Aug 24, 2010

Book Review: MOCKINGJAY

Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Rating:
Good if...you're ready for the bittersweet conclusion to Hunger Games

Summary (Amazon):
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. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

My Thoughts:
"Real or not real?" that seems to be the haunting question the characters are forced to struggle with throughout this novel. I can't believe this series is over. I'm having all those feelings of reader-withdrawal right about now. (But I think that's a good thing. I felt the same way after the 7th Harry Potter too.) Of course, Suzanne Collins delivers once again. This 3rd book was well written, not lacking in the suspense and shock value, and impossible to put down.

Mockingjay won't make sense without reading Hunger Games and Catching Fire first. And you might also need a little refresher course even if you've already read them. It's been several months since I did and I was a bit lost on some of the names.

As book 3 starts we find Katniss more broken than ever. Peeta's been captured by the Capitol, Gale is at her side, but still she is torn between the two boys who love her. This isn't a game anymore--it never was--and Katniss is now expected to step up and be the symbol of the President Cain's (of district 13) rebellion as the war has fully begun.

This book isn't for the faint of heart. People die, get tortured, and it is gruesome in other ways I never saw coming. Many of the elements of this novel are bittersweet. I cried. I laughed. I want to kick something for the hole in my stomach that still lingers. Anticlimactic is the appropriate word. But still even in all the pain, love and hope emerge. It ended how it should have, but not without the price. This series will always be one of my favorites. It was real. Very real.

I really want to hear everyone elses thoughts on Mockingjay. So if you read and reviewed Mockingjay can you please post your review here. That way I can be sure to read what every else thinks.

4 comments:

Amanda said...

I absolutely loved it!! Far exceeded my expectations. I plan to take a few days off and then reread it slower over the weekend before I post my thoughts.

Lori L. Clark Art said...

I just started reading it today ... and now it's going to be next to impossible to skip ahead and just read the last line. :)

Alex Bennett from Electrifying Reviews said...

I was disappointed. But glad to see you liked it!

danya said...

I totally had that reader-withdrawal thing going on (still have it whenever I think about Mockingjay and the series being over). It was indeed bittersweet. I did wish to see more of the development of certain characters (and relationships), but overall I was pretty wowed by it. I think my favorite's still Catching Fire though!