Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
August 27, 2010 in Reviews
- Reading level: Young Adult
- List Price: $17.99 US/$19.99 CDN
- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Scholastic Press (August 24, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0439023513
- ISBN-13: 978-0439023511
Buy Mockingjay at:
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12.
The story so far:
Katniss has been through hell and back, as a Tribute from District 12. She’s had to fight for her life every step of the way, even if it means killing for survival. It’s all lead up to this moment, the Capitol (led by President Snow) is angry with Kat and they will do anything to get to her…including bombing her District, killing hundreds of people in the process. Katniss is now leading the rebellion, just so she can get to President Snow.
I have to be honest with you all, the hype surrounding this book just didn’t live up to the original Hunger Games for me. Mockingjay takes a total tone change mid book and it’s not for the better IMHO.
Please keep in mind, I am trying to do this as spoiler free as possible. There WILL be discussions about this book in the comments, so please if you haven’t read the book avoid the comments where I will be able to discuss this in depth with those who have read the series in full.
I felt that in this, the final book in the series, Ms. Collins killed off characters just because she could. Not many of the deaths had an impact on the book, except for one and even then I felt it was unnecessary. It was like she was putting Katniss into all these positions to see if she could break her and really, after all this character has been through I felt the ending was lackluster at best. And there were a lot of deaths, many of which I felt there was no real point to.
Katniss was always a strong character to me, but towards the end of the book it was like she was an all new character. After all she’d been through, now she’s impacted? WHAT?! After all the deaths, just one (though a big one) changes her so deeply, changes her feelings towards her best friend? Through out the book Katniss is used non-stop, no descion is really her own and that’s not the Katniss we knew in books 1 and 2. That’s what really brough it down for me in terms of rating, because this isn’t the Katniss we’ve read about previously.
The previous books in the series always left me thinking, but this left me with “that’s it?”. The situation with Gale was too tidy, no ending at all with no real closure. The situation with Peeta was way too cut and dry, how all of the sudden he’s “okay” made no sense to me. I also saw the climax coming from a mile away, so when it happened I wasn’t shocked or stunned.
What I loved about Hunger Games and Catching Fire, was there wasn’t an easy resolution to any of the problems Katniss faced but with Mockingjay things seemed so easily fixed. When Katniss comes out of her coma, it seems like everything around her is fixed and it made no sense to me as a reader.
I was disappointed with the final book in the series, it just cleaned up too nicely and didn’t match the hype for me. Mockingjay just didn’t have the same feel as Hunger Games and Catching Fire did.
I agree with everything you wrote … I thought the deaths were completely unnecessary, except for the last one, MAYBE … especially with the person who found his happy place, then had it all RIPPED away, like the only reason he got to be happy was for it to be taken away … I am not happy with how Gale was just brushed aside with an almost-snide comment by Greasy Sae – WHAT? – I did not spend three books having my heart wrenched out, for him to be dismissed with one sentence basically … he’s also been through a lot, he deserved a little more … I didn’t get the Peeta situation either, one minute he was screwed up, next thing she was no longer worried he’d strangle her in bed – WHAT? – when did he suddenly get 100% better??! Also, my god, it was dark and depressing. I expected that, but not to such an extent. When I finished the book, I felt *okay* about it, like maybe there couldn’t have been another resolution, what with everyone having gone through so much crappy stuff and everything else, but as I think about it more and more, I just don’t think it was a good ending. I’m not happy about it.
I’m so glad I’m not alone, all I saw were glowing reviews and it had be going did I read the same book?!
I read this entire series back to back this week. I liked Mockingjay it just didn’t have the same exciting action as Hunger Games and Catching Fire.
I did feel the Gale situation was just brushed aside and we didn’t really get any closure on her relationship with him. And the Peeta thing with the capitol seemed a little over the top. I think I would have preferred her to just rescue him.
The ending/epilogue was pretty awesome
I thought the ending should have been drawn out a bit more, it was so wham bam thank you mam.
I haven’t read Mockingjay yet, but some questions I have that would would be a spoiler- is the HEA too pat as in Katniss is able to save the day even though it seem virtually impossible?
I also think the love triangle is too important and I’d assume that wasn’t Collins’ intention when she started Hunger Games. I think perhaps she was influenced by what her readers wanted?
Yes to everything, the HEA made me wanna gag.
