Mockingjay

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.

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.

I don't know if, after reading these books so long ago, I could write a review for each one...so I'm going to write and all-encompassing review of The Hunger Games Trilogy.

The Hunger Games (Book #1) - The best of the three.
Catching Fire (Book #2) - Gets better from about the half-way point on.
Mockingjay (Book #3) - Not that great. Probably the weakest of the three. Then the ending sucked HARD.

The Hunger Games is a story about North America after a horrific war has wiped out life and government as we know it. The survivors have banded together to form the Capitol City and various outer Districts, each with its own jobs/manufacturing tasks. The Capital City controlled everything to the point that the Districts rose up and revolted. And they were crushed. To remind the Districts that they must never revolt again, the Capital initiated The Hunger Games. Each District must deliver one boy and one girl to fight to the death against the other District children for food.

All this happens before our story begins...

We begin with the 74th annual Hunger Games and our main character, Katniss Everdeen from District 12, is competing in the Games. While it won't shock readers to know that the main character wins the Hunger Games, there are still surprises, twists, and gut-wrenching scenes of loss and heartbreak. This is the first book. It was fantastic and an exceptional read. The Hunger Games could stand alone without the other two books and still be a knock-out first novel. In fact, I kinda wish I stopped reading here.

The second book picks up with the Victory Tour that follows the Hunger Games. Katniss, am anti-authoritative rebel, ended up pissing off the leaders of the Capital City with her actions in the 74th Hunger Games. So during the Victory Tour, she has to deal with the consequences of her actions from her Hunger Game win. This part really seemed somewhat repetitive and boring, especially after all the excitement of the first book. Then, everything changed from the middle of the book on. And it was almost as good as the first book. Definitely full of unexpected surprises until the cliffhanger ending...

The third book picked up from the cliffhanger ending of book two and completely different than the other two books. Mockingjay deals mostly with Katniss Everdeen being the figurehead of a District-wide revolt against the Capital City. The difference in plots alone doesn't make the book bad, just not as interesting as the other two. Then came the surprise "dramatic" conclusion to the trilogy and...IT SUCKED HARD. The ending was SO BAD it pretty much ruined the entire trilogy for me. I don't think I'd ever read these books again, cause I know how it ends and IT. IS. HORRIBLE.

My advice to anyone...Read "The Hunger Games" book #1 and THEN STOP.