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Mockingjay (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 3)

Mockingjay (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 3)

bySuzanne Collins
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Top positive review

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Meerkat
5.0 out of 5 starsAn Awesome Ending. Anything else would have been unrealistic.
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2014
Before reading The Hunger Games trilogy, I had more than a few people tell me the first two books were good, but the last one was lacking. I couldn't disagree more. The story is harsh, gruesome, and bleak. It had to be. It's a first person account of an individual who has survived two Hunger Games and plays a major role in a revolution. Of course it's going to be brutal. Had the story drawn to a close with Katniss standing majestically with trumpets blaring and flags waving, it would have been completely unrealistic.

I also heard a few people express disappointment in the conclusion of the Katniss/Peeta storyline. I've read people's reviews taking issue with how Katniss and Peeta are represented at the end of Mockingjay, asking "Where's the passion?" Passion? Are they insane? First of all, the story is told in first person by a character who is admittedly not at all comfortable being demonstrative and doesn't respond well to those who are. There was never going to be a hearts/candy/flowers declaration happening here. Peeta has a borderline obssessive love for Katniss throughout most of the trilogy. The way I read the story, by the end of the first Hunger Games, she returns the feeling. Though hesitant to think why she does the things she does, or to state it aloud, she expresses it in so many different ways throughout the remainder of the trilogy, there really is no doubt. Despite the fact that she is suffering major PTSD, she agrees to take on the stress of being the symbol of revolution and take a front line role to bring him back. Regardless of the amount of trauma they both endure, they still eventually turn back to each other. Gale was a strong character, but he had not gone through what Katniss did in the arena and would never have been able to understand that part of her. The time she spends clinging to him and avoiding Peeta is essentially an attempt to return to the person she was before the games (which was never going to happen). Peeta was the walking, living, breathing reminder of the trauma endured. I thought it telling that Peeta returned to Region 12. Like Gale, he could have gone anywhere when it was all over, yet he went where Katniss was. Really, Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch needed each other to become human again (or as human as they were ever going to be). Katniss reminded me of uncles I had who, when they returned from war, sat in a darkened room, staring at a wall day after day for over a year before they could handle being amongst the living again.

I'll admit part of me would have liked President Snow's demise to be more than it was. Considering the amount of suffering he caused, part of me is bloodthirsty enough to have wanted him to suffer a great deal more. There are also characters I would have liked to survive (Finnick, Cinna, and Prim to name a few), but their deaths helped to illustrate the randomness and unfairness of death in wartime.

There are parts of this story we'll never get to see because it is told from Katniss' point of view. We see only what she sees and know only what she thinks is going on. I, for one, would be interested in knowing more about events of the story from Peeta and/or Haymitch's point of view. Peeta's fight back from his memory hijacking would be an intriguing read.

Ultimately, I found this book engaging, infuriating, exhausting, and funny all at the same time. To have had Katniss serene and sweetly declaring life to be sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows would have been absurd. She is with a husband (partner?) whom she loves and is utterly devoted to. She has two children she loves, but is worried what they will think when they know the role their parents played in the past. She and Peeta are happy, but remain somewhat haunted which is perfectly realistic for what the characters have gone through.
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Top critical review

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Adm
2.0 out of 5 starsCollins disposes of her characters rather than completing character arcs
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2012
***Warning--major spoilers ahead...

Upon finishing Mockingjay, I concluded two things: 1) this trilogy is a tragedy, and 2) Suzanne Collins believes executing a character arc is as simple as executing the character. Here's why:

Finnick: Shortly after his wedding, Finnick--one of the few characters who is actually somewhat developed throughout the story--is eaten by lizard monsters on a mission that was ultimately completely and utterly futile. His sacrifice (if it can be called that) meant very little, if anything, to the story.

Prim: The entire plot of the trilogy centered on the attempt to keep her alive, and she is killed in a random bombing at the end, as Katniss watches from a few feet away. The entire plot of the story hinged on saving Prim from the evils of the age, and that battle is lost in a very grim way. Katniss did not need her heart ripped out in this way to make the decision she made at the end. This was an extra knife in the gut from an author who enjoyed bitter ends for key characters.

