Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans -- except Katniss.
The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay -- no matter what the personal cost.
Beryl's Review
This review may (actually it will) contain spoilers. Avert your eyes if you don't want to cry.
It took me a day to cool down and get my thoughts straight so I could rewrite this review. I'll be honest and say that even if the two previous books were amazing, and even if this third book had everything to stir a roller coaster of emotions in the readers, I didn't enjoy this read.
The Hunger Games was generally an excellent serie, with lots of meaning and passing a clear message. It wasn't never a book, that, personally, 'inspired' me. It was just a jolly good sandwich of action and romance and drama.
The message portrayed throughout the entire series was the most clear in this last installment, 'Mockingjay'. It's true that Collins got what she wanted; show that in war no one wins, and that it breaks people to no repair. But it was sad. It was misery all over, it was painful and heavy and I disliked that. Hey, I've read so many books that end on a dramatic note, but none of them have made me so tired and depressed as much as Mockingjay did. You'd say 'that's great it made you sad, it means the book was good!' Well, it was good, on the part where we got the meaning and the cruelty of the world and people. But I didn't like reading Mockingjay. I was annoyed, irritated.
I disliked that Katniss was so weak. I disliked the fact she couldn't assume her role of the Mockingjay, that she couldn't inspire anyone, that she couldn't get over her morphine and collect the broken pieces of her heart to do something useful. I didn't mind she was distressed at first, but after she continued whining past the 200 page, I got tired. She also always ended up in the hospital instead of fighting, and that simply wasn't the Katniss I knew.
I didn't like the fact the love triangle wasn't solved, that Katniss kept switching from Gale to Peeta, that Gale had to end up badly and that at the end it feels like Katniss still doesn't know how to love.
I hated that Prim had to die, even if I both agree and disagree on her death. I disagree because it defies the point of saving her at first, but agree because it doesn't mean that you've once met a magical unicorn that you'll survive a war. For Finnick's case, though, I am totally against it. I think that what Collins missed to show is that even if a war is going in, even if everyone gets broken and hurt and bashed and stumped at, love still exists in times of chaos, and it can go on. Finnick should have lived and been an example.
That's why I didn't like Mockingjay. Too much useless deaths, too much drugs, too much giving up. In a war, people should never give up. Katniss never put her heart in her role. Yes, she was manipulated, yes, she's still just a girl and a child, but she could have rejected her role of Mockingjay and still taken things in hand in her own way, and it would have been alright, because she would be doing something.
In the end, people may say this book was epic, and I guess it was in some way, but I didn't like the way things went. It wasn't inspiring. It was, on the contrary, depressing. Things made sens, though. Just like Aithen kept telling me when I whined on and on: "It makes sens, so deal with it, wimp." But I didn't like reading it. I really didn't, and I want to forget this book as quickly as possible.
I won't even rate it, and let Aithen do it.
The Hunger Games was generally an excellent serie, with lots of meaning and passing a clear message. It wasn't never a book, that, personally, 'inspired' me. It was just a jolly good sandwich of action and romance and drama.
The message portrayed throughout the entire series was the most clear in this last installment, 'Mockingjay'. It's true that Collins got what she wanted; show that in war no one wins, and that it breaks people to no repair. But it was sad. It was misery all over, it was painful and heavy and I disliked that. Hey, I've read so many books that end on a dramatic note, but none of them have made me so tired and depressed as much as Mockingjay did. You'd say 'that's great it made you sad, it means the book was good!' Well, it was good, on the part where we got the meaning and the cruelty of the world and people. But I didn't like reading Mockingjay. I was annoyed, irritated.
I disliked that Katniss was so weak. I disliked the fact she couldn't assume her role of the Mockingjay, that she couldn't inspire anyone, that she couldn't get over her morphine and collect the broken pieces of her heart to do something useful. I didn't mind she was distressed at first, but after she continued whining past the 200 page, I got tired. She also always ended up in the hospital instead of fighting, and that simply wasn't the Katniss I knew.
I didn't like the fact the love triangle wasn't solved, that Katniss kept switching from Gale to Peeta, that Gale had to end up badly and that at the end it feels like Katniss still doesn't know how to love.
I hated that Prim had to die, even if I both agree and disagree on her death. I disagree because it defies the point of saving her at first, but agree because it doesn't mean that you've once met a magical unicorn that you'll survive a war. For Finnick's case, though, I am totally against it. I think that what Collins missed to show is that even if a war is going in, even if everyone gets broken and hurt and bashed and stumped at, love still exists in times of chaos, and it can go on. Finnick should have lived and been an example.
That's why I didn't like Mockingjay. Too much useless deaths, too much drugs, too much giving up. In a war, people should never give up. Katniss never put her heart in her role. Yes, she was manipulated, yes, she's still just a girl and a child, but she could have rejected her role of Mockingjay and still taken things in hand in her own way, and it would have been alright, because she would be doing something.
In the end, people may say this book was epic, and I guess it was in some way, but I didn't like the way things went. It wasn't inspiring. It was, on the contrary, depressing. Things made sens, though. Just like Aithen kept telling me when I whined on and on: "It makes sens, so deal with it, wimp." But I didn't like reading it. I really didn't, and I want to forget this book as quickly as possible.
I won't even rate it, and let Aithen do it.
-Beryl
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins Aithen's review
I let Beryl write the first part of the review, since she was the one to review so well the other two tomes in the trilogy. And though I have to admit I do agree with her on most issues she raised with this book, I actually enjoyed it.
My review also contains spoilers.
Even if I understand that Katniss was in a great mental pain after everything that happened to her in the two previous books, I have to agree with Beryl. At one point, she just should've picked herself up and done something with herself. Her being so down throughout the whole book, though understandable, really irked me at times, but I could get over it and see how good the rest was.
My first reaction to reading Mockingjay was fascination. Fascination with the whole world Collins built, but also with how she toyed with my emotions, pulled me into the story without letting me the chance to think of anything else. The absolutely unpredictable plot made it all the more interesting. Every detail was explained, and the characters grew throughout the book. Even the secondary characters, tertiary characters, rather unimportant characters.
Something I loved was the emotional roller coaster I was on all throughout the book. Every single event roused a strong emotional response on my part. Like Annie and Finnick's reunital, their wedding, their child. Finnick was probably my favourite character, and I really don't understand why he had to die too. As Beryl said, that was cruel and useless.
Unlike Beryl, I think the love triangle was actually resolved. I actually understood why Katniss chose Peeta over Gale. It was a good reason. It was also a good thing that they fell in love all over again. Before, Peeta was just too crazy about her to notice she wasn't the perfect princess of his dreams. After this book, it didn't feel like he didn't see her flaws anymore, because he did see them.
I have to say my appreciation of this book was enormous. People say it was too dramatic, too sad, too exhausting, but I liked it. It was a perfect conclusion to an amazing trilogy, filled with morals everyone can learn from.
If it were only up to me and my love for Mockingjay, I'd rate this book 10. But there are flaws in this book, which is why it received a lower rating. That doesn't prevent me from telling you to read this book. It was truly excellent.
-Aithen
Rating: 8,9/10
