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Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3)

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 868,833 ratings · 69,338 reviews

My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead.

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued...more

Paperback, 390 pages

Published 2011 by Scholastic (first published August 24th 2010)

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Jun 02, 2011 ♫ נєηη - ѕσυℓ σƒ ѕσυη∂ ♫ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: series, novel, most-memorable-characters, books-i-own, books-i-got-shivers-from, tear-jerkers, disappointing-books, must-reads-before-you-die, covers-i-♥, writers-i-look-up-to

{Before book review}

Oh. My. Golly. Goshness. Only 242 days until this releases, as of 12/24/09.

And yes, people who think I'm a nerd. I have that memorized.

Voah. Twenty people liked my review of this. O.o

Update: WHOA. 39 people liked it. I'm getting serious stalkerphobia.

Oh, great. 209 people.

*stalkerphobia*

Anyways, here's some of my speculashuns. (I had to say that. Sorry. o_O)

-Katniss will die at the stake, truly being the Girl on Fire.

-Peeta and Gale will die or realize that they don't really...more

804 likes · like · see review

Sep 30, 2010 Tina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

What. the. f***. Words can't begin to express my disappointment. I bought Mockingjay the first day it came out and I was preparing myself for a truly epic novel, one worthy of its predecessors. I loved The Hunger Games; it was fast-paced, thrilling, suspenseful. Catching Fire wasn't as good but it was still enjoyable (I was majorly impressed by the game arena). I wasn't let down by Catching Fire though; I figured it was just a transition novel, build-up to what would undoubtedly...more

2785 likes · like · see review

Jun 19, 2011 Annalisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, dystopia, sci-fi, cover

3.5 stars

Well, hmmm. I'm not sure how to react to Mockingjay. I didn't love it and I'm not sure it satisfied me, but it was a disturbing read that will stick with me. Sadly, I can't say that I'll be recommending the series as fervently as I did after reading The Hunger Games. Not that the series isn't good, but I'm not longer sure it's for the masses of YA readers.

Like Catching Fire, Mockingjay took awhile for me to get into. When the pages turned into the triple digits and I wasn't hooked, I go...more

354 likes · like · see review

Mar 19, 2013 Melissa ♥♫ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This review is supposed to be hidden by the spoiler alert, but everyone is yelling at me telling me I spoiled the whole story so idk I'm really confused and I've checked that the review is hidden like 3 times and I do have it checked to "hide entire review because of spoilers" so I'm just putting this here, honestly this is probably the least spoiling review...if that makes sense. Sorry to anyone who's enjoyment of the book was ruined, just go find other reviews to read, nobody's perfect.

Also I...more This review is supposed to be hidden by the spoiler alert, but everyone is yelling at me telling me I spoiled the whole story so idk I'm really confused and I've checked that the review is hidden like 3 times and I do have it checked to "hide entire review because of spoilers" so I'm just putting this here, honestly this is probably the least spoiling review...if that makes sense. Sorry to anyone who's enjoyment of the book was ruined, just go find other reviews to read, nobody's perfect.

Also I changed some parts because, again, the review should be hidden but...yeah
Parts I change are lower case in the middle of the caps, it should be pretty obvious
*I hope I changed all the parts that people were upset about with spoilers and just let me know is anything else is a spoiler.

OMG I CANNOT BELIEVE all those people DIE!!!!!!!!!
AND the end with gale/petta thing
AND Katniss DOESN'T EVEN CARE what happened?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
I MEAN AT FIRST I WAS A TOTAL TEAM GALE BUT THEN I WAS LIKE WELL PEETA IS OKISH I GUESS MAYBE BUT AS LONG AS GALE STILL HAS THAT SPECIAL BOND AND HES HER BEST FRIEND AND HES THE ONE SHE CONFIDES IN AND STUFF AND SHE LOVES HIM AS A FRIEND THAN OK FIND GO MARRY PEETA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CANNOT BELIEVE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I AND DID SC HAVE TO KILL ALL THOSE PPL?????
AND WHAT HAPPENS TO HAYMITCH?
I WISH THEY HAD MORE OF HAYMITCH'S HUMOR
THIS BOOK NEEDED MORE HUMOR, MORE HAYMITCH
THE BOOK WAS STILL REALLY GOOD AND I REALLY LIKED THE PARTS WITH PREZ COIN AND PREZ SNOW AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE BOOK WAS DEFINITELY NOT THE BEST I'D SAY THE SERIES BOOKS GO LIKE THIS
gale might as well have died
i also wanted more finnick and annie

1.)Catching Fire
2.)The Hunger Games
3.)Mockingjay

if u read this sorry about all the caps

UPDATE
ok so first yeah sorry again for my caps lock but I don't think I should change it as it reminds me how strong my feelings were then I guess so i don't hate Peeta now. But yeah no favoritism here haha
So Katniss as a mother was... strange, weird, it felt wrong
the whole voice and feel of the ending where katniss is talking and says "the girl knows" it just felt awkward with Katniss as a mom and since it was 1st person she also sounded so disconnected (as Hannah commented below Katniss sounded lifeless and I agree) like she didnt even bother to call her kids by their names just "the girl" I still need 2 get used to it
and wow i said like a lot(less)

159 likes · like · see review

Aug 25, 2010 Hope rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: best-characters, reviewed, thought-provoking, 2010-reads, bittersweet, dystopian-utopian, young-adult, best-couples-♥, favorites, cover-love, heroes-i-love, heroines-i-love, to-reread-someday

I’m never very good at predicting outcomes. Nothing I could’ve predicted would have been quite as good as this. Although I did get close (a very distant "close") on a few things, and I was right in saying that it wouldn’t be walking through a field of flowers and sunshine.