Peeta: Though a large portion of the first book sets up Peeta and Katniss for a deep relationship, that relationship is largely ignored throughout the entire second and third books in favor of a shallow coexistence. Peeta instead becomes a sort of zombie trying to kill Katniss, and never quite recovers; this leeches from Peeta his most valuable quality, which was his commitment to keeping Katniss alive. Sure, he saves her at the end with his miraculous appearance at Katniss' attempted suicide, but without others' prior interventions, he would have already killed her on multiple occasions. It seems as though nothing between his capture at the end of the second book and his appearance at the assassination at the end was either necessary or supportive of the plot. He's tossed in at the end for a happily-ever-after that is anything but happy. He deserved more and better--from the author as well as Katniss.

Gale: This is perhaps the most tragic of treatments. Gale's death would have preserved his character, but instead, Collins assassinates his character rather than taking his life. In the last few pages, I was waiting and wondering how Katniss' first and oldest friend would make his return and begin the impossible task of making up for his role in Prim's death. Instead, the reader is robbed of any closure beyond their insufficient parting at the Capitol. The person who had vowed to protect Prim and had been there for Katniss--usually behind the scenes for the length of the trilogy--had failed in the most ironic of fashions and finally gave up on the Everdeens in the end. He'd taken some job in another district, and the reader is left to assume that he and Katniss' relationship had died with Prim. This isn't characteristic of Gale as we'd come to know him. Had he died nobly at the end, perhaps to once again protect Prim, that would have stayed much truer to his character. In my opinion, Collins certainly did not complete his character arc successfully, and traded plot for shock.

Katniss: In the third book, it becomes more obvious with every page that Katniss' story is a full-on tragedy. The reader loses a great deal of sympathy for her as she stops caring about those around her, and in her pusuit of killing Snow, she begins to kill civilians in the capitol. 3/4 of the way through Mockingjay, I found myself wondering why I was supposed to be rooting for Katniss anymore. Her character degrades into little more than a tool of the revolution, without any kind of motivation beyond vengeance. The entire push toward the capitol is a totally futile errand that accomplishes nothing but death; all those Katniss loves are either killed or broken along the way. In the final pages, the reader is left with a smoldering ruin of a cast and story, with only a glimpse of future hope for something better. Unfortunately, I didn't grow to care much for the nameless faces of Panem's future; I cared for the characters of these three books.

Make no mistake--I enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy, and Mockingjay was an engrossing read that kept my attention. I didn't expect hugs and rainbows at the end, but in any form of literature, the reader can only hope that the characters' existence had a good purpose and a satisfying end in the fictional world in which so much time has been spent. Viewed as a larger story, I don't think Collins told a satisfying tale. Whether or not that was her intention, I'm not sure, but as a reader, I felt her treatment (or perhaps more accurately, her disposal) of many of these characters was ultimately disappointing.
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itsmebrind
3.0 out of 5 stars I LOVED this series, I mean LOVED it, but this ending SUCKS
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2013
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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.
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Bookaholic
3.0 out of 5 stars A downer
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book was something of a disappointment, because it took me to places that I really didn't want to go. I grew up reading books about the Holocaust, World War II etc. As an adult I am so "over" the subject of war, suffering and mass slaughter.

The first book showed Katniss' resourcefulness and compassion during the Games, making her an appealing character. But by the third book, Katniss' only function is to provide a 'symbol' for the revolution. She is mostly a passive participant who sits around suffering in excruciating detail. More than I really wanted to read.

I'm sure it's possible to write a war/revolution novel without focusing on the blood & gore. Show us some other things: a little more depth about the other districts, a few more clever strategies that didn't rely on slaughter, maybe even some scenes with Capitol residents who sympathize with the rebels. Maybe even a little humor to lighten things up!

I found it irritating that the author kept pulling the same strings; overusing the love-triangle plot, televising the revolution and having a 'prep team' that makes Katniss look beautiful even while she's an emotional wreck. This is the problem with a trilogy: authors either have to keep recycling plot points, or come up with something even more outrageous. This is one reason that I, as a writer, am sick of all these trilogies. It really does become a soap opera. Come to think of it, Books 2 and 3 of this series might have worked better as a single book.

SPOILER SPOILER,

I kept trying to guess how this would end. I thought Katniss would be hunting President Snow through the Arena. With Plutarch filming it, of course. It would have been such a logical development, since the Arena was such an important part of the other books, that I'm a bit disappointed that it didn't happen that way.

