I am utterly amazed. These books are so very amazingly good. I’m glad I was so caught up in the story that I postponed writing about them until I was through with the lot. Had I written after finishing the first one, I’d be saying this is the story of a brave girl called Katniss Everdeen and her struggle to save her loved ones from the claws of a dictatorial regimen called “the Capitol”. With bits of romance and science-fiction. Not so far from Orwell’s 1984 concept of “big brother is watching you”. But the story goes beyond our Katniss and her loved ones. It’s a close-up on a war in which no one really seems to be good. It portrays a war from the point of view of the people, the innocent who wish for freedom but never truly get it. I think this story stands out from others because there are no real heroes, no beautiful cause worth fighting for. Only murderers fighting for power and vengeance. Katniss goes through this as any real human being would: not without some degree of mental illness. It’s heartbreaking to read on, to share her weight as people die or get broken. As she gets broken. Still, there’s a happy ending. And that’s why that though they are heartbreaking, these books are some of the best books I have ever read. And will read again.
Review by Eilantha_Le_Fay (LibraryThing), March 12, 2012 I finished Mockingjay last night. It's a powerful book. The only time I started to cry was when Buttercup the cat came home to District 12, to find that Prim was dead. When Buttercup and Katniss started yowling in grief together, I lost it too. Damn you Suzanne Collins, for making one of the most unforgettable images I have seen in thirty years of reading! :{
Review by andykenben1971 (LibraryThing), March 11, 2012 This is the third book of the Hunger Games series. Katniss has been taken out of her second hunger games by the rebels and is now their new star. They are filming her as a mockingjay and giving her a new life. But something is missing. Gale is in District 12 with her and all of the rebels. But, Peeta is still in the capital under Snow's watch. She cant even thinik about what their doing to him. But the rebels need katniss in full power, so they risk going to the capital to get Peeta. It works but they have turned all memories about her into bad ones. So Katniss has to go to the Capital, kill Snow, and save Peeta. But in the process she loses someone who she can never forget. I love this book!!!!!!!! DO NOT READ OUT OF ORDER!!!! HUNGER GAMES,CATCHING FIRE, MOCKINGJAY
Review by sports-star (LibraryThing), March 8, 2012 Mockingjay is the conclusion to The Hunger Games series. Katniss finally takes up the mantle of the face of the rebellion and all out war rages in Panem. What and who will she have to sacrifice for a victory that she never sought? Will she ever be that girl who hunted the woods with Gale again? At times the story almost feels hopeless as though there can never possibly be any happiness in her world again, but in the end Katniss finds some peace in the world she helps create. If we burn you burn with us! On a side note: I would really love to get a prequel or two set within the world. Maybe a history of how Panem came to be or about the relationships of the older characters in the story. The main story line is clearly over but I'm not ready to let it go yet and I still have questions that are unanswered.
Review by Alystra (LibraryThing), March 4, 2012 I can understand why there's all the fuss about Mockinjay, why some were upset by how it all turned out and some think it was okay. I came prepared to dislike it given my disappointment with Catching Fire. However, I tend toward the latter camp: the ending felt right to me. Yes, the world remains ambiguously bleak; and, yes, the happily-ever-after didn't really materialize; and, yes, there were some deaths that I didn't look to see. However, take any of those away and this becomes a bit Panglossian for my taste. It felt like how it would have gone down were it real. Of course, the second book's blandness had me thinking too much about Collins' world and how unreal it felt. It had none of that creepy sense of "we could end up here" that I got out of Jo Walton's books or even out of a movie like V for Vendetta. Unfortunately, now that those thoughts had taken up residence in my mind, they kept surfacing during this book. Even in the scenes of the final assault—well, other than the two poignant moments—my main thought was, "How ridiculous are these traps? Is this a carnival or a final perimeter?" I'll stick by my assessment after reading The Hunger Games: it's probably a story that will appeal to youth more than age, but I'd give it a very mild recommendation if you want to see what all the talk is about. It's certainly a quick read.
