Hardcover, 390 pages
English language
Published July 9, 2010 by Scholastic Press.
Katniss Everdeen's having survived the Hunger Games twice makes her a target of the Capitol and President Snow, as well as a hero to the rebels who will succeed only if Katniss is willing to put aside her personal feelings and serve as their pawn.
Ohhh dear. Oh no. Okay.
It gives me no pleasure to give this a two, but that last third demands it from me, no matter how strong the opening is.
Excellent finale. Overall very impressed with this trilogy.
Hey, I liked it.
It was an interesting choice by the author to make Katniss a regular person instead of superhero. And to have so many of her friends and loved ones die without really altering the course of the war very much. And to make her kamikaze mission a big failure. In the book, like in life, individuals just get crushed underfoot during times war. With one major exception, it seems like little of what Katniss did in the book made any difference. And that's realistic too - while the lives and stories of individuals are meaningful to them, they don't make much difference to the big picture.
Did her target YA audience like this book? Did it subvert their expectations? I would be curious to find out.
Quite an end to the series, a total rollercoaster
A fantastic end to a fantastic series. The emotional roller-coaster the series as a whole - and this last book in particular - took me on has left me somewhat dazed, but certain in the knowledge that this is one of the best series of books I've ever read. It is perhaps not for the faint-of-heart, because the setting of these books is most assuredly not a nice place, and the twists and turns of the plot are likely to leave you crying as often as cheering. But it is definitely worth your time to read. Thought-provoking, exhilarating, shocking, emotional, instructive - The Hunger Games is all of this and more. I'm torn between sadness and relief that my journey through this world with the characters is over, but I feel richer for having spent time with them.
I'm surprised at how dedicated Collins was to the larger dystopia plot. We see the breakdown of an already collapsed civilization through the eyes of one of its members. I expected Collins to focus on Katniss and her personal story in the way that a young adult novel generally follow. Instead, importance is placed on the larger political struggle, and a balance is struck between the personal narrative and the what was happening to everyone in the story. [return][return]This also served to keep Katniss as one person, not THE person. Sure, I identify with her to some degree, but by the time we reach the events in Mockingjay, there's no way I can fully identify with her--she's had psychological (and physical) traumas that I'll never experience. She's damaged, and she navigates the story in a way that rings true, not optimistically. [return][return]In the end, the events that unfold don't tie …
I'm surprised at how dedicated Collins was to the larger dystopia plot. We see the breakdown of an already collapsed civilization through the eyes of one of its members. I expected Collins to focus on Katniss and her personal story in the way that a young adult novel generally follow. Instead, importance is placed on the larger political struggle, and a balance is struck between the personal narrative and the what was happening to everyone in the story. [return][return]This also served to keep Katniss as one person, not THE person. Sure, I identify with her to some degree, but by the time we reach the events in Mockingjay, there's no way I can fully identify with her--she's had psychological (and physical) traumas that I'll never experience. She's damaged, and she navigates the story in a way that rings true, not optimistically. [return][return]In the end, the events that unfold don't tie up neatly in such a way that allows her to heal, and be a carefree young woman. Of course they wouldn't.[return][return]I was surprised at how deeply Collins delved into the politics that arise when a civilization collapses. A thick layer of this is the general political view that no politician is every going to have every single person's best interest at heart, and usually it's a slimmer minority than you'd like to think.[return][return]I don't know if Collins wrote for an older audience by the time she got to Mockingjay, or if this was the plan all along. Either way, it made the book seem much more well-written (huge plot points and events weren't swept aside for a love story), and it's left me thinking about different scenes since I've finished reading it. That is, in my family, the mark of a good book.
pretty good book. I enjoyed this type of series alot. Must look for more books like this :)
First read November 2011, 4 stars.
***
May 2014: still 4 stars.
Things I remember thinking the first time round: 1. I prefer the first 2 in the series. 2. (After the first movie was announced) they will make the 3rd book into 2 movies because that's what Hollywood does now and that's stupid because this does not need to be 2 movies.