Anyway, I'm sure that the film makers will just love doing this film because it has what they love the most: lots of explosions, gore and horror.
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Anabelle Bernard Fournier
3.0 out of 5 stars Strange ending
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2012
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This is where I started losing my interest a bit. This book reminded me of Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, in that the main character, supposedly the heroine, spends most of the book disabled by PTSD and medication. Even though the final heroic act is hers again, it's hard to see her as the strong character in this last installment. She spends most of her time in a medical haze, or crying, or hiding in a closet.

Katniss, now living in discreet, long-lost District 13, has to deal with the trauma of two Hunger Games and the weight of the liberation of Panem on her shoulders. Through her actions in the first book, she has become a symbol of rebellion used to rally the Districts against the Capitol. Much less happens in this third book than in the first two. There are a few battle scenes, and the final one, but otherwise, this book is much more introspective than the other two.

But at the same time, this book is among the strongest example of the mental and physical consequences of war and violence on people. It is introspective because Katniss has reached her breaking point. She is exhausted, emotionally and physically, and cannot sustain more trauma. So the book becomes not so much about the liberation of Panem, but about Katniss' eventual, slow liberation from PTSD.

The end, although satisfying on a character level, left me wanting on the world-level. We don't know what has happened to Panem, in the end. Is is better for Katniss' intervention, or has it remained the same? I think we're supposed to make a link between Katniss' and Panem's healing, but it's not as obvious as it should be.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TRILOGY

These books are rough. Brutal. They don't pull punches and describe war and violence without euphemisms. It's refreshing, in a sense, because it stands in stark contrast with the official-speak so condemned by George Orwell, back in the day. Collins, I'm sure, sees teenagers as able to handle the truth. She doesn't sugar-coat the horrifying acts of violence in both Games and the war.

Although the books do live up to their hype, somehow, they don't live up to their potential. The world of Panem deserved much more development than it did. Maybe it's the fan of complex fictional social systems, à la Middlemarch, in me speaking, but I do think that the world of Panem could have been the site for a much deeper critique of the current state of power and capitalism. It's dystopian-we get it. But how did it become that way? What happened between now and then that the site of American power moved to possibly Colorado (I suspect Denver) and its social structure turned back to medieval times? I've read a lot of anticipatory science-fiction that gave enough information to infer how the world might crumble. Not so with The Hunger Games.

All in all, it was a mostly satisfying read. It took me 3 days to read all of them, which makes them a quick and entertaining read. And I must admit I did cry at the end (or that might have been how tired and sick I felt. You'll never know, hah :p). My desire for a more complex world aside, considering the audience, I thought they were excellent examples of what the best YA literature can do.
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Rachel Fisher
3.0 out of 5 stars Really Enjoyable but Not On Fire...
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2012
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Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
My Rating - 3.5-4 Stars

I'd like to begin my review of Mockingjay by saying that I laughed my butt off when Liz Lemon of 30 Rock made a comment about sinking into Peeta Mellark's embrace -- his arms that 'smell like bread'. Hilarious. Nice to know that those of us reading YA who are not that Y ourselves are not alone.

SPOILERS included. Do not read if you've not read the book. This is a late review, not a new release...

GOOD STUFF
I have to give this book a 3.5 - 4 Stars for overall satisfaction. It ends in the manner that it should and it wraps up all the loose ends nicely and believably. Like the other books, the author is true to Katniss throughout. It is clear that Katniss did not ever want to be a revolutionary, she just wanted to keep her little sister from harm as she began doing when her father died and her mother had a breakdown. Throughout the entire story, this is Katniss' MO. Even though she agrees to be the Mockingjay and serve as the symbol of the rebellion, she disobeys their orders and wishes as regularly as she does the Capitol's. Neither faction can control her and she realizes that the rebel leader, President Coin is as much a danger to her as President Snow in the Capitol. In the end, a great injustice is done to Katniss as her only mission fails and Prim is killed. It is clear that Coin allowed her onto the battlefield. What is unclear is whether it is Gale's trap that ends her life...or the Capitol's. Unable to be certain, and sure that Coin and Gale are nearly as wrong as Snow, Katniss makes her choice at the execution and shoots Coin instead of Snow. It is her last act as the Mockingjay. The war is over, she is pardoned and she returns to a newly rebuilding District 12 with Peeta, where they live out their lives with their children.