Review by TadAD (LibraryThing), March 2, 2012 ***** spoiler alert ***** SUPER DUPER SPOILERS AHEAD. You've been warned! I was reading something entirely unrelated almost 2 months later, when I came upon the words "evening primrose" and I stopped. My heart lurched (does a heart lurch, or just the stomach?) and the memories of The Hunger Games series came flooding back. The death of Prim in this final installment hit me again, just as it did the first time. Just from reading those simple words, in something completely unrelated. Here is the thing about this series - it stays with you. At least, it was that way for me, and seems to be for a lot of other readers here on GoodReads. After I finished this book, I actually felt lost. Like, what do I do now? And what did I do? Well, I reread the first two books. And then parts of this final one. And I sat there. I couldn't bring myself to start another book, couldn't wrench myself out of this world that Suzanne Collins had created. Finally, I just had to go cold turkey and start another unrelated book and move on. An astute reader will notice that up till now this review has been about The Hunger Games series as a whole, not about Mockingjay. Frankly, I'm quite mixed over the final installment. After I finished it two months ago, I perused a ton of reviews here, to see what others thought. I usually like to write my own reviews first without reading others, to try not to let others' opinions become my own. (The same reason I try to avoid reviews beforehand as well.) But in this case, I was so unsure of my own reaction. Did I like it? Did I hate it? Clearly, a lot of people are divided over the direction of the third book and in particular, the ending. Many felt cheated by the last few chapters, that they almost felt like throw-aways. Others thought the ending was realistic, especially after such a bleak life in a bleak world, or because of the bleakness of this world. Some said the character of Katniss went totally off-character, or that her experiences made sense because she must have been suffering from PTSD. On and on. Here's the thing: I agreed with all of them. This may be a cop out but I honestly can't come to a conclusion about the, um, conclusion of this series. But what I can say, what I've already said above, is that the world, the books, the characters - they all stay with you. And I think it's worth reading for that.
Review by preetalina (LibraryThing), March 1, 2012 Wow what a way to wrap up the trilogy. This book as well was so action packed and adventurous. The fight between the districts all toward the main goal of beating the capitol and killing the president. What fight to the end and to find out who Katniss finally choses and how and why. A must read to find out all of your favorite characters fates.
Review by MonicaLynn (LibraryThing), February 27, 2012 The weakest of the trilogy. A disappointment.
Review by tuckea (LibraryThing), February 24, 2012 Final volume in the series, we see here the conclusion to the fighting that ensue after Katniss's rebelious attempt in the hunger Game. War rages between the capitol and the district and Katniss is now secured in district 13 and see herself in demand for a role she didn't ask to be: the face of the rebellion, the Mockingjay. With Peeta prisonner of President Snow, Katniss will try her best to do what is expected of her.
Review by ct.bergeron (LibraryThing), February 21, 2012 You know what? I actually liked the Hunger Games trilogy. A teenage girl has to fight for her life in a fight-to-the death competition, set in post-apocalypse United States. The characters are engaging, the plot drives itself well, there's some romance (not too much), and I actually had respect for the female protagonist. A young adult series that I would actually recommend to young adults, heck, even adults.
Review by MorganGMac (LibraryThing), February 17, 2012 ** spoiler alert ** After finishing this book yesterday, I am still fuming. I feel cheated by the ending. Why is it that authors of series, good series, tend not to know when to end the book? Look at JK Rowlins, she could have left the Epilogue off and everyone would have been just fine without it. Suzanne Collins, well, she could have ended it with Katniss going ape crazy bonkers nuts and I'd have been happy. But no. She chose to continue on with it and weave it into a "happily ever after" ending. Bah humbug! As far as Gale is concerned, still useless despite his role in the last book. Add him into the mix as a soldier, that's fine. But have him a "love interest" to just "make him disappear" at the end? psha! As for the predictability, yes, it still happened. I knew who Katniss was going to kill from the time she showed up in District 13. Katniss doesn't know how to be anything but someone else's pawn. The grass isn't always greener, is it?! The overall story was lovable. The first two books were really good, despite how I feel about the predictability and the love triangle. The third book was good, even. Up until she killed off Fennick and Prim, Gale disappearing (some love interest), and continued on to make it a semi happy ending. Ugh! But, I sure was hoping that Ms. Collins would have utilized the berries for her ending. Somehow gone back to the "Romeo and Juliet" aspect of it and ending it on that note. Or maybe make President Coin and President Snow husband and wife and this whole thing would have been a domestic dispute. Or nuke it all! Or even, having Katniss spend out the rest of her life in her insane little world, one in which she cannot remove herself from the Games, and everything she sees, and does, and thinks is just another part of the Games. It would have been a more interesting ending. I guess you can say, I didn't see this ending coming! And the only time I think I may have shed a tear was when she was back home in District 12 and Buttercup finally accepted her. Yeah, I love how cat's just know when you need some lovin'. :) "happily ever after"...such a cop out! Like "it was all a dream" cop out. CHEATED I TELL YA!
