other than herself. It killed me to know that although he was pronounced "recovered" by Dr. Aurelius, he never truly will be. The light that always shined in his eyes is gone and replaced with something hollow. And that is how Snow and the Capitol took their final revenge. Peeta and I haven't spoken since he planted the primrose bushes. He somehow managed to finish planting the bushes before I woke up in the morning and as a result my house in the Victor's Village is now surrounded with primrose bushes, waiting for summer to breathe in a breath of life. In the mornings I would wake up to the sweet aroma of bread wafting through the house and find downstairs a fresh cheese roll every day left on the counter. Even though the gesture was simple, it hit me every time with a pang of longing mixed in with a bit of sadness. It reminds me of the way he used to care for me, of memories long ago, how I would wake up from my nightmares and feel safe to be in his arms, and how ever since I got back home I would wake up screaming only to be comforted by the soft kitten mews of Buttercup instead. I relished his company and the way he protected me just as he did with Prim, yet it was nothing compared to waking up and feeling secure in the strong arms of Peeta. The one who understood. I closed my eyes, blocking out the hues of orange in the sky that reminded me so much of him, and whispered to no one in particular his name. Peeta. It felt good to say his name out loud and not hear it revolve in my head with the list of others I’ve hurt. As I let another quick breath out, my experienced hunting senses felt the vibration of someone's footsteps ever so gently shaking the Meadow. The footsteps stopped next to where my bow was, and not bothering to open my eyes I asked, "Done recovering from your latest hangover, Haymitch?" The voice that answered me back wasn't what I had been expecting at all. "Last time I checked, I wasn't intoxicated out of my mind, but to answer your question, probably not. I went into his house to bring him some fresh bread this morning and he was completely out of it. But Greasy Sae's doing a nice job of keeping his house clean. I hardle recognize it without all the mold and clutter." My eyes snapped open. The view that greeted me was such a surprise, his body so close to mine, his voice finally sounding the way it did before the Capital got him. Its taken months for even minor healing, but this is the greatest improvement of all. To hear his voice, the voice of reason, of comfort, the voice that could change the world. His eyes were a clear yet smoky blue, staring at me with hesitation of what my reaction would be seeing him here- yet I did nothing. My eyes stared into his searchingly, looking for the piece of Peeta I longed for to come back. And it was there. Almost completely. The care that I was so used to seeing, the love that I had taken for granted. He was almost there. I couldn't believe it at first. The fact that he was standing there, in front of me, as if we didn't ignore each other for the past two months. As if we didn't secretly keep track of where the other went so that we wouldn't bump into the other despite being neighbors. Yet he was still there after I closed my eyes briefly to make sure that I wasn't imagining it. Sometimes I would see Prim next to me, with her shirt untucked, making her look like a little duck. But he was still there after I opened my eyes. This was real. He had finally come for me. "Hi Katniss" he says. His tone full and sounding steady, and at that moment I wanted to melt into his arms as if nothing happened, and just tell him all the things that only he can understand- things like nightmares about the arena, the fear and paranoia of the Capitol and Snow somehow reappearing back in power. The constant flashbacks that haunt my mind. Resisting my urge to dig my way into his arms, feeling the hollow places of my body crying out for him. I managed to choke out a "Hi yourself". He sat down next to me in the grass, looking not at me, but up at the sky. Then he closed his eyes and sighed. "You were right, this kind of orange is my favorite color. My memories are starting to come back. My real memories. It's like the effects of the hijacking are finally wearing off and my brain can distinct what is real and what is not more easily than it could before. Some days everything seems fake and I can't remember what's real at all, but I somehow manage to get through it and the truth comes back." I hear him rambling, searching for the right things to say- things that won't bring up sensitive topics that will hurt me, cause me to run. But I don't. I go back to closing my eyes and soak in the sound of his voice and let it soothe me. Its been so long since we’ve talked like this. To have him so near me, his hand so close to mine without touching- it feels strange. Wrong, in some way. I couldn't remember a time where we were talking like this and not touching him in some way. I craved the soft touch of the skin on his hands- the smell of spices. In a moment of weakness, I can’t fight it anymore and tentatively reach out my hand, closing the space that was between. I felt my fingers find his, and fill in the spaces between his fingers, wrapping mine around his. I felt him stiffen, and for a brief moment, I opened my eyes in fear that he would pull away, revolted by my touch. His eyes were squeezed shut and he seemed to be in battle with himself. Yet the battle was over as soon as it had begun. He muttered something under his breath… something that sounded like the word "always". Then he opened his eyes and looked right into mine for few glorious seconds before flitting away. As he stared into the sky once more, I gave his hand a squeeze, remembering the first moment his fate intertwined with mine. And for the first time ever, a memory associated with the Hunger Games brought a smile upon my face- remembering the reassuring squeeze he gave me that very first day. He was there for me even before I knew I needed him. Peeta closed his eyes and gave a small sigh. Then, he squeezed my hand back and I saw a smile slowly unfolding across his face, reminding me of the Peeta I knew. The yellow dandelion in the spring, representing all that is good and hope for the future. We lay in the Meadow until the sky turned into night, revealing a magnificent myriad of stars spreading infinitely across the sky, hand in hand, then arm in arm until he’s holding me just as before. Just lying there, grateful for the other's company. As we begin to drift off he whispers, “ You love me real or not” and after all we’ve been through and wrestled with I know I can finally say “Real.” He nestles his face in my neck and we both drift in to a peaceful sleep. Epilogue.