Favorite Scenes
Katniss' visit to District 8 hospital and subsequent battle
Katniss sings The Hanging Tree to Pollux and the Mockingjays
Finnick and Annie's Wedding
Katniss and Peeta at peace, their love in balance, their children safe

CRITICAL STUFF
After Catching Fire, I expected to be blown away by Mockingjay and for the first 60% of it, I really was impressed. However, when they get to the invasion of the Capitol, I have to admit, she started to lose me. The revisitation of the Hunger Games finally wore me down. The idea that the center of the city would have hundreds of intensely diabolical booby traps seemed off to me. Would those never have gone off in the course of everyday life and caused some type of disastrous accident? I guess it's supposed to underscore how messed up Snow is, but it felt a little unrealistic somehow. I also think it dragged. My capacity to focus on yet another violent trap waned. Also, she introduced the new character, Tigress, in the midst of this section and I found her hard to relate to as well.

Media Stuff/Propos - I did get a little tired of Katniss being dressed up, made up, and followed around by cameras. The whole media angle is interesting, but it may have been too much for me. That being said, the single strongest moment in the entire book for me is when Katniss is filmed in District 8 after the bombing and declares, "IF WE BURN, YOU BURN WITH US!" That gave me goosebumps. Dead on!

Gale - In this book Katniss and Gale connect more than they ever have (while conscious) in the previous books. To me, it was the chance to finally understand this great love story...and then it seemed to fall apart before my eyes. Though a handful of times Gale and Katniss share a kiss or engage in some act of kindness toward one another, the reality is that Gale chooses the rebellion over Katniss and she knows it. She is shocked by his bloodlust, particularly when she gets to see it in action. When she connects his double-bomb to Prim's death, she cannot unthink it and the tenuous thread of their love is permanently severed.

Peeta - Lots of bloggers took some issue with Peeta's 'hijacking'. I actually found that compelling and believable. It's like A Clockwork Orange...psychological conditioning is an old idea and she just took it to an extreme. It worked because it forced Katniss to live without an utterly devoted Peeta and think about what that was like. Though it's Finnick that points out that she obviously has some sort of love for Peeta, Katniss seems to be finally figuring that out for herself. It was so obvious to me throughout that Peeta was going to recover and that Peeta was going to be 'The One'. Who in the heck else could it have been? He devoted his life (and nearly gave it over and over) to save her because he loved her, not because he had any agenda. In fact, he is the only character in the entire thing that has no other agenda besides saving Katniss' life. Everyone else manipulates her at some point. In some ways, this even includes Prim, who pushes her to use her power as the Mockingjay. The idea that Peeta would not be the One in the end was just never believable to me.

Coin - The author never once gives Katniss any positive connection with Coin. From the very first time she meets her, she dislikes the perfection of her hair and tension rules their relationship. For this reason I never saw Coin's targeting of Katniss in the final scenes as much of a 'secret twist'. Katniss knew Coin didn't like her, she just didn't realize Coin wanted her dead...but for the reader that is not a stretch. Also, Katniss' decision to kill Coin in the end. I saw that coming a mile away. She knew that the others would kill Snow. Everyone wanted to kill Snow. But she thought that Coin arranged Prim's death and so she took her revenge. That is one thing I do like, the fact that Katniss stuck to her love of Prim to the end. Though she saw Coin as dangerous, Katniss has seen enough of humanity to have decided that any leader could be or become evil. That was not why she killed her. She killed her because Coin killed Prim, period.

Katniss Everdeen - The Hunger Games Movie Poster
I loved Katniss, I loved the story. I don't know how they will make these movies because the story is so incredibly violent, but I know I will be right there to see them. For your enjoyment, I included this promotional movie poster for you. Katniss is played by a relatively new talent in Jennifer Lawrence. Good bye Bella Swan, Hello Katniss Everdeen...
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Jeff Walden
3.0 out of 5 stars A conclusion to the Hunger Games, but a very, very different one from what preceded it
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2013
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The Capitol is back on its heels, facing off against the first well-organized resistance it's ever encountered. Led by the Mockingjay (Katniss) and District Thirteen, its land slowly dwindles as the rebellion grows increasingly successful. But what will replace it? This is the question that grows increasingly important as the story progresses.