The brush-off with Gale at the end was weird. She felt he had something to do with it, but didn’t argue? Sorry, Katniss likes to say things (often bluntly and at the wrong time). I thought it was odd that she didn’t voice her concerns at the end either, prior to the “surprise” target of her arrow. We never get that resolution of her voicing her concerns. Sure, what she did apparently made everything OK and kept Panem from repeating some past issues, but the idea that she would just then keep her head down in District 12 thereafter and it magically would come together cheapened the closure for me.
I think Collins was trying to keep things honest. In reality lots of political stuff does happen behind the scenes and maybe that’s how it needed to be to avoid additional revolts. I don’t know. I just know that while I’m glad I read Mockingjay, it didn’t leave me feeling the same as the earlier titles.
Admittedly, I was surprised that they put Katniss in another role of being manipulated and she didn’t really fight it. She noted it mentally, but never told them she wouldn’t be a pawn. It fits with the other books, but I had expected a bit of growth there.
Though, I’m with KC in liking the epilogue.
Also, I liked the way she worked The Hanging Tree throughout.
I did like the hanging tree, but do you really think a teen is going to catch it the way us adults do?
The brush off made me sooooo pissed! Ugh.
It’s hard to stay. I hate underestimating teen readers, but, no, I think you’re right they may not grasp the use of The Hanging Tree the same way we would.
The more I think about the brush off, the more it upsets me.
Me too! LOL
I can’t agree more about being disappointed with Mockingjay, and in particular the brush off with Gale. I was so, so disappointed with that I can’t explain it. After everything they’ve been through, working together for years keeping each others families alive, I just thought it was wrong. And the only death that had any real impact on me was Prim’s, and only then when Katniss broke down.
The ending with Peeta was far too neat and I was really angry actually that Gale got no mention in the epilogue. I can understand how Katniss was torn apart by everything that happened to her. She protected Prim by going in to the games and in the end it didn’t matter and she lost her anyway. I get her being devestated by that, but I did feel that throughout the book, Katniss wasn’t the same Katniss from books 1 and 2 as well. I was disappointed by how much she played by the others plans. I was also really disappointed that Gale became so warpped with anger and hatred that he seemed to forget his love for Katniss at times. I wasn’t happy with that either. Overall, I think it’s very well done, but I far from love it. The more I think about it, the more disappointed with aspects I seem to be. Very sad because Hunger Games and Catching Fire were epic. Great review.
I honestly would sit and wait a few days after finishing the two previous books to review them, because they stuck with me that long. This one I finished yesterday, typed the review right away because I knew nothing would stick out to me other then Prim.
In some ways I agree with your review, but I have to say that my conclusion is quite different. I don’t know if I can go into everything, because I’d probably end up writing an essay
, but here are a few things:
You said you felt that the deaths were unnecessary, that there was no real point to them. I agree, but unlike you I feel that that was actually the actual point. Real deaths in real wars don’t make sense. They don’t happen to prove a point in the bigger picture. They just happen.
Yes, I think that the “big” death is what finally breaks her. With that death, she lost her hope of a better future, a reason for the sacrifices. (That’s my interpretation anyway.)
I don’t think that that particular death was the entire reason for what happened between her and Gale. There wasn’t any closure for her and Gale, because there couldn’t really be. They’d grown apart and discovered how different they both really were. When they were hunting together in the woods, and Gale was talking about a rebellion, it worried Katniss. But it was never more than just talk. When it became more, when she saw what he was capable of doing, and what the war had actually brought out of him, he was no longer the person that she knew. And he knew it when the breaking point came.
And I wouldn’t say that the situation with Peeta was neat and tidy. Katniss was out of it for months. When it comes to what happened with the country and everything else around Katniss being fixed when she wakes up. I don’t think it is. It’s just that Katniss doesn’t care. She’s never wanted to be a a leader, and she still doesn’t. She just wants to be able to live her life the way she chooses. One leader replaces another, and the people hope that it will be different this time, but you can never be sure.
I probably agree with you that this book had a different feel than the other books, but at the same time it’s in this book that the real war starts, so I’m kind of expecting a different feel to it.
Anyway, those are a few of my thoughts. Thanks for a great review. It made me go through my own thoughts about certain parts of the book, and how I felt. I’m still waiting for my friends to finish the book, and for me, I’m finding I have more thoughts about the book the more time that passes.
I always love reading reviews of a book I reviewed that has a different opinion then my own. I agree with your points on Gale though. How she tied that up just…..was not entirely believable to me.
[...] Wicked Pixie’s book review Share this:FacebookRedditDiggTwitterMoreStumbleUponLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. Tags: Gil Scott Heron, Katniss Everdeen, Mockingjay, Peeta Mellark, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games trilogy Comments RSS feed [...]