A book like this just couldn’t be.

It's good, and yet not good. Because it’s good in a very heartbreaking, chilling, haunting, intense way.

Katniss is a different person from the first two books. I found her softer, more thought...more

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Apr 28, 2013 ★ Jess rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of 'The Hunger Games' and 'Catching Fire'

Shelves: books-i-own, read-in-2010, read-in-2012, 4-stars-loved-it, special-top-favorites-♥

Spoilers.

When I first read 'Mockingjay' I was a silly little fourteen year old, drunk up on the fast paced action and immediate danger Katniss faced in the first two novels. Given her weakness and exclusion from important events, not to mention my almost 12 month wait for its release, I was bitterly disappointed.

Perhaps, reading now, I appreciate Mockingjay more because of my lower expectations. Perhaps it is because I can look at it in a new light. Perhaps it is both of the above.
I will not...more

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Jazzy Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins is wonderful! It goes from a girl with no choice to what she can do with her life to her becoming a Mockingjay. In the b...more Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins is wonderful! It goes from a girl with no choice to what she can do with her life to her becoming a Mockingjay. In the beginning, she has no freedom; she is completely overpowered by President Snow. As she learns from the crowd of rebels, she acts and stands against the president with great power. The plot has a lot of effectiveness. There are families all over Panem starving to death, just so the Capitol can have their luxuries and pleasures. The families live in broken down, old houses, while the Capitol spends their everyday lives in the worlds’ most advanced technology and mouthwatering food. Tension remains throughout the book. It starts off with Katniss facing a challenge that her lover, Peeta, may never return back to her, and then the challenge of Peeta becoming against her because of some drug. Mockingjay ends with her duties as the bird who ends the war through vengeance and justice and wins over Panem. I have to disagree with Jess. I believe that Mockingjay was executed really well and that Suzanne Collins is a great writer. I hoped that Peeta and Katniss would get together, and that Katniss will somehow win. I loved Suzanne Collins’ style. She has a very intricate way of grabbing and pulling the reader into the book. “My nightmares are mostly about losing you. Then I wake up to find you're still with me.” I really loved that Suzanne Collins added a lot of love quotes between Katniss and Peeta. Their true love is what, to me, brought the trilogy together. So after when he whispers, “‘You love me. Real or not real?’
I tell him, ‘Real’ ”. She does a very nice job of keeping cliff-hangers at the end of every chapter, making the reader want to go on. “My lips are just forming his name when his fingers lock around my throat.” This was one of the points where I could not just put the book down. I would definitely recommend this book to all my friends, it is very interesting, and it was very hard for me to put it down.(less)
Jan 21, 2013 10:20pm

★ Jess Maybe just like,
write your own review?
Jan 22, 2013 05:07am

Apr 23, 2013 Amelia, the pragmatic idealist rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, dystopian, ya-kids-teen, series-books, scholastic, own, disappointing, annoying-protagonist, mc-girl

2013 edit: Time can do a lot to influence my opinion of books. In some cases, time goes on and I end up appreciating a book more than I did originally, like Ender's Game or The Great Gatsby. But in other cases, time actually diminishes my opinion of certain books.
I'm so sick of all this HG-movie hype. Seriously. Ms. Collins' novels were thought-provoking, but not *that* much. I'm left to wonder if I read the same books as everyone else. Collins' writing style doesn't have that much depth. And I...more

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Aug 31, 2010 Kat Kennedy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kat-s-book-reviews, oppressive-dystopian-regime, to-ya-or-not-to-ya

This review has spoilers!

Bitches...

What were you doing when you were 16? Checking your boobs each morning to see if the Boob Fairy had paid you a visit? Sneaking out of the house to the park down the street where you and your six friends would share a single can of beer and pretend you're drunk? Making out? Homework? Fighting with your parents? Watching scary movies?