Good book

Firstly this is an affordable paperback edition. When I purchased it, it was on sale at $12. The Mockingjay shifts from survival in the arena to the brutal cost of war and revolution. The story becomes more about propaganda, trauma, and what happens when a resistance movement starts to mirror the cruelty of the regime it's trying to overthrow. It’s not a feel-good ending—but it's powerful, thought-provoking, and very real. Suzanne Collins has clearly done her homework. Her portrayal of totalitarianism, elite privilege, media manipulation, and obedience through comfort reflects historical realities. The Capitol citizens are chilling in how easily they turn a blind eye to suffering, so long as their lives remain untouched. And the series as a whole shows what survival under oppression looks like—and what it costs. This trilogy is suitable for adults too, don’t let the YA tag stop you from reading this series.

Esta serie de Hunger Games atrapó a mi adolescente, muy recomendable para que tengan el hábito de la lectura.

The first two books of this trilogy: The Hunger Games and Catching Fire have both been exceptionally written and both had an excellent, exciting execution. I would highly recommend both of them to anyone. Although I given this book a 5 star rating, I believe there are a few 'kinks' with this book that have not been experienced with the two previous ones. Firstly, the novel starts off to be quite slow, boring and generally uninteresting leaving the reader somewhat demoralised and therefore hoping for more in the rest of the book, which sadly does not come up to expectations. However, as I have said the expectations are very high due to the lacking introduction. Personally, I found the introduction repetitive but according to physologists, the way in which Katniss continually behaves is normal, therefore showing that this book is actually slightly factual. Eventually, after the boredom of the start of the book, we begin to see more action unfold. From here, the book is superbly and masterfully written. The teams of 'Team Gale' and 'Team Peeta', which originates from the Twilight series, is constantly in war within this book as you would expect, however to me, this becomes tedious as Collins continues to make Katniss constantly swapping between the two. ***SPOILERS ALERT*** Eventually, Katniss chooses Peeta even after his ordeal with the Capitol. However, she is displayed as not loving him or the children they bear. To me this is ridiculous, a story's plot is followed by the main character - the plot is over throwing the Capitol and regaining power to oneselves and allowing oneself to make decisions about oneself and not having the Capitol make the decisions. Of course, the Capitol does fall but Katniss does not gain her independency but rather continues to allow herself be controlled by people around her. Example: President Snow manipulates her and controls her to kill the President of District 13. This is not right! She should gain some independence and make her own decisions, she should come out of the war and heal but she does not. Is Collins writing a political book about the effects of war or is this a young adults book where the character should not be so close to reality? ***SPOILERS ENDED*** The book is exceptionally moving in parts and can bring some to tears, however when you question why Collins did something, the answer is: "To hurt Katniss more". We see many deaths, however many of these are anonomous, for we do not know who most of the people who are dying are and therefore their deaths become pointless and meaningless (perhaps that is what she intended). There is a lack of characterisation in characters such as Gale, Peeta, Katniss, Prim and their mother and this makes it harder for the reader to empathise with them - something not seen in the previous books. However, despite all of this, I did give it a 5 star rating after all and I did so because it deserved it. It has a lot of action and makes you continue to read until you know exactly what happens, which I admit is perhaps unsatisfying to some but overall, I believe that even the people who rated it badly only did so out of spite for they didn't like the way that Katniss suffers and ***SPOILER ALERT*** doesn't truly recover. ***SPOILER ENDED*** It is a must read and I would recommend it to anyone but it is not quite as good as the previous books but The Hunger Games and Catching Fire were absolutely outstanding.

La trilogie se dévore et se relit même avec le même plaisir. Dire qu'il s'agit d'un livre pour adolescents me paraît réducteur. certes les personnages principaux sont des adolescents mais à la différence des Harry Potter ou Twilight, l'histoire aborde toute une série de thèmes qui font appel à un minimum de culture et ou de connaissances historico-politico-sociétaux : références aux régimes totalitaires, à la rome antique, à la manipulation médiatique, à la téléréalité.... en outre, l'histoire est dramatique, cynique sur le comportement humain, on est loin d'un happy end ou du "ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants". Mon reproche se trouve sur le côté très prude de la romance qui me paraît peu crédible et sur la fin : Le roman comprend +/- 1200 (les 3) et l'auteur balaie la fin sur - de 20 pages. Une fois la révolte terminée, l'auteur semble n'avoir plus rien à dire ce qui est dommage compte tenu de la qualité des +/- 1180 pages qui précèdent. Bref, une trilogie d'enfer, géniale.