On September 14, 2008 I was reading Stephenie Meyer's (author of Twilight) blog and she posted a book recommendation of something called Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. As I read the book description I realized the plot sounded a lot like one of my favorite Japanese films and manga, Battle Royale. Needless to say I headed out and bought the book the same day, and now 3 years later we have the third and final installment: Mockingjay.
I have to say that when I say that when I started reading Mockingjay I really had no expectations or any idea about what could possibly happen. After re-reading the second book Catching Fire a few days before the release of Mockingjay, I could honestly say I had no idea what was coming next. So when I opened the book and sat myself down to read I was surprised by literally everything. I didn't know how Suzanne Collins was going to give this unhappy storyline a happy ending or a semi-happy ending. If there was one thing I expected it was a lot of deaths and boy was I right.
Katniss is in every definition a heroine. Not only is she smart and powerful, but she's also vulnerable and weak. I believe Mockingjay showed us the real Katniss, she is no longer the young fearless child, she understands who she is now and she is frightened of her future. Katniss's psychological analysis is one of the hidden gems in this book that will be overseen by many, especially younger readers. It would be wonderful to analyze this book side by side with a psychology text book, because more than plot this book focuses on that aspect of each character. I can finally say Katniss has become an empowering and likable character (where maybe she came off selfish in the first two books), she has discovered who she is and has continued on with her life even after the horrible events at the end of the book where she loses her sister and is literally burned. She has also realized that Gale is not the man for her, she left him behind long ago when she stepped in for her sister at the reaping and the moment she met Peeta that was the start of her new life, beside him.
Mockingjay is by no means a pretty book, it's gritty, savage and exceedingly violent. Even though I, an avid YA literature reader, don't consider half the YA books I've read to be for teens, Mockingjay was by far the most violent. It is carnage from start to finish. If you're expecting some action/adventure book with some romance in it, this isn't for you. It would be more in the horror/psychological genre to me. I believe Suzanne Collins accomplished what she set out to do and this can be see in the hundreds of negative reviews from fans. Why is that an accomplishment, you ask? Well, because those bad reviews have no merit since this a wonderful and beautifully written book. I believe those bad reviews stem from the fans who's expectations were shattered when Suzanne decided to take this plot to a whole other level and completely different direction. I also think that half those bad reviews come from readers who are not yet of age to understand such complex psychological books. But yes Miss Collins, you did achieve to send a message through your books because I had nightmares the night after finishing Mockingjay and it took me a while to process it all.
Some things I didn't like or rather missed were probably all relevant to the plot, but the still made me sad, which I really didn't need in such a depressing book. I missed the old sweet Peeta. I understand this change was needed, but I really did miss him. This harsh and evil Peeta was horrifying and yet I'm sure this version of him didn't just pop up, it must be a side of his personality that was hidden deep inside. Still, at least his old self broke through at times and made me smile. Finnick's death was by far the most saddening after Prim, it was completely unexpected to me and painful because he was finally getting a chance to be happy with Annie. I would've like to know what happen to the prep team by the end; though they're minor characters and part of the evil side of this story, they were some of my favorite characters and their outcomes are unknown. Gale made me very angry. Though I've been Team Peeta all along, I always had a soft spot for Gale, but then in this book he was a completely different person. I would call him downright evil at times. And then at the end he just disappears with no parting worlds to Katniss, no "I'm Sorry", nothing. I still haven't gotten over that fact. And finally, the rushed feeling I got toward the end of the book.
In the end, it took me a whole night of nightmare and a whole day of thinking to make my decision as to whether I loved Mockingjay or not, because there really can't be middle ground with a book like this. I realized it was the shock of the whole experience of reading such a violent book that didn't let me make up my mind, but once I got everything settled and came to terms with everything I realized this was a wonderful book and I loved it, though for VERY different reasons than other YA books. I loved it for being entirely different from its predecessors and other YA books. So I applaud Suzanne Collins for her magnificent writing and for having the balls to write something different. A series finally has a fitting ending rather than an obligatory happy ending.
Final Thoughts:
I give Mockingjay 5 out of 5 stars for superb writing and wonderful psychological analysis of the characters in their evironment. It is a perfectly fitting ending for this series.
By the way, the Hanging Tree Song is the creepiest thing ever and this fan version is great.
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