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.