Review by LadyJai (LibraryThing), February 13, 2012 I think this book was way more intense than the other two.
Review by bookbug105 (LibraryThing), February 8, 2012 Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins is the final book of the Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss Everdeen the teenage heroine is again at the center of the action. She is a guest of District 13 which is leading the rebellion against the Capitol of Panem. Panem is is a brutal country that rules harshly over the various districts that comprise the country. District 13 has stayed independent because they possess nuclear weapons and have also built their cities deep underground to withstand Capitol bombing. Katniss finds out very soon that life is brutal in District 13 also. I learned a new word while researching this book: Dystopia. No it is not some sort of strange disease, it is the opposite of Utopia (and could be a good word for Words with Friends or Scrabble.) A Utopia is where life is great and everybody is fulfilled, a Dystopia is where from outward appearances everything is Utopian but where really life is repressive. So this trilogy is called Dystopian. So Katniss slowly realizes that District 13 may be no better than the Capitol in the way their citizens are treated. The trilogy is marketed to teenagers but there is plenty of meat here for grownups. The choices that the characters make are complex and have consequences. There is lots to think about how social movements tend to be hijacked by those in control to achieve their own ends. (I'm thinking about how the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements have been hijacked by our two political parties) The first two thirds of Mockingjay is much slower paced than the other books because it has to do with Katniss becoming aware of what is really happening. The last third of the book has plenty of fighting, killing, and gore. I'm kind of a fan of many books marketed to teenagers. I'm no prude but I like the concentration on the story and characters and the absence of cheesy sex scenes and bad language. I guess I'm turning into a little old lady. I rate the book four stars out of five.
Review by YogiABB (LibraryThing), February 8, 2012 This is the final book in the series. Overall, these books were a fun read, but clearly for the younger reader. This is the best of the three, with a few twists and turns that are not expected. These should make a great set of films, and I hope the author continues to write in this genre. I had fun reading the series.
Review by rexmedford (LibraryThing), February 6, 2012 A great finish to such a wonderful series. I love that Suzanne Collins stays true to her characters in their development, especially with Katniss. Once again Katniss learns she is a pawn being used in yet another game, but decides that if she is to participate then they will have to give her something in return. She struggles to listen to authority, but learns that is the only way to get to the capitol for the final battle to kill President Snow. Meanwhile, Peeta has been tortured and as Katniss realizes how he is being used she reaches her breaking point. It is in this book that she realizes how much she needs him. I would recommend this book and series over and over again. They are an enjoyable read that also leave you thinking about what could be and how you would react in some of these horrendous situations.
Review by FishHeaven (LibraryThing), February 4, 2012 fter two exciting books, Mockingjay, the final book of The Hunger Games, is a disappointing finish. Not that it doesn’t have its moments of captivating violence in combat, but the moral turpitude of its protagonist is out of character from the preceding novels. Katniss nearly becomes the type of person she has always fought against. While Collins has shown periods of brilliant writing, other passages leads one to wonder if she was under the influence of morphling herself. My humble advice? Read the first two novels in the series, and then write your own ending to the saga. It has to be better!
Review by Maydacat (LibraryThing), January 31, 2012 This novel was the perfect end to the Hunger Games trilogy. I wouldn't change a thing.
Review by TiffanyHickox (LibraryThing), January 31, 2012 The final book in the Hunger Games describes the war which overthrows the capitol and the price that is paid by Katniss and Peeta.
