#3 Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)

by Suzanne Collins

[pamela]

I still love The Hunger Games as a series, but I'm always let down by Mockingjay. Peeta is barely in it, and I'm always disappointed when Katniss doesn't even gain agency at the end. She makes decisions and choices that go beyond her being controlled. Finally. And even then, she is hidden and forgotten so her voice is never heard. She also never actively chooses between Peeta and Gale, which grates. She just strings both along until Gale's actions basically remove that choice. Katniss is strong and interesting in the first two books, but she's a little too unlikeable in Mockingjay. I would have liked more development of Annie's character too, fewer new characters, and more inclusion of Haymitch and Effie who really helped carry the story in the first two books.

The way I feel about Katniss is actually pretty consistent with how the plot portrays her. I only like her when Peeta makes me like her.