Katniss is sixteen years old and she's been in two Hunger Games, fighting against twenty-odd opponents to the death. Then she becom...more

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Aug 25, 2010 Kae rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: best-of-2010, favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Mockingjay, the final book in Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games Trilogy. For a year, I had been anxiously waiting to read the about the adventures of the rebels, the hopefully happy ending. How wrong was I. There is an ending - but it is not as happy as most expected it to be. The rebels fought, they won. But in a sense, Collin's shows us that when violence is used to such extremes, no one wins; yes, a winner is declared - but the sadness and loss of both sides proves that no one really wins in war...more Mockingjay, the final book in Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games Trilogy. For a year, I had been anxiously waiting to read the about the adventures of the rebels, the hopefully happy ending. How wrong was I. There is an ending - but it is not as happy as most expected it to be. The rebels fought, they won. But in a sense, Collin's shows us that when violence is used to such extremes, no one wins; yes, a winner is declared - but the sadness and loss of both sides proves that no one really wins in war. While reading this book, I felt almost as depressed as a sober Haymitch.

There is a lot of death throughout the book (I sobbed at Finnick's). However, even though there is so much death in this book, most of it comes to new characters; the leader of district 13, Coin; Bogg, one of Katniss's bodyguards; mostly new or unknown characters that pass on. But alot of the death-related sadness in the book comes not from individual characters, but more from Katniss's vivid description of the mass homicide that they are left with at the end of the war. The group of children murdered on President Snow's doorstep - Prim included. The workers trapped in the Nut, a mountain in district two. The hospital burned down in district eight. That, more than anything, sets such a depressing tone.

In my opinion, however, it wasn't death that made such a sad air around the book. Some of the tortures make it worse. Peeta's hijacking, Finnick's molestation, Johanna's physical pain. And to top the list, Katniss - expected to be the rock strong Mockingjay when all of this happens around her. All this pain that she goes though, and so much more, should make her deserve a happy life afterwards. However, instead of in the company of her surviving friends and family, she finds herself alone, in a burned-down district, sitting by the fire in her Victor's house. That, more that anything, saddens the reader. When Katniss deserves someone with her, to make her feel less alone, the only person to console her is herself. Yes, in the end she and Peeta end up together. But during the book, she is always alone.

Even though this book is a far departure from the first two books, I believe that Suzanne saved her own series. She, like Cinna, made sure that no one would forget the 'girl on fire'. When so many books have slightly bittersweet endings, this book is much heavier on the bitter, distinguishing itself from so many others. There is no Disney ending to the Hunger Games, and I believe that if there was one than it would ruin the message of the series.

Suzanne Collins created her third bittersweet masterpiece, completeing one of the most different and best trilogies in YA Fiction today.

**note** its beautiful writing, too. suzanne collins has a gorgeous voice. (less)

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Aug 26, 2010 Tatiana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who prefers to think instead of obsessing over love triangles

Shelves: 2010, favorites, ya, dystopias-post-apocalyptic

Let's face it, a series is only as good as its last book. Is a kitchen towel drenched in my tears a good indicator of the quality of Mockingjay? I think it is, considering that I am not a crying-over-books type. I think this book is a FANTASTIC ending of a FANTASTIC series.

The book is lying next to me now, so deceitful in appearance, with its innocent, bright, cheerful cover. Who knew there would be so much darkness hidden between its pages, so much heartache? Mockingjay is indeed a DARK, DARK b...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Nataliya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: awesome-kickass-heroines, dystopia-postapocalyptic, for-my-future-hypothetical-daughter

All Katniss really wants is to not be "a piece in their games". But nobody apparently got the memo. Once again, she is a pawn in somebody's power games. Same shit, different day. Only the Gamemakers have changed.

The above are synonymous in the eyes of the Capitol. Or District 13, for that matter.

Even free from the clutches of the Capitol, Katniss still has a role to play - whether she wants it or not. This time it's Mockingjay, the face of the rebellion she unwittingly helped to bring. But the p...more

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Aug 27, 2010 Sparrow rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, girls-rule, influenced-me, reviewed, classic-young-adult, chosen-girls, monsters, best-of-the-year

I guess, sometimes our emotional bones need to be re-broken in order to set them right. Maybe this was a common experience for those who read this book, but a lot of its most emotional points were like reading a bizarre dream about the last few years of my own life. I’m not going to go into it because that would be, like, an unacceptable amount of over-share, even for me. That’s just to say that I have no ability to be objective about it. This story: real or not real?

I love Mockingjay like I lov...more

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Jul 31, 2010 Baine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, books-i-own

"THERE IS NO DISTRICT 12."
Period. End of sentence. End of story. Biggest. Cliffhanger. Ever.
Oh. my. gosh.

I CANNOT WAIT!!! August 24... Someone could tell me the world was ending August 23rd and i'd say, no it isn't! Mockingjay isn't out yet, stupid! The world can't end! What about August 25th? Hah! well i'll have red it by then, so im good.

Was it just me or did everyone else frantically flip the pages after finishing Catching Fire? I was like,
NOOOO! That cannot be how she ended it! DANG that wa...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Kira rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian, ya, made-me-want-to-choke-myself, lost-the-will-to-live, so-boring-i-ate-my-own-face, train-wreck-romance, tstl-heroine, zombies, books-to-use-as-weapons

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Those two stars are for the last ten pages, which were absolutely outstanding. Probably the best ten pages of the series. The 380 pages before that, however, deserve nothing. The first 380 pages can kiss my ass.