The "action" scenes are particularly well written carrying the reader along with the characters.
Review by TheWasp (LibraryThing), January 28, 2012 I whizzed through all three books in pretty much record time. I usually do read fast and i know i don't take in everything i read but i didn't skim these books, i just couldn't put them down! The final book of the Hunger Games trilogy finds Katniss recovering from the injuries she gained in the abrupt rescue from the second round of Hunger Games. She's now in the underground colony of the "lost" District 13. The rebellion against the Capitol is in full swing in most of the districts and Katniss is the face of the rebellion, the Mockingay, which comes from the little golden pin of that bird that she wore in the Games. Meanwhile she has her own demons to live with. The book follows her as she is often used by the new powers that be in order to make sure the rebellion doesn't lose steam and later, when she's part of the assault on the Capitol, her goal to assassinate the president if she can get to him. Her team's journey through the Capitol, all rigged with traps and not everyone is going to get through alive. IT's not really a spoiler to say Katniss survives but she's got a lot to deal with in the aftermath with everything she's done, seen and had happen to her.
Review by tvordj (LibraryThing), January 28, 2012 My least favourite of the three books. Starts out strong but then drags a little in the middle, until picking up again towards the end. Super happy that the ending leaves you feeling fulfilled but the whole series left me for days not knowing what to read next as nothing could compare.
Review by eesti23 (LibraryThing), January 28, 2012 this is a wonderful book. it is a run off of the hunger games and catching firebut i dont think it is good. peeta and katniss get married and the whole district 12 was destroyed and they realized district 13 was alive so they lived in district 13 and peeta was living in a mental institution because every time he even saw katniss he wanted to kill her. but he got better afterword. they started playing a true or false game. it is peeta would ask katniss a question like... were we star-crossed lovers? and then katniss would say if it was true or false so that would help him a lot during the process. so they go married and lived happily.
Review by shoo9139 (LibraryThing), January 25, 2012 This "active history" work by Newt Gingrich is essentially the concluding piece in his series that began with Grant Comes East and details how the Confederate States of America were able to overcome the foul mouthed injustices of President Lincoln and win independence for Appalachia and other rebellious districts. historically irrelevant but a decent read
Review by DanielPBryant (LibraryThing), January 24, 2012 The Hunger Games is the biggest thing since Harry Potter (except for Twilight, but let's just pretend that never happened). And as someone who worked at bookstores for years when they were being released, I resisted reading Harry Potter for years. Of course, in that case, when I finally gave in it turned out that the hype was actually justified for once. So perhaps the best way to explain what I didn't like about these books is by contrasting them with the Harry Potter series, because The Hunger Games really is like the anti-Harry Potter. To begin with, in Rowling's fictional universe, good and evil are real forces in the world that exist in the choices people make---and the good can and do ultimately triumph. Now, one might expect a dystopian universe like that of The Hunger Games also to be a highly moralistic one, at least implicitly by showing the negative. But there is no moral clarity in Collins's world. Quite the contrary, she goes out of her way to insinuate moral equivalency between aggressors and their victims (especially those who try to defend themselves). I would say of Collins that pity for the guilty is treason to the innocent, but it's not even that she pities the guilty---she just doesn't believe that anyone is innocent. Actually, she thinks that everybody is rotten to the core, and the best we can hope to achieve is to mitigate our monstrous natures with occasional small acts of goodness. (But the less rotten someone is, the more he or she is doomed to victimization.) The only proper response to that is, she can speak for herself. She may hide behind a mask of humanism, but deep down Collins has the soul of a misanthrope. And the last couple of sentences and very brief epilogue of the novel don't alter the case---she doesn't even offer hope, but merely the vague suggestion of a hint of a possibility of a glimmer of hope, and even that much is unconvincing because it's impossible to integrate with everything that's come before. As to more specific moral content, both deal heavily with themes of race and class. For Rowling, prejudice based on either of these is caused by false ideas and is in turn a major cause of viciousness in the world, which must be fought and over which we can ultimately triumph. Collins, on the other hand, just takes for granted that racial (in her earlier series The Underland Chronicles) and class (in The Hunger Games) warfare are inevitable, and does not bother to examine the ideas behind them or even suggest that ideas *are* behind them. Race and class are just a fact of life: this is my tribe, and it is inevitably in conflict with your tribe, and they will probably always resort to violence to settle their differences (though it ultimately settles nothing, and she makes no distinction between the aggressors and those who only resort to physical force in self-defense against them). Even their styles are diametrically opposed. Rowling's is wryly playful in tone, in keeping with her benevolent universe, while Collins's is deadly serious throughout, contributing to the unremitting bleakness of her world. This is not to say that Rowling is completely unserious, or even that her works don't contain extended periods of darkness. But for her, darkness is always temporary, because we can bring light to the world. For Collins, the situation is the reverse: any light is mere accident or illusion, or at least transitory. And then there is the unrelenting gruesomeness of her stories---I actually lost count of how many times the protagonist of The Hunger Games was "showered with bits of human flesh." After a while it just became tedious. That right there should tell you all you need to know about this series, so with that I'll stop, except to note that this kind of fiction (especially its cynicism) could actually be harmful to adolescents, particularly if they hear it universally praised by adults.