The strength of these books has always been the novel idea of the Hunger Games underlying them. This book transitions from the successful events-then-Games-then-events model to a different one. Rather than following an essentially personal story, with undertones of a broader struggle, this book focuses much more on that broader struggle. From the start, even, this is Katniss's story only because she is important to that struggle, not because she has her own story to tell. The previous two books executed the personal-story angle pretty well; unfortunately, this book doesn't do the war-story angle as well. I think partly this is because Collins's first-person approach and pacing, which she writes quite well, just doesn't work as well for it. This was one part of why I found this book less satisfactory than its predecessors.

Past that, of course, we encounter the implausibilities and plot holes which seem to be a feature of these books. The Capitol's technology is too good for me to believe that Katniss could possibly make a leisurely visit to District Twelve at the book's open. I didn't find the ambiguous moral character of District Thirteen to be sufficiently well communicated prior to hearing its reaction to Katniss's demands; their rigidity of society seemed to follow from the exigencies of war, and even more particularly from the confining nature of where they had to survive. (And why wouldn't they have spread out beyond District Thirteen itself, anyway? They had the technology to do it, certainly.) I don't believe Katniss to be such a shrinking violet that the special mission midway through the book should ever have been necessary; she's too intelligent for that. Continuing on, I don't believe President Coin's little twist a bit before the end could have happened -- the end wasn't so close that the gamble could have been sufficiently non-risky yet. And I don't believe anyone in the rebellion could have successfully made the penultimate suggestion an actual policy. Some of the tributes might be up to suggesting it, certainly, but no one (or ones) could have had the political capital to actually pull it off.

Those complaints aside, was this an adequate ending to the series? It did the job, but I can't say very much more than that. The first two books I can imagine picking up and rereading pretty easily, but the third one doesn't hold much more than average interest for me in that regard. I did like Katniss's last big development just before the ending -- it had a ring of authenticity to it. (Although it seems not something that would ever have been actually possible, if this were real and not a story.) And the last bit of ending was, I thought, a pretty good wrapup to a best-selling series (certainly better than the end to the Harry Potter books). But overall, this was a step down from the first two books.
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Heidi
3.0 out of 5 stars Realistic description of war but lacks sense of hope
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2012
Verified Purchase
"Mockingjay" is the most gruesome book of the "Hunger Games" trilogy, describing the horrors of war and how people are forever changed by it. If you haven't read it yet, do not read on now, as it is impossible to review this book without including some spoilers.

After surviving two rounds in the arena, Katniss must now fight her final and toughest battle, by taking on the leadership role in a world gone crazy by war and suffering. And true to real life, this novel does not mince words when it comes to describing the atrocities of war, nor does it give any false hopes. War changes people and robs them of their innocence forever. There is no happily-ever-after, and no glory in war. Good people die, and hope dies with it. It's the reality of war, and I admire the author for not trying to glorify it.

My issues with this last instalment of the trilogy are with the way it is written, especially the last 1/4 of the book, in which the author tries to pack so much horror that the scenes take on a nightmarish quality, leaving the reader confused and somehow cheated. There are a lot of loose ends, and unexplained events. How did Prim suddenly end up being in front of Snow's mansion? How did Peeta somehow sustain the same injuries as Katniss? In the rollercoaster ride of horror that forms the climax of the book, the reader is suddenly left out of the loop but instead is given a mere summary of events which destroy every assumption and belief the reader has formed so far.

I hated the ending. Not because a lot of my favourite characters were lost (which is after all the reality of war), but because the characters who did survive were annihilated in other ways, by being so fundamentally changed by circumstances that little of their original personality remained. Yes, people are changed by war, and their spirits can be crushed beyond repair. However, I have met holocaust survivors who have retained a joy for life that seems impossible when knowing of the horrors they have gone through. So I was somewhat confused as to the message the author wanted to convey. Yes, war is horrible. But if all hope is lost, and there is nothing left to live or fight for, what was the point of the story? For me, the triumph of the human spirit over tragedy and injustice is the one thing that makes everything worthwhile. Without that, we may as well give in to oppression, as the alternative is even worse and there is no hope for a better future. By losing the essential characteristics that made Katniss and Peeta heroes for me in the first two books (Peeta's inherent goodness and Katniss' feisty spirit), all that was left for me in the end was a feeling of despair and hopelessness.

All in all, I feel that this book could have been so much more by staying true to the personalities that were developed in the first two parts of the trilogy. However, the book sends a strong message regarding the horrors of war, which took courage to write and make reading it worthwhile - just don't get too attached to any of the characters!
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CamilleElise
3.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't Live Up To Book #1
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2012
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Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The conclusion to the epic series, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

STOP READING NOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST TWO BOOKS!