This book was a fucking slog. I kid you not. This book tried me to the point of breaking. About halfway through, I was ready to feed the damn thing to my dog.

I'm not the biggest Hunger Games fan. Y'all know that. However, when I read Catching Fire, after its predecessor disappointed me,...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Arlene rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopic, read-2010, favorites, street-corner-pick, ya-dystopic, young-adult

There is so much I love and despise about this book and my brain is still in a mindfog trying to sort out some of the catastrofuck that just occurred. But first and foremost I must say… hats off to Suzanne Collins for penning an epic finale of courageous and daring proportions!! Wow she really spared no expense in ending The Hunger Games series with a final installment that will leave a lasting impression! Collins is without a doubt FEARLESS.

I am still in complete and absolute shock as I contem...more There is so much I love and despise about this book and my brain is still in a mindfog trying to sort out some of the catastrofuck that just occurred. But first and foremost I must say… hats off to Suzanne Collins for penning an epic finale of courageous and daring proportions!! Wow she really spared no expense in ending The Hunger Games series with a final installment that will leave a lasting impression! Collins is without a doubt FEARLESS.

I am still in complete and absolute shock as I contemplate the events I never imagined would occur actually took place in this book; characters I never fathomed would be sacrificed, found their final chapters in this installment; and paths I took for granted would be avoided were actually taken. As I read chapter after chapter, I quickly realized that I should give up trying to anticipate Collins' next moves and just expect the unexpected. Collins demonstrated time and time again that she owned this story, and she was not going to compromise her ending with unicorns and rainbows. It was truly out of control at every turn but perfectly executed!!

In this final installment of Mockingjay, the most deadly and costly games are launched as the district rebels and the Capitol fight to the bloody finish for power over Panem. Katniss Everdeen continues to be the pawn, but as the games unravel, it’s never quite clear what side she should be playing for and who she should trust. Gale, her lifetime friend, continually makes moves that in the end cost Katniss dearly. Peeta, the person that put his life on the line for her time and time again, becomes a weapon in the games putting her at risk as she fights to survive this deadly powerplay.

I had so many favorite characters in this book, but as soon as I let my guard down, they were pulled from my grasp and ripped to shreds. In the end, I feared caring too deeply for any of them and found I began distancing myself emotionally from the story. It was such a psychological ride that I felt completely spent in the end.

There were so many endearing moments in this book, such as Katniss’s Crazy Cat game, the moment she realized she needed Haymitch emotionally and he wrapped his arms around her, her revealing moment that Prim was no longer the little sister with the ducktail she need to tuck and protect, and her real or not real response to Peeta’s final question.

I loved Finnick Odair in this book and his back-story broke my heart. His reunion with the one person he loved was heart rending and that’s not all, but you’ll have to read to find out more about this hidden gem of a character that I never anticipated would surface at this final hour.

This book ends with a dark and painful journey for Katniss and I found myself struggling with what she was going through as a result of her involvement in the revolution. There were moments that I wanted to give up right along side with her, and as I was nearing the end of the story, I couldn’t fathom a resolution I felt she deserved. And, I'm still questioning whether she got it...

There is so much more I want to say about this book, but as I said, I’m spent!(less)

112 likes · like · see review

Jan 22, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Some spoilers in review as I do discuss some things about the conclusion of the book.

***************** Spoilers in Review below *******************

(view spoiler)...more Some spoilers in review as I do discuss some things about the conclusion of the book.

***************** Spoilers in Review below *******************

(view spoiler)[ Okay, just us now...a lot of people loved this book. I'm not one of them. I liked the first book immensely, I also liked the second volume. I appreciate the inspiration behind the books. I considered 3 stars here, as there are times when some very good writing comes through. But in the end for me to say I really didn't like the book wouldn't fit with a 3 star rating. There were too many times I skimmed through this one, too many times I came very close to abandoning the read all together simply due to the story and it's telling.

If you read my review of the second volume in this trilogy you know that one of the things that bothered me most was the immature and selfish character of Katniss. I observed at the close of that volume that this had probably been intentional on Ms.Collins' part and that Katniss seemed to be growing out of it after the hard and troubling events at the end of said volume.

Well, Katniss had a relapse...big-time. Apparently in all the wars and all the revolutions and all the tragedies of all time NO ONE has suffered as she has. Am I the only one who got so tired of her constant bemoaning of her own fate...as the world is flying apart around her? She forces the rebels to take her back to her blasted and burned former home where she apparently wanders around saying things like "I brought this on you"... GOOD GRIEF. No Katniss, the people who dropped the bombs brought it on them...the people who ordered it brought it on...the people who have been forcing children to kill each other in arenas to hold the entire populace under their heel FOR GENERATIONS brought it on. The world didn't start when you were born Katniss.

