Review Wednesday: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

*DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE HUNGER GAMES OR CATCHING FIRE. THERE MAY BE SOME SPOILER. If you want to read this series, read my review about The Hunger Games by clicking on the link: Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Title: Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3)

Author: Suzanne Collins

1st Date of Publication: August 24, 2010

ISBN: 9780439023511
# of Pages: 400

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Society

Age Rating: 15+ (Violence and Child Cruelty)

Buy on Amazon

Book Description:

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.

Setting: Panem (United States in the future)
Point of View: 1st person- Katniss Everdeen

Goodreads Rating: 4.04

My Rating: 4.75

Part of the Book that Caught My Attention: Both

View on the Cover: The bird is now taking flight and the lines are all broken, which means some major destruction is going to happen.
View on Title: So is the Mockingjay Katniss? Or is the Mockingjay something bigger?

Pros:

• Mockingjay is a much different read when you look at the tone of it all. Sure, Katniss has gone through a lot of PTSD before The Hunger Games really started and more so in Catching Fire. But, you truly see the mental and emotional impact of the Hunger Games and war has on people. You don't necessarily see it in just Katniss. You see it in Finnick, Peeta, Gale, Prim, Buttercup, and Haymitch. You pretty much see it in everyone. You watch how everyone copes with the entire issue whether that's complete avoidance, drugs, alcohol, or keeping your hands busy with anything to try to get your mind off all the pain and suffering they and their loved ones have and are currently enduring.
• This book really shows what war is like and how it can bring both the best in people and the worst in others. War brings some hard losses, broken relationships, and misguided delusions. I know most of the time Katniss is pretty close to being completely incapacitated (You would be if you were in her position.), but the people she loves gives her the strength to fight and be what the people of Panem needs: the Mockingjay.
• This book really pulled at my heartstrings because the book comes full circle to the beginning of the series and the purpose of why Katniss really went to the Hunger Games in the first place.
• I really liked the ending before the epilogue. I thought it was another clever ending and shows how Katniss really starts Panem with a fresh start despite costing her pretty much everything. 
• Overall, the book was well done as the installments prior to that. I would not recommend this book to someone who is looking for a light or fun read. This series, in general, is pretty dark, but this book in the series is probably the darkest.

Cons:

• I thought the epilogue was a bit unnecessary and forced, but I understand the purpose of it. It's to show that there is hope despite everything that Katniss and Peeta and everyone else has gone through.
• Some of the deaths in this novel seemed a bit excessive, but this is war after all. Death and destruction happen.

Critics' Reviews:

"Fans will be happy to hear that Mockingjay is every bit as complex and imaginative as Hunger Games and Catching Fire." —Entertainment Weekly
"Suspenseful... Collins' fans, grown-ups included, will race to the end." —USA Today
"At its best the trilogy channels the political passion of 1984, the memorable violence of A Clockwork Orange, the imaginative ambience of The Chronicles of Narnia and the detailed inventiveness of Harry Potter." —New York Times Book Review
"Unfolding in Collins' engaging, intelligent prose and assembled into chapters that end with didn't-see-that-coming cliffhangers, this finale is every bit the pressure cooker of its forebears. [Mockingjay] is nearly as shocking, and certainly every bit as original and thought provoking, as The Hunger Games. Wow." —Los Angeles Times
*"This concluding volume in Collins's Hunger Games trilogy accomplishes a rare feat, the last installment being the best yet, a beautifully orchestrated and intelligent novel that succeeds on every level." —Publishers Weekly

Suzanne Collins's Website:

http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/

 

Other Recommendations:
The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Cinder by Marissa Meyer