You can read my review of the first book by clicking here, and the second book by clicking here.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins concludes the series, and the story of Katniss Everdeen in Panem. The second book left off with a horrible cliff-hanger with Katniss being removed from the Hunger Games stadium before the games were even completed.

Katniss finds herself awaking in the hospital and discovers she is now in District 13, a District which does really exist. And much to her great sorrow, most of District 12 and most of its inhabitants have been killed as the Capitol goes on its quest to subdue all of the districts, destroying the ones who do not obey.

Katniss' family has escaped and her best friend, Gale, is safe too, but the boy she was beginning to fall for, Peeta, was not rescued from the stadium at the games, and now he is being tortured and controlled by The Capitol as a weapon, one which they intend to use directly against Katniss.

Katniss discovers the rebellion and learns of its plans to overthrow the Capitol, and to begin by gaining control of each district one-by-one. And it is Katniss. Katniss Everdeen that they choose to have as their leader, their symbols, their Mockingjay. The sight of which brings strength and power to all those who see her.

And yet Katniss is torn apart, tortured by the thought of what is happening to Peeta and destroyed by the new control under which she finds herself and her life. Overwhelmed by guilt that but-for her, most of District 12 would still be alive...

Will the rebellion be successful in convincing Katniss to be their symbol? And will Katniss have the strength to cooperate? And what of Peeta, locked up in the Capitol and being tortured by President Snow in order to break Katniss? Will their efforts be successful, or is there something much, much, much more sinister at work?

Read Mockingjay to find out!

Definitely the least favorite of the 3 books in my opinion.

Katniss is basically completely broken, and you no longer see the strong young woman, the one who volunteered as tribute to save her baby sister. Instead it's all self-pity, self-loathing, and more self-pity. It makes it hard to empathize with her.

Yes, she's been through more than any of us can have imagined. 1.5 hunger games, and seeing the man she loves locked up and knowing he's being tortured. But she's so self-pitying it's almost hard to read.

It took me a lot longer to finish this book than it did for me to finish the other two. The first two I almost couldn't put down! And when the second ended on such a cliffhanger, I couldn't help but start the 3rd immediately.

Maybe there's something in me that always hates seeing a good series end (ask me how I feel about the epilogue in Harry Potter #7) but I really think it's more than that with this book. Mockingjay just simply isn't as good, isn't as captivating and isn't as compelling.

We meet a few more interesting characters, see a lot of the same old ones, and the tired attempts at twists just don't quite do it for me.

And yet, if you've read this much of the series you really should finish the third.

All in all for this book alone, 3 out of 5 stars.

For the series as a whole though, 4 out of 5, largely carried by the first book, The Hunger Games.
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ScaperGal
3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing ( contains spoilers)
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2012
Verified Purchase
Just finished reading the last book in the Hunger Games series. I am giving this novel 3 stars for the following reasons...

While the writing is excellent and each book is riveting, I can't help but feel disappointed that the author dedicated 1000+ pages (in 3 novels) to violence and the oppressive aura of the Panem world where the characters lived, but could not pull in one final chapter that gave the reader hope. There was barely a glimpse of the better future that Katniss, Peeta, Haymich, Gale, Finnick and the others fought so long and hard to secure. It was added in as an afterthought in an epilogue that was barely a page and a half long.

I would have liked to have seen more balance between the violence that permeates all 3 novels and some periods of respite. Those only came as the characters were unconscious or asleep. It occurred to me that I find it somewhat disturbing that Ms Collins can write untold chapters describing the most gruesome tortures in graphic detail but not be able to find a few paragraphs within her writing soul that develop the bonds, friendships and relationships beyond the "arena" that were such a vital part of the story and the eventual outcome.

For example ... Katniss' mother seemed to be totally forgotten by midway through book 3 and just faded into the background. Katniss was left to fend for herself. What mother would abandon her child - even a young adult child knowing how much pain she had been through? Lastly, the relationship with Peeta was not explored at all after the rescue and with how the 2 had parted in the Capitol it was a bit far fetched that they would suddenly meet up again and everything would be rosy and fine which is what war alluded to in the Epilogue.

As this novel was targeted to a late teen audience I think the violent content is a bit over the top and am having second thoughts about giving it to my 15 year old granddaughter to read.