The book becomes, it seems to me very much of a one trick pony with Katniss constantly discovering more pain and more woe. It turns into a story where the rebels seem often to be as bad as the oppressive government they seek to overthrow. A book that comes very close to one of those pompous tomes (and for that matter movies, short stories etc.) that defined itself as "anti-war" as if people sometimes get together and say, "hey, let's have a war." War is nothing more than an assault or an armed robbery writ large. Very few actually "want war" it doesn't make one extra righteous to say "I'm taking a stand against war!", just self-righteous. The choice in the story Ms. Collins wrote is the same as it has been often...war or enslavement. You can accept what your handed and live with it, let them take your goods... your children, or you can resist. The longer you wait to resist the worse it may be. Thus the 1 star rating. It seems to me Katniss is an annoying character who (I think) became badly one dimensional. There are a few bright spots and some good prose, but over all, I'm not taken with the book.

For me one of the most telling moment in the book was in a conversation between Gale and Peeta (the boy named after pocket bread) when they are having a conversation about which of them Katniss will eventually "choose" and Gale hits it on the head. He says she'll pick the one She can't survive without. Of course from Katniss we get the obligatory self recrimination, "am I that bad", well I don't need either of them, internal monologue..but (when proverbial push comes to proverbial shove) that is exactly what she eventually does.

In the end so far as I can tell after all that's happened, after all the death and loss the world still revolves around Katniss at least so far as Katniss is concerned. (hide spoiler)]

I found this an unsatisfying book and conclusion to what had been up to now a pretty good trilogy and if my children were still young I'd definitely discuss this one with them to see what they took away from it. Not my cup of tea, and puts my retention of the other two in my collection in question...I regret the money spent on this book and the time invested in it, a bad sign. The first book is a very good read, the second is pretty good, but this, the end volume is very, very weak. My opinion of course.

Update: Sadly this volume ruined the entire set for me. I sold all 3. (less)

143 likes · like · see review

Mar 29, 2012 Jillian -always aspiring- rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: soared-above-and-beyond, best-endings, best-characters, fab-writing, will-love-it-until-i-die, writing-to-which-i-aspire, stories-that-challenge-me, stories-with-a-message, made-me-cry, dystopian-worlds-hells-and-cesspits, thought-provoking, titles-i-love, covers-i-love, ultimate-favorites, heroines-i-love-and-or-admire, very-nearly-heartbreaking, i-am-not-worthy, 2010-reads, writer-crush, 2012-reads, the-future-is-not-your-friend, reviewed

*** SPOILERS ***

It's been three months since Mockingjay ended the monumental The Hunger Games trilogy -- and I'm still digesting the ending, pondering all its layers and complexities. What an ending it was.

Speculation had run rampant for months after Catching Fire's cliffhanger ending, but few of us ever imagined this. War becomes a reality, but we aren't treated to action and games of survival until the last third of the book. Instead, we suffer alongside Katniss as she processes all that has h...more *** SPOILERS ***

It's been three months since Mockingjay ended the monumental The Hunger Games trilogy -- and I'm still digesting the ending, pondering all its layers and complexities. What an ending it was.

Speculation had run rampant for months after Catching Fire's cliffhanger ending, but few of us ever imagined this. War becomes a reality, but we aren't treated to action and games of survival until the last third of the book. Instead, we suffer alongside Katniss as she processes all that has happened to her and all that may still come to pass so long as the Capitol still remains a threat. Beyond the love triangle, beyond the upcoming twists and turns, beyond even the fate of Panem itself -- we wonder all throughout the book what has happened to Katniss Everdeen. Where has the fire gone?

The Hunger Games held its first blow, the Quarter Quell its second, and the war with the Capitol threatens to destroy Katniss beyond repair.

We learn, through Katniss, that there is no coming back from war. There is only moving forward and surviving through the flashbacks and nightmares.

Katniss is not the only one left affected: Peeta and Haymitch, the ones who have experienced much the same of what Katniss had in the last two books, also show the same effects of war and trauma. All three become the survivors, the ones forever tied to war and its aftermath.

The only thing I was right about with my predictions was Peeta's "brainwashing" -- and how sad I was to see the after-effects of such a twist. I could not have beared to put Peeta in such a circumstance had I known all the irreparable consequences, but Suzanne Collins did. Brava, Collins. Brava.

But Collins does not leave the series without its dash of hope: with time, there is healing. There is never forgetting, no, but there is healing through love and family, companionship and conversation. Not all hope is lost even after a world falls to its knees and its people are left to put the pieces back together.

The Hunger Games trilogy was always a series about war and humanity -- and may we readers never forget the lessons learned within, lest we repeat the same mistakes in our own futures.(less)

65 likes · like · see review

Feb 08, 2012 Meg ♥ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, z-2011-reads, own-copy

I have to say I didn't love this book. I loved The Hunger Games (5 Stars) immensely. I enjoyed Catching Fire (Still 5 stars) almost as much as The Hunger Games. Those two books built so much suspense that I don't honestly know if I could have ever been satisfied with the third book.

