Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

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 ...more  Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: August 24, 2010
Series: Hunger Games #3
Links:  Amazon | Goodreads
Source: Purchased

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.

I loved it.  I felt the tension throughout the book.  It was pain and numbness, and deep sorrows accompanied by small and scattered joys.  I read it all in one sitting and, when I was finished, I was exhausted.  It is not one of those cheerful reads, so do not expect to experience an abundance of happiness during your time reading this book.  It is emotional, and the characters are broken.  The end leaves the reader sorrowful, but also gives small strings of hope and healing on which to cling. 

I admire what Collins did with Mockingjay.  Some people may not like this book as much as the others in the trilogy, because it feels significantly weightier than the previous two.  The focus is shifted from surviving the Games to long-term survival on a much larger scale, and thus to the rebellion, which brings to the book all of the troubles of war.  I found it to be tragically beautiful and thought provoking.