Pity really, because I greatly admire Ms Collins' ability to write so well in the first person, it is not an easy task. I will see the movie, mainly because I am curious to see how the story is translated to the screen.
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars This book is for Young Adults?!?
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2012
Verified Purchase
Like everyone else, I loved the first two books! I liked this one as well, although I do feel dissatisfied about the pieces of this book that are "missing". I read the entire series in 4 days, so it must have been pretty gripping. However, I am truly surprised that this series is considered young adult fiction. The overall theme of this last book is very dark and parts were more disturbing than any of the adult horror fiction I've read. I would definitely recommend that parents read this book first before handing it over to your 12 year old.

*Now for the part with Spoilers*

I'm open minded when reading and have no argument with who Katniss ended up with or how drastically much the characters changed in the course of this last book (like I have any say, ha). I wasn't looking for a fairy tale and given the circumstances, I think the book ended in the best way it could, but I really do feel a little cheated out of some of the story about how they got there though. How did Peeta suddenly get over most of his issues enough to be with her in the end...I don't doubt that he could, but after being with them through this whole journey, I would have liked to experience more of what finally brought them back together. As some of the other reviews have said, she really did spend a lot of the time hiding in closets and drugged and if there is time for describing her hiding places in detail, I would have preferred for a little more time to be spent explaining what happened after Katniss shot the president. I understand why she did it, I understand why she 'agreed' to the games, I even understand how her and Gale could have grown apart and that he was passionate about his hatred of the Capitol from the beginning, but I would have been more satisfied with this book as a whole if I had been able to read a little more about the culmination and ending of this war that she lost herself fighting, instead of just getting a blurb about it when she was in the hovercraft at the end. I thought the Hunger Games book was much better than the movie, but I find myself hoping that the final movie might help wrap things up a little more fully.
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Baroness of Topaz
3.0 out of 5 stars A Beautifully Haunting, Heartbreakingly Bittersweet Conclusion
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2011
Verified Purchase
Everything about this book, this trilogy, moved me profoundly. It was an emotional roller coaster to watch sixteen year old Katniss fight her way to victory in two Hunger Games, experience astonishing loss, and become a symbol of the rebel fire to overthrow oppressive rule in order to create a new world.

Mockingjay perfectly match the brilliant pacing and plotting of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Like the first two, Mockigjay is full of action, suspense, and wonderful characterization. These elements weave a great tale that makes the reader stop and consider the world through the eyes of sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen.

Katniss was introduced as is a strong and resourceful survivor who learned how to persevere in a very harsh environment. Following her victory in the arena and as she was forced into the role of both symbol and pawn for others to use for their own objectives, she still retained a semblance of control.

In Mockingjay, Katniss had become more angsty, sad, and angry as she experiences even more tragic hardships but though all her trials, she maintains her core as the girl from the Hunger Games who had to keep her family alive since the age of twelve.

The post-traumatic stress, the mental breakdowns, and near insanity that beset Katniss were all played out realistically. It was a testament to Collins for not falling back on the gimmick of the tramatized heroine becoming an omnipotent uber woman who conquers the world. Katniss is depicted as an adolescent already damaged by hunger, violence and oppression when she is thrown into center of political intrigue and deception.

I loved learning more in depth insight into the wonderful secondary characters as Finnick, Annie, Boggs, Johanna, and Katniss' team.

This novel was so incredibly moving; it was a crucible of sad and sweet, pain and healing that sometime left me physically drained. There were times I had to set the book down and reset in order to get through certain parts. Collins could really build up love and connection for a character...then just as suddenly tear them away.

It was devastating become attached to so many extraordinary characters, who were symbols of hope and happiness for the future, only to extinguish their light in the next chapter. Such inexplicable deaths of certain characters just left me with a feeling of emptiness.

As for the love triangle, the whole Team Gale/Team Peeta dilemma merely comes across as a distraction, especially when there is a much greater plot present. Gale and Peeta are exemplary in their own right. Gale the hunter is strong, resilient, and resourceful. Peeta, the boy with the bread, is sweet, sincere, and devoted. Both possessed fine qualities that were in perfect sync with Katniss, however, a triangle is an impossible situation and the only resolution is that one character will be shortchanged, discarded, or hurt.

Overall, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay combined is one of the most memorable and moving trilogies I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The girl who was on fire captured a piece of my heart.
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