Absolutely everything I was looking forward to for such a long time came to a conclusion, and whether or not I liked those conclusions isn't the point. The point is that they all felt so rushed. Primarily the relatio...more I have to say I didn't love this book. I loved The Hunger Games (5 Stars) immensely. I enjoyed Catching Fire (Still 5 stars) almost as much as The Hunger Games. Those two books built so much suspense that I don't honestly know if I could have ever been satisfied with the third book.

Absolutely everything I was looking forward to for such a long time came to a conclusion, and whether or not I liked those conclusions isn't the point. The point is that they all felt so rushed. Primarily the relationship between Katniss and the two guys. I'm not a sucker for romance normally, but I really wanted to know who she would choose. In a lot of other YA books they are usually fairly obvious, but with this series I had no idea what the outcome would be. Then it's all wrapped up in a matter of a few pages, and that's it.

Another thing she did that I didn't like was change the characters so much from the ones we grew to love in the first two books. I understand with the war and violence all around people are going to change, but I almost didn't like Katniss in this book at all. Over the course of the series I enjoyed Katniss' character development, but I did not enjoy how she was portrayed in Mockingjay. Or any of the other characters for that matter. Without giving away any spoilers I'm just going to say that I won't be able to reread The Hunger Games and have the same feelings for certain characters after what happened in Mockingjay. Basically, in short, she ruined some characters for me, but it was her story to tell her own way, so I fully support her outcomes.

I would give this book 3.5 stars, because the writing is still superb. Suzanne can probably write anything at the point and I would give it a try. She includes a lot of twists, shocking moments, and what I would say was a decent conclusion to the story, but it went so fast! This coming from a girl who writes in at least 75% of her reviews that she loves a fast paced book.

*sigh* maybe I just never wanted this series to end, so I would have been disappointed no matter what.(less)

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Aug 24, 2010 karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: why-yes-i-ya

these are the things i have done for this book:

i have given up my birthday, waiting in line from 5 until its midnight release, braving the crowds and noise and commotion...

i have missed my subway stop and ended up taking the crappy way into work...

i have seriously considered calling out of work to sit at home and finish it...

i have read in elevators, while walking down the street, walking up the stairs, while eating dinner without even tasting it...

i have rushed my beloved dawn powell's book, ra...more

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Aug 27, 2010 Jessica Love rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i NEVER thought i'd ever rate this book below a 5...but here i am....and the only reason i gave it a three even is because the first two books of the hunger games were just SO GOOD they brought this one up...by three stars. honestly, i’ve waited so long for mockingjay to come out. i practically peed my pants on august 24th and now that i’ve finally finished the book (thanks to a full day of obsessive reading-meals not included) all i can feel is…annoyance. annoyance and disappointment. annoyance...more i NEVER thought i'd ever rate this book below a 5...but here i am....and the only reason i gave it a three even is because the first two books of the hunger games were just SO GOOD they brought this one up...by three stars. honestly, i’ve waited so long for mockingjay to come out. i practically peed my pants on august 24th and now that i’ve finally finished the book (thanks to a full day of obsessive reading-meals not included) all i can feel is…annoyance. annoyance and disappointment. annoyance that katniss let herself be so easily used, didn't really care about anything, and was idle for so much of the book. and disappointment that you never really get any closure with gale, peeta wasn’t there for a third of the book, and he “wasn’t himself” for almost all of it. but mostly just mad that nothing really happened for large portions of the book. like…katniss seemed kinda…stuck all throughout. i’ve always loved her because she was a character that didn’t break down easily but mental breakdowns seemed like her favorite activity in this book. she spent like a fourth of the book missing peeta but she never actually DID anything about it. and then when he was saved she barely even talked to him let alone tried to help him. okay *spoiler alert* one of the only bright spots of this book is finding out about finnick’s past. i was definitely surprised by all he had to say. it made me like him even more. i can honestly say he was the only character that didn't annoy me once in mockingjay…AND THEN HE DIED. i am SO MAD that finnick and cinna’s death were pretty much considered inconsequential. like yeah, katniss was sad, but neither of them got like a dramatic tragical death. it was just “yeah. they died. it sucks.” and that really bummed me out cause i LOVED them both. i thought finnick's death was three times as devastating as prims, mostly because i feel like we never got to know prim well enough to really mourn her death. but for finnick i had to go back and reread the page several times before i could actually accept that he had died. and even then i hoped he would magically pop to life again. and not a single tear shed for him from katniss? NOT. OKAY. even though this was the book where the most characters died, it was also the book where i didn't cry once reading it. mostly because katniss didn't seem to really even care about anything which sort of killed my sympathy and sparked annoyance instead. and yeahh…so back to the whole non-closure thing with gale? it was just so…anticlimatic and…lacking. i’ve been a peeta supporter since the first chapter of the first book and even i hated how katniss and gale ended. i don’t know. i just think that maybe i was expecting this last book to follow basically the same format as the hunger games and catching fire, and i’m just ridiculously (like seriously to the point where it’s pathetic) disappointed that it took such a different turn. …and now that i know the entire series is over so that’s the only ending i’m gonna get....:'(
katniss’s shining moment appeared near the end though. when she decided to shoot coin instead of president snow. it almost brought back the old hunger-games-and-catching-fire-rational-and-strong katniss. almost. but then she had to go and try to get herself addicted to morphine in a suicide attempt. bleh. i always knew this was a somewhat dark series, but this book was just. so. bleak. reading it was pretty much equivalent to cutting my wrists. perhaps no amount of writing could ever have helped suzanne collins live up to my sky high expectations of this book but still….

