Mockingjay: A Book Review

by Maria Kanai

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Age Group: Young Adult

Rating: 2.5/5

"Mockingjay" is the final installment in the teen trilogy "Hunger Games" by author Suzanne Collins. Its long-anticipated release in August 24, 2010 sold over 400,000 copies in the first week. After reading the second book "Catching Fire", I had to admit I was slightly hesitant to pick this one up. As I stated in my last review, I was not entirely impressed with the unoriginality and lack of character development. However, "Catching Fire" ended at a painful cliffhanger. I couldn't leave the Hunger Games yet!

Our heroine Katniss Everdeen still survives, but not by luck. She learns about the mysterious District 13, and their involvement in her escape from the Quarter Quell. District 13 plans to overthrow the Capitol, but the people need Katniss to finally choose her place as the leader of the rebellion. As war breaks loose and the death toll continues to rise, the line between allies and enemies starts to blur.

This book ties up the loose ends left at the end of "Catching Fire." We learn all about District 13, more history on the Capitol, and the ultimate showdown between the rebelling districts and the Capitol. The triangle between Peeta, Katniss, and Gale is resolved, and I was incredibly happy with her decision. As for character development, we learn more about handsome Finnick, the tribune in the Quell I know every single female reader fell in love with. Haymitch also is amazing. We find out his involvement in the rebellion, and he turns out to be an amazing character.

"Mockingjay" had a lot to live up to. It should have resolved many of the issues in Katniss' character. Her indecisions, her inner scars after the hunger games, and her continuous manipulation by the Capitol. She should have come a full circle, a winner in the face of her difficulties.

She didn't.

The message of the entire "Hunger Games" trilogy is that war is unforgivable, and those involved can never come out unscathed. "Mockingjay" pushes that message straight in your face over and over again. Katniss is manipulated by both the Capitol and District 13, spends most of her time in rehab, and in the unbelievably shocking conclusion, is beaten down once again. Where was her triumphant journey as a heroine? Maybe this was Collins' intent, but I personally believe that this book would have benefited more with Katniss changing, her situation changing, and then coming out successful. Also, there were too many characters created only to be killed off. I stopped caring for them, and grew rather numb to the deaths.

What was wonderful about the first book was its depiction of the grim realities of war, yet there was humor and hope for those involved. Katniss' strength and determination made her a character you wanted to cheer for. When you take those away, which happened in "Mockingjay", you're left with a rather depressing book that you wished you hadn't read.

A satisfying conclusion to a best-selling trilogy? Unfortunately, no. Worth reading? Yes, but definitely only because of the cliffhanger in the second book.

(By the way, there's a movie coming out in 2012! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/)