Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)

by Suzanne Collins

In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.

• ISBN10: 7506358026
• ISBN13: 9787506358026
• Publish Date: 1 January 2010
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CN
• Imprint: The Writers Publishing House
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 354
• Language: Chinese

Reviews

[adastra]

I'm not really sure what to do with this. It's a satisfying solution which even takes into account all possible repercussions, but it didn't blow me off my feet. It was about as predictable as the first two books, so not much really came as a surprise. I still stand by my opinion that these books are light entertainment (despite the depressing topic).

Follow my book review blog at http://missbookreviews.wordpress.com/

--

Woww.

That’s all I want to say.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. Three quarters of the way through I had made my mind up on my opinion of this book. Then the last few chapters made me stop and think. This whole series has actually been a really good series, it was so clever and well written.

When I started reading this book I was bored. I disliked the turn of events. I was annoyed at how the story was playing out. But I kept going with it because I just HAD to know what happened. Even though I wasn’t enjoying it as much I was still hooked.

At first I found it hard to continue reading this book. I felt that too much of the story was explaining things instead of getting into the action. I tried to read as fast as possible so I would get to the parts I wanted to read. But those interesting parts made me feel more despair. The story didn’t go the way I wanted it to. The way I had hoped it would.

It went one better and went the realistic way. The logical way. The direction that these events would probably take if this happened in real life. Which is terrifying to think of really.

But I still found the beginning half of the story drag, then the last half packed with so much that I had no idea what was going on. This seems to be a reoccurring theme in these books. As the story got on I found myself wishing the story would just end because I felt like I was in agony reading it. I just felt horrible. There was no good feeling arising out of those pages.

I’m just so blown out of the water right now.

I missed the strong Katniss from book one. I found her to be insufferable in this book. Just so annoying and indecisive. She contradicted every thought that she ever had and that drove me up the wall. Where did the Katniss that volunteered as tribute for her sister go? Yeahh I know that the characters obviously had to deal with a lot, but it was hard to read her in such a state of mind. I disliked how other certain characters turned out as well. But when I think about it, I probably disliked it so much because it’s so close to the truth. And it’s heart breaking.

The love triangle? I don’t even want to go there. I am heartbroken over it.

The ending? Heartbroken.

The reality of it all? Heartbroken.

It’s like a concrete wall has been slammed into my body and forced all the air out of my lungs. Is that called shock? Then I am possibly shocked at how this story turned out.

At the same time I knew what the major outcome would be.

I just wasn’t prepared for the rest of it.

This last book was amazing.

But I can’t say I enjoyed how it ended. Or how it started. Or how the middle went. And I am absolutely devastated at the way I feel right now. But it was still an amazing book.

I found the tears unable to stop flowing on the last few pages. The only time I found myself actually feeling for Katniss. The only time I was moved to tears through the whole series. Which is silly because there were ample opportunities for tears in this book, yet I was so adamant that I hated it that I just did not care. I just wanted to finish it.

I did not walk away from this book with a ‘good feeling’. It ended on a dark note. A very dark note. I did not expect that. So there’s the ‘surprise’ I had been hoping for since book one…

It’s safe to say that I do not enjoy dark endings. I like endings that have a ‘good feeling’ quality to them.

Over all, The Hunger Games series is a pretty awesome read. You will be taken on an emotional roller coaster. Even if it takes a while to get you there. There is a lot of action and adventure and the whole time you are trying to work out what Katniss’ next step will be. Let yourself enjoy it!

And let me know what you think!

Miss J
x

[shannonmiz]

Love how it still gives me ALL the feels still, after lots of time (and rereads)!

[clementine]

I was not really a fan of this book the first time around, and that didn't change with a re-read a year later. The pacing was just awful. Compared to the very fast Hunger Games and reasonably fast Catching Fire, Mockingjay just dragged. I found everything in the Capitol especially unbearable, which I suppose is odd since it's supposed to be the climax. Everything building up to that was also not very interesting, and I felt that a good amount of it could have been cut.

I generally am much more sympathetic towards Katniss than most people I know, but she did become a little hard to handle in Mockingjay. It's realistic, sure, as she has been through unspeakable agonies, but the pages upon pages of her internal monologue about her pain and conflict did get a little old.

I liked that Mockingjay focused on the bigger picture of this society rather than just the Hunger Games, and I liked that it was vastly different from The Hunger Games in terms of plot (because, although I enjoyed the 75th Games in Catching Fire, you can only do the same thing a few times before it gets old). It tied in nicely with the other books, which I could especially tell this time around having read them all so close together.

I think what upsets me the most is how some of the deaths were handled. Obviously they can't all be shown or even done justice, but it bothered me that Boggs' death was given more time than Cinna's or Finnick's. Cinna is obviously a fan favourite, for good reason, and Katniss barely even reflected on his death. And Finnick! I'm biased here because Finnick is absolutely my favourite character in the series, but I really think that after Collins spent all this time developing him from a cocky, womanizing jerk to generally awesome, his death shouldn't be an aside. Honestly, his death is tragic to me and I can't let it go. It wasn't done justice. Katniss talked more about his stupid eyes than his heroic and tragic death.

So, yes, Mockingjay is a disappointing end to an otherwise rather great series.

[puchunga]

The best book ever! I cried a lot, I enjoyed it, I loved it. It's intense and so interesting, it makes you want to keep reading.

[ladygrey]

There really wasn't much to like about this book. There was the conclusion to the this story, continuing developments with the characters and the world. But no moments that were exciting, or touching, or worth really enjoying.