the book could have been better. a lot. better.
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Mar 30, 2012 mark monday rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teenworld, after-the-fall

ALL SPOILERS

Chapter 1
A memorial of sorts. Some final books in trilogies spend time carefully recounting what happened in prior books. Some jump right into the action. Mockingjay has ash and despair and the end of a life our heroine once had. It does not feel like a stirring call to arms; it does not feel like a revolution is about to happen. It feels like the end of things, it feels like death. This is the beginning of the book.

Chapter 2
The brave rebels of District 13. A humorless communist stat...more

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Aug 20, 2011 Joyzi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Joyzi by: Stephenie Meyer

Shelves: sci-fi, ya-books, 5-stars-or-more, fiction, own, disappointing-books, author-was-possessed, reviewed, don-t-judge-me, read-more-than-once, dystopia, political-intrigue, book-series, banned, author-american, nook, thought-provoking

Note: Hey I have written a fanfic and you've got to read it: Peeta Mellark in Real Life *puppy Peeta eyes*

***SPOILER AND SWEAR ALERT***

(A super rushed review coming from a still emotional Peeniss (PeetaxKatniss) and Finnie (FinnickxAnnie) fan, please forgive my obscenities and my nonsense ramblings. This is not a rant, or maybe it is, but don't worry Collins, I still love you sweetheart.)

Finally I finished reading this disturbing book. Please, please, please don't let that baby blue color cover...more

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Aug 24, 2010 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

Please know before you start reading... that this review is SPOILER FREE.... no key plot points will be revealed.... but characters are discussed.

Mockingjay.... the final installment of The Hunger Games If you saw my non-review of The Hunger Games, you know that I wasn't on the bandwagon when The Hunger Games was first released. I wasn't even on the bandwagon when Catching Fire was released. I think the hype of the series really turned me off.... and I'm not sure exactly why. I've loved all the...more Please know before you start reading... that this review is SPOILER FREE.... no key plot points will be revealed.... but characters are discussed.

Mockingjay.... the final installment of The Hunger Games If you saw my non-review of The Hunger Games, you know that I wasn't on the bandwagon when The Hunger Games was first released. I wasn't even on the bandwagon when Catching Fire was released. I think the hype of the series really turned me off.... and I'm not sure exactly why. I've loved all the "big hype books" .... Harry Potter.... stood in line at midnight to get those pieces of gold. Twilight (don't judge).... although I read Twilight long before it reached the mania that it is today. And in doing so, I had to wait for every freaggin' book to come out... ugh. But I loved my hype books! What was my problem...?

With The Hunger Games, I just wanted interested at all. It didn't sound all that great to me... although Suzanne had another series, I'd never heard of it. What made this book to great. Then this past Christmas (2009) I picked up my copy of The Hunger Games (yes... I bought a copy, I even had a copy of Catching Fire too, I just hadn't read either of them) and I started to read. And the rest my dear readers was history! I read Catching Fire shortly after, although I didn't post a review for it. I enjoyed it just as much as I had the previous book.

I was one of those crazy people that was dying to read Mockingjay... and I was especially one of those people that was jealous of those lucky ducks that were getting a chance to read it early! Well, wouldn't you know it showed up on my doorstep Friday the 20th.... four days before the release date! Strict embargo stickers on the box and all. Too bad I was in Pennsylvania! But when I arrived home from my trip... I devoured it. And it has been haunting me since then.

This novel was so incredibly emotional. It physically drained me. It's been keeping me up at night. Oh what power the written word can possess. If I had to describe my overall feeling after reading the novel, it would be STUNNED.

This novel reveals Katniss in depths that I never knew she possessed.... disturbing depths that I didn't want to know that a person could possess. But Katniss isn't the only character that outwardly displays the stain of war... of fear... I'll add Gale and Peeta to that list.... and that's all I'll say about that.

Non-stop action. The poor girl. She never got a break. She just goes from being used by one person to another. Can she really trust anyone? I think she finally finds a few people that she can trust and those are the ones that are standing with her at the end. It's just disheartening that she had to endure so much pain to come to that conclusion. But with the pain and despair... there are glimpses of hope and joy... they were just far and few between. Don't expect this to be a light-hearted read with an ending wrapped in a big bow. Collin's didn't cheat her readers... or her characters. And I thank her and commend her for that.

Collins kept me guessing. I never saw what was coming... even when the foreshadowing was there. I refused to believe it, until it was impossible to do so. I was angry... I cried.... I mourned. I'm still mourning. It was incredible.