I have changed my mind on both points. Re. the movie(s): Mockingjay is actually rather neatly divided into 2 halves, 1 half about Katniss's recovery/rehab, slow integration into District 13, and the relatively slow/late reveal of how the rebellion is organized/functions; and 1 half about katniss the warrior, both in training and in the Capitol. Whereas I feel like the interesting political stuff got edited out of the 2nd movie to make room for the action packed arena scenes, by dividing MJ into 2 films, we …
First read November 2011, 4 stars.
***
May 2014: still 4 stars.
Things I remember thinking the first time round: 1. I prefer the first 2 in the series. 2. (After the first movie was announced) they will make the 3rd book into 2 movies because that's what Hollywood does now and that's stupid because this does not need to be 2 movies.
I have changed my mind on both points. Re. the movie(s): Mockingjay is actually rather neatly divided into 2 halves, 1 half about Katniss's recovery/rehab, slow integration into District 13, and the relatively slow/late reveal of how the rebellion is organized/functions; and 1 half about katniss the warrior, both in training and in the Capitol. Whereas I feel like the interesting political stuff got edited out of the 2nd movie to make room for the action packed arena scenes, by dividing MJ into 2 films, we might actually get to see, in more detail, some of the political stuff that makes THG more interesting than your typical YA romance/adventure.
Re. My preference for books 1 and 2: I no longer have that preference and may actually prefer 3 to 2--whereas 2 is (sort of) a rehash of 1, 3 is different enough from 1 and 2 to feel genuinely worthwhile.
My other (disorganized, unedited) thoughts about MJ this time through:
1. I know this is a teen romance and the love triangle has been shoved down our throats throughout ("oh gosh HOW DO I FEEL ABOUT GALE? HOW DO I REALLY FEEL ABOUT PEETA? WHY DO THEY LIKE ME SO MUCH?" And "oh gosh this kissing thing is so weird, sometimes I feel so good when I kiss them and WANT to kiss them but sometimes I just don't, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" And more of Gale's smoldering looks and Peeta's "she just doesn't understand what she does to guys"). But because this is the last book in the series there's an inevitability about the love triangle that just wasn't there before--it's a given that Katniss must end up with 1 of them, and Gale and Peeta even say as much, but that's kind of dumb, really: they're still just kids, most people don't marry their high school sweethearts, there are other guys around, and frankly I feel it would be more in character for her to choose to be alone. But instead we get the easy option (she chooses between them) complete with the "trust me, this is TRUE LOVE, y'all" epilogue set in the future in which they're still together.
2. MJ does a great job of showing different types of psychological breakdown--how it's different for different people, and different for the same person given different stimuli; it captures especially well the emotional flatness, lack of motivation, and aimlessness of depression, and shows just how easy it is to end up on a path to drug abuse and addiction, because who wouldn't want to numb that kind of pain?
3. Katniss is a Tough Girl: self-reliant, intelligent, physically strong (and emotionally stunted and distrustful of people, but I will leave that alone for now), but it doesn't matter: she is, basically, always powerless and always a pawn, no matter which side she's on, an accurate reflection, I think, of getting caught up in any political game, intentionally or otherwise.
Wow! Not sure what to think. Greatly written but overwhelming sad.
A great closure for a very exciting trilogy. I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. I feel it doesn't care for the usual storytelling conventions and instead becomes a ride of surprises and turns. Katniss's character evolves in a very real way and is not your usual untouchable hero. I like the flaws in the characters, the way they are broken beyond repair and the constant questioning of the role of media in either keeping or ditching the status quo.
Really moving and beautiful, a series worth reading.
An all-accommodating ending. Very disappointing.
So now I'm done with the Hunger Games trilogy and what really bothers me about it, is that it takes an interesting premise and turns it into something entirely predictable. That the trilogy would conclude the way it did was never really in doubt and that defused all the intensity and drama from the story. Too bac.
Loved the conclusion to this series. Gutwrenching at times. It's great to see 1) a likeable female protaganist and 2) a YA novel that aims very, very high. Themes of war, media and morality are all handled well.
I must be the only person to have read this and thought that it was just too predictable. This reads like a rushed attempt to finish a series.
Collins failed miserably in closing out what could have been a great trilogy. Unfortunately, she compleyely disregards all socio-political commentary in the interests of finishing her book and giving her heroine a sappy ending. Very disappointing. In retrospect, it may have been better to have stopped after the first book then to continue through to an unsatisfactory conclusion.