For starters, I don't like Katniss at all. The prior two books highlighted her strengths. She's brave and she has some good instincts when it comes to hunting or battle and a little bit of compassion (as long as she doesn't have to extend it to anyone she actually cares about). In the first book she's even complicated and interesting but instead of working through that, of growing and understanding herself and harnessing the power within her she completely devolves as the story continues. She's shown herself throughout all three books to be an atrocious judge of character. She makes idiotic assumptions about people. She's mean. She's selfish. She's hypocritical. Peeta talks about the effect she has on people but I don't see it. Other than her few, small qualities there's nothing to like and even less so when she spends most of this book wallowing in despair. It's not interesting.

And I don't understand anything [a:Suzanne Collins|153394|Suzanne Collins|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1285984570p2/153394.jpg] did with Gale in this book. I mean, I do because she was working to isolate Kat from him so she'd make sense with Peeta at the end. But there are a dozen other ways to go about that in ways that wouldn't betray his character. Almost everything he did in this book felt inauthentic to him. Kat's alone and hurt and despairing and all I could think is, 'Where's Gale?' When she's in the hospital again and again, where is he? When she's depressed and reclusive, why isn't he looking for her? It didn't make any sense at all that a guy who loves her; who knows her better than anyone else in the world; who understands how she works; who was such a huge part of her returning to normality after the death of her father wouldn't be there by her bedside; wouldn't be seeking her out to comfort her or tell her to get off her ass and do something about it; wouldn't be the one fighting for them to go hunting, to get her out in the open air to help her find herself again.
Instead of all those things that would have made sense, Kat is absolutely and unfairly unforgiving toward him even though she manages to reconcile with every single other person in her life (including, in a twisted way, Snow), no matter what they've done to her. She chooses to turn against him and doesn't even blink. One small moment is this catalyst to her not being able to trust him, not turning to him when she's spent two books talking about how Gale always understands her and is always there for her. She's mean and she's selfish and she's hypocritical.
It was the hypocritical part that bothered me the most. Because everything she said about why she didn't like him anymore was everything she admitted about herself when Peeta really saw her. So you hate him for being everything you are and yet you accept those qualities within yourself. What kind of sense does that make? And in District 2 how she was appalled Gale was willing to kill those Peacekeepers when she's spent the entire book talking about how she wanted to kill Snow. It was a more impersonal killing for Gale, but he even said it was because of everything the Peacekeepers did to District 12. It was the same root of vengeance that she's thriving on but can't accept in him.

It was just dumb.

Also it was too political. I get what you're saying. I've been reading for two books now this post-apocalyptic world of decay and hubris and violence. I don't need you to say it out loud. Mel Gibson in Apocolypto was more subtle.

And then, of course, I didn't like the ending. Was it really necessary to kill EVERYONE? I get that the nature of this story doesn't lend itself to a happy ending. There's been too much violence and betrayal and death for the characters to emerge unscathed. But I just couldn't accept Kat's unending despair. Because people do recover from awful things. Audrey Hepburn even said, "People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed... never throw out anyone." Healing and restoration and redemption are as much a part of human nature as despair and destruction. I don't like that she only accepted one side of who we are.
She didn't even name her children at the end. She was cold and unfeeling and there was no sense of love in Kat or in her life. Which was one more reason not to like a thing about this girl I've followed through three books.

And I don't like that.

[Joni Reads]

I think I was in tears throughout the last half of this novel. Everything leading up to this novel just exploded and I was literally scared for everyone's life. I literally yelled out "No!" quite a few times because things were happening so fast and I couldn't believe what I was reading.

But mixed into all the action I finally found some humor. This is the first Hunger Games novel that made me chuckle a bit. There were little gems of sarcasm hidden away and I would laugh outloud and then in the next breathe be terrified and almost crying. This book is a roller coaster ride but one that I didn't want to end.

These books, this novel, I can't say enough great things about them. I am so glad I gave them a chance. I know that I will love rereading them for years to come.

[mitabird]

4.5 stars

[EBookObsessed]

The rebels have managed to save Katniss from the Games before it is too late, but what about Peeta? Was he killed during the rescue, or worse, was he taken by the Capitol? He would be better off dead.

District 12 had been destroyed by the Capitol and the survivors are hiding with the rebels in the remains of District 13.

The rebellion is still using Katniss as their figurehead in their movement against the Capitol. But is the leader of the rebellion any better than the President? Will they be exchanging one dictator for another?

This was a horrible final story to a very good series. I can’t imagine that I am the only one disappointed in this story. After all that she’s gone through, Katniss has very little character growth. In fact I was frustrated in her complete lack of personality. I can understand when we started the Hunger Games she was a 16 year old with limited life experience, but after all she’s gone through, she still displays no real range of emotions. She flip-flops throughout the series between Gabe and Peeta, never really showing any preference toward either, and only thinking which one will be more hurt if she chooses the other. She has some moments of brilliance, but mostly she mopes around and hides in the closet. They said it in the prior stories, Peeta and his love for Katniss, makes Katniss likeable. Since Peeta is missing, what we see is simply Katniss and there is not much there.

Put aside everything that happens to poor Peeta in this story, which is just heartbreaking, most of what happens during in Mockingjay, is all brought on by Katniss’s actions and decisions, and turns out to be a waste of time and lives. In fact, everything that happened in this story was for nothing and everyone would have been better off if Katniss had stayed in her closet for the whole story. Since this is a first-person story, she literally spends weeks on end locked in a room and we the readers have nothing but her rambling thoughts which, again from the lack of emotions she shows, doesn’t really give us too much.

I was very disappointed in this third story. After two really good stories, this was such a let down. I wanted to toss the whole trilogy in the trash. When people ask me about it, I truly hesitate to recommend it since you can’t tell them to stop before they read the third book.

If you think I got it wrong, please tell me what I missed in this last story.

Come see my book review blog at http://ebookobsessed.com

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

A gripping end to a decent young adult series.