I honestly don't know what say... it moved me in a way that few novels have. I've watched these characters develop, I've grown to love them... and now it's ALL OVER! You kick ass Katniss.

This is a series that is worthy of all the hype it received.

And can I just say.....

I was and still am TEAM PEETA! (less)

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Aug 27, 2010 Jayna rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

233 likes · like · see review

Sep 17, 2010 Cara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, science-fiction, series, to-re-read

I had considered not doing a review for this book, because really the series doesn't need any help whatsoever from me. It can stand on it's own just fine, but I feel an obligation to share my admiration and love for this series.

Katniss has narrowly escaped the claws of the Capitol. She is the face of the rebellion and the strain of that responsibility shows. Nothing is clear cut, nothing is easy, and nothing makes sense. The suspense, the tension, and the electric air is apparent and it won't ma...more I had considered not doing a review for this book, because really the series doesn't need any help whatsoever from me. It can stand on it's own just fine, but I feel an obligation to share my admiration and love for this series.

Katniss has narrowly escaped the claws of the Capitol. She is the face of the rebellion and the strain of that responsibility shows. Nothing is clear cut, nothing is easy, and nothing makes sense. The suspense, the tension, and the electric air is apparent and it won't matter if Katniss is ready or not. The rebellion is catching fire. Welcome to the war against the Capitol.

This book was so highly anticipated and the expectations couldn't be greater. Personally this was THE book I was waiting for all year, but I didn't have any expectations going in. Well, no that's a lie, I did expect it to be awesome beyond recognition. Once I had my hands on the book I just looked down at the seemingly innocent blue cover and tightened my grip around the book trying to prepare myself. I felt like I had to physically and mentally get myself ready for the battle to read this because I just knew going in that this was going to be an "experience" . My assumptions were correct.

My thoughts and feelings are jumbled and hazy after reading this. I actually finished it right before I went to class, and I just couldn't concentrate on the lecture. I kept going back to the story, contemplating what just happened. My heart felt more than broken, it was trampled on. Things don't turn out the way you want them to or the way you expect them to. This one isn't like the first two, and shows a realistic aspect of what would happen in a real war zone. It gives the reader a sense of why nobody is clearly justified in their actions and why Katniss, Peeta, Gale and everyone involved could and won't ever be the same again. You know how I said I tried to prepare myself? I wasn't prepared.

Readers of the first two know there is no doubt that you have to read the last book. There is no question that you will. Now for those of you that haven't read it, go read it. I could feel something inside me shift just a bit once I finished. Good books will make you think, but excellent books make you feel. No doubt this was excellent but not in the sense that you would think. The world-building is believable and mirrors us to an extent. The clincher is that it's seen through a seventeen year old young woman just trying to do what's right at the moment, and sometimes that isn't enough. It's impossible to rate because it isn't happy but it tells the truth. It's hard to accept the truth.

There is no way, even if I wanted to, I could ever forget the story of Katniss Everdeen, the Mockingjay, and the people of Panem.(less)

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Aug 25, 2010 Eh?Eh! rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dear-diary-what-book, babble-added

I have this trick, where I adjust my glasses with thumb and middle finger while stealthily using the forefinger to flick away eyewater. But I wasn't crying on page 100 (just after the h_____ is b_____ and Katniss speaks), my tear ducts are just really well-developed.

Suzanne Collins is excellent at pacing,* avoiding the trap of overusing the cliffhanger or slowing down too much and losing attention. She has a graceful hand when using humor to ease tension - I especially liked the parts when one c...more

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Nov 01, 2011 Dija rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, favorites, childhood-friends-turned-lovers, ya, authors-i-stalk, my-reviews

For the past few weeks, I've been viewing Mockingjay as a bomb about to go off, but while it wasn't quite that bad, I wasn't entirely off the mark either. I'm still recovering from the wringer this series put me through.

Which is why I've been ~~suffocating~~ hugging my parrot for the past couple of hours.

You know when you take a month-long vacation you've been planning for ages and it's all you'd wished for and more, but at the end of the trip, you're still the happiest and most relieved when you...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Kemper rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, dystopia, sci-fi, war

Katniss just wanted to survive the Hunger Games and protect her family from the evil President Snow, but she inadvertently inspired all of the districts to rebel against the Capital. Now District 13 has rescued Katniss and wants her to become the ultimate symbol of the rebellion as the Mockingjay. However, Snow still has someone close to her held captive, and Katniss fears that any move she makes to aid the uprising will hurt someone she cares about.

I alternated between really liking this and be...more
Katniss just wanted to survive the Hunger Games and protect her family from the evil President Snow, but she inadvertently inspired all of the districts to rebel against the Capital. Now District 13 has rescued Katniss and wants her to become the ultimate symbol of the rebellion as the Mockingjay. However, Snow still has someone close to her held captive, and Katniss fears that any move she makes to aid the uprising will hurt someone she cares about.

I alternated between really liking this and being generally irritated. Most of my frustration came from Katniss herