Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

**WARNING** There is no possible way to discuss Mockingjay without spoilers from both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (links to my reviews of them). Continue at your own risk. If you're looking or a quick answer on if I thought it was satisfying – that would be Yes.

Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games, Book 3
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Dystopia
Release Date: August 24, 2010

Katniss Everdeen has done the unthinkable. She's survived the Hunger Games not once, but twice. And, as before, she's in even more danger now than she was when she entered the arena. President Snow holds her responsible for the unrest that continues to grow in the Districts. Not only that, he's apparently made it his personal vendetta to break her. Now, no one is safe, not her District, her friends, and most definitely not those she loves most.

As she navigates an increasingly deadly, heartbreaking terrain, Katniss will struggle against internal and external forces that threaten to defeat her.

I'm caught between counting myself lucky that I started this series when it was complete, and missing out on all the conversations and speculation and discussion that occurred while everyone was waiting for this last installment. I think I missed out a little bit, but I can't deny that I was extremely grateful that I could, after the shocking end of Catching Fire, immediately pick up the final book in the trilogy.

And just as with the previous installments, it pulled me further into Katniss's world and made me even more invested in these characters I've come to love.

I have to say that I finished this book breathless, broken and drained. It squeezed every last bit of emotion out of me throughout the course of it, and did not let up until the very end.

If you think that, after reading the first two books in the trilogy, this mostly a story about love set against the backdrop of a rebellion, I'd disagree. I think this is more a story about a rebellion and war and the people that fight them with a bit of love and romance thrown over the top of it.

We're thrust into District Thirteen with Katniss where she realizes that evil doesn't always reside only on the other side of the line. Where being a pawn is sometimes the only choice you have until there's another one. Katniss continues to deal with an increasing amount of stress from her experiences in the Games, and it shows in her actions.

Part of the reason that this hit me so hard was because of the utterly heartbreaking truth of what had, and was continuing to, happen to Katniss, Finnick, Peeta, Gale and all the others that I'd been on this journey with.

It's not an easy story. It's heart-wrenching, exhausting, and sometimes painful to look at. It pushes you to see things that, I think, a lot of people would rather not examine. But don't get me wrong, this isn't just a book that looks into the darkness. It's also a story of hope and fighting for that hope. The hope for a better tomorrow.

I was absolutely absorbed in Mockingjay from the moment I first opened it to the very last page. Weeks later, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this incredibly deep, thought-provoking, and well written trilogy.


Grade: A


Book Link | Amazon | Kindle | nook | kobo | Borders eBook | Sony | Book Depository | Scholastic

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Warning first. There is no possible way to discuss Catching Fire without spoilers for The Hunger Games, so be prepared. I will mention, by necessity, some things that occur in the first book of the trilogy. For those that merely want to know if it was worth it after my great review of The Hunger Games, I can unequivocally say Yes. I stayed up until 4am reading this book and was eager to start the final book in the trilogy as soon as I finished. Now, onward and upward…

Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games, Book 2
Genre: Young Adult - Dystopia
Release Date: September 1, 2009





After the shattering events of The Hunger Games Katniss finds herself in even more danger. When she and her fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta took a stand at the end of the last Games, forcing the Capitol to choose between two victors or none, they inadvertently became the symbols, and heart, of the brewing rebellion. Naturally this paints a bulls-eye on them for the Capitol. They must navigate a continuously more difficult field to ensure the safety of not only themselves, but their families.

As you may remember, when I finished The Hunger Games I was practically salivating for the rest of the story. I was beyond thankful that I had both of the next two books available to me, and didn’t have to wait a year (or more) to get to the end.

Katniss hardly has a moment to rest, and begin to deal with the trauma that her bout in the Hunger Games had left her with before she found herself within the Capitol’s sight again. The victory tour of the twelve Districts is a yearly, and necessary, event she has no choice in. She’s hardly looking forward to it, but when she comes home to discover President Snow in her home with barely veiled threats, her future looms before her as a terrifying thing.

Now Katniss finds herself with the task of convincing the people of the Districts that she has never had an intention of standing against the powerful Capitol, but that she and Peeta are desperately in love – and it was that which caused her to make that heart-stopping choice. Not only that, but she must convince the President himself, a person that has Katniss’s death in his eyes, a thing even she can see.

Catching Fire is a rocketing-fast, nail-biting, action-filled, heart-wrenching sequel to The Hunger Games. I was immediately drawn into the story, and it did not let me go until I finished, at four in the morning. There’s a wonderful blend of action, world building, and increased character growth and depth. I simply couldn’t get enough of it.

The pacing here is another thing that’s absolutely fantastic. The tension continues to build, with hardly any let up, and at the same time doesn’t sacrifice anything of the character development. The plot is tightly woven and continues to build on the events and machinations only hinted at in The Hunger Games. And I’ll freely admit to being shocked, truly shocked, a few times in the story. There are few things that I love more than a novel that can keep me in suspense.

The love triangle, that appears to be somewhat necessary in young-adult novels these days, is more deeply explored in Catching Fire and while I’m not generally a fan of this particular trope, I have to admit that it’s handled really well here. It’s not only believable, it’s understandable. One of the things I loved was seeing Katniss explore her own feelings and struggling to come to terms with them. While she cares, deeply, she’s not the most emotional person. She is eminently practical and tries to apply that to what she feels, not always with the greatest results. It’s when she’s not thinking about things that I think we get the clearest glimpse into her heart. So while there were times that I wanted to smack her and tell her to stop trying to rationalize everything, I still completely stood by her while she worked through all these very difficult feelings and thoughts.

In The Hunger Games the cast of players was relatively few. Not so here, there are a multitude of secondary characters that we’re introduced to in this novel. Many of them felt like they deserved their own stories told, some were only around shortly, but each one felt fully developed with a complete history and personality. We also revisit those that we first met in The Hunger Games, learning more and yet still left with questions. One of my favorite new characters is Finnick, whom I couldn’t help but love and hope to see much more of.

All in all, Catching Fire more than lived up to my expectations. In fact, it blew them away. I was immediately, once again, enthralled in the world Suzanne Collins created and, upon finishing, couldn’t wait to delve into the final book in the trilogy.

Grade: A

Book Link | Amazon | Kindle | nook | kobo | Borders eBook | Sony | Book Depository | Scholastic Press

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Series: Hunger Games Trilogy 1
Genre: Young Adult Dystopia
Release Date: October 1, 2008


So after months of seeing nothing but blog post after blog post for the release of Mockingjay, the third book in The Hunger Games Trilogy, after hearing a very close friend rave about the series, I caved. I went out and bought the first book, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

You may be wondering why I had to cave at all. Well, I’ll tell you. I’m a person that can become almost violently opposed to something that’s become so popular. I’m honestly not even sure why. I would imagine some psychologist could come up with a reason, like I’m a non-conformist who likes to walk her own path and that I have a compelling need to rebel against…something. Or perhaps it’s something else entirely – maybe a subject for a different post. But it’s really beside the point. The point is that I was two years late in starting this series. And I just finished the first one. What follows may be my somewhat rambling, meandering thoughts, so bear with me.

In the post-apocalyptic world, where North America once lay, is the country of Panem. With it’s shining Capitol at the center of twelve districts. The Capitol rules all. The very lives of the people are not even under their own control, they live and die by the Capitol’s generosity and greed.

Seventy-five years ago there were thirteen districts, and there was a rebellion. The districts rose up against the rule of the Capitol. And were squashed. District 13 was destroyed utterly and the other twelve live an even more bleak existence. Since then, the Capitol, to remind the people of their absolute power and the futility of dissent, has required that each district provide two tributes. One girl and one boy between the ages of twelve and eighteen are taken to compete in the Hunger Games. A nationally televised event that pits these children against each other, and only one can come out alive.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her place in the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games she regards it as a death sentence. Having to feed and provide for her mother and younger sister for the last several years has made Katniss persevere. She already knows how to fight to live, how to endure difficulties, and it will take every inch of her abilities in order to gain success. But if she’s going to win, Katniss is going to face hard decisions. Life against love. Survival against humanity. And at the end of it all, if she actually manages to succeed, will she be someone she can live with?

Because I know there are people out there that haven’t read these yet, I’m going to try to remain spoiler free. I really believe that this series is one that’s best enjoyed as it unfolds. Suzanne Collins did a wonderful job of pulling me along and wringing emotions out of me, from smiles, to tears, to outright shock.

Katniss has had a hard life. She lost her father quite a while before the story begins and because her mother was so stricken with grief, it fell to Katniss to make sure that her family lived. She became the main provider, going outside the electrified fences that surround the district in order to hunt. Learning to trade and bargain. Selling and buying in order to keep her sister from ever knowing the depth of despair she had. She’s a strong heroine, but she’s not perfect.

She makes mistakes, misreads people and their objectives – even when it seems so clear to everyone else – and she can be exceptionally hard-headed. I admit that there were times when I wanted to shake her to make her see the truth of something, but in the end all it did was endear her more to me. Katniss is a heroine you can root for. Flaws and all.

The relationships between Katniss and everyone around her was something I truly enjoyed. For all her rough edges, Katniss has a very big, soft heart and you could easily see that in her thoughts and conversations. From her family, to her mentor for the Games, to her fellow tribute, even other competitors in the arena, each interaction brought more…just more of everything. There were several times I was moved to tears and sometimes I was smiling through them.

Beyond the characters, which I absolutely fell in love with, the world surrounded me in its embrace, holding me tight and showing me everything. I felt involved there, connected to the people and the place. More than anything I wanted to fight alongside them, with them, for them. Ms. Collins paints a vivid picture of a dark and gritty world, brushed with realism that, quite honestly, hit me like a punch to the gut.

With my emotions, frequently, running high I raced through The Hunger Games anxious to see what would happen next. It kept me on the edge of my seat, staying up late into the night. In fact, I finished it around midnight on a Friday, fell asleep and woke up to immediately go to the store to buy the next two. Which I promptly read.

The Hunger Games is a dark, gritty, emotional story filled with pain, joy, loss and love. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking to get lost in a vivid world filled with characters that make you feel and a plot that doesn’t let you go.

Grade: A


Book Link | Amazon | Kindle | nook | kobo | Borders eBook | Sony | Book Depository | Scholastic Press

Waiting for Payday 2

Waiting for Payday is a weekly event hosted at The Bookish Snob which spotlights books that may have been out for a while that you're anxious to get your hands on, but that empty wallet is already crying, so Waiting for Payday it is! Head on over to TheBookishSnob and link up!

The Hunger Games (Hunger Games 1) by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before--and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

I somehow missed this when it first came out, and honestly, even though I usually avoid things that have huge, mass appeal I saw so much about the series when Mockingjay was coming towards release that I got interested. Now it's definitely on my list to buy!