Review by AshRyan (LibraryThing), January 24, 2012 Collins gave herself an enormous amount to do in this book. She had to tie up all the lose ends she started in the second book, wage a civil war through the entirety of civilisation and not irredeemably damage the characters she has worked so hard to build up over the first two novels. As the conclusion to a trilogy, I admit that I expected the pace to be slightly higher. The draw back is that Collins again moves the action. With the first book set primarily in the Capitol and the Arena, and the second in an alternative Arena, Collins is forced to create a new context and introduce the reader to its ways and lifestyle, while maintaining our interest in Katniss. Inevitably, this takes up a lot of descriptive time and slows the action slightly. Then, towards the end of the book as we reach the climactic action scenes, another wave of description is required as the action moves on again. In terms of tying up the lose ends, Collins does better than expected. We have a resolution to Katniss, Peeta and Gale's ongoing difficulties, and Collins manages to throw us in a few casualties to keep us on our toes. However, the epilogue she tags to the end in order to let us know how life continues for some of the characters leaves more hanging than it answers. Without giving too much away, how has the person with the high ranking job in District 2 cope with the mixed feelings they display when the narrative leaves them? Did the final episode of the Games take place? Is there more communication and integration between Districts? I would have been more satisfied with the ending as it is at the close of the last chapter than the half indications of answers we gain from the epilogue. I understand that Collins has invested a lot into these characters, but I think the reader would rather answer the questions according to their understanding of the characters and context created rather than have their least demanding issues addressed. In reference to not irrevocably damaging the characters, Collins seems to do everything she can to try and add extra layers to the characters. In a novel that's trying to stress the futility of war to a young readership, this primarily takes the form of characters dealing with trauma, grief and regret surrounding issues that people shouldn't be forced to make decision in regard to. Collins does this well, easily demonstrating the depths people can go to in despair, as she has done throughout the trilogy. This makes for a surprisingly emotional ending, which is undermined by the epilogue. Overall, the book isn't bad, at all. The drawbacks of a confused plot and conflicting motivations, without a particularly effective villain are what have made me give it 3 and a bit stars. I would love to give it 4, as I did with the first book, with the bridge being slightly lower, but I just don't feel that either the second or third offerings quite capture the suspense of the first. However, they are good, easy reading, and I'm intrigued to see how Panem will be depicted on the big screen.
Review by Beakif (LibraryThing), January 23, 2012 5 stars for the ending, 4 for the bulk of the book, so 4.5 overall (although I don't give 1/2 stars). I didn't find myself quite as riveted by this book as the previous two, but that's only because the bar was set so high--I still couldn't put it down. I read the whole trilogy in a week. The awful ramifications of war are never shied away from in this series (especially this last book), and the blurring of good and evil among groups and individuals is dealt with deeply and carefully. *Possible spoiler alert* The last three chapters for me were just so brave; Collins didn't bow and create an unsatisfying Hollywood HapEnd. I could have done without the epilogue, but it didn't ruin what I thought was a very brave and unflinching way to end the book. I cried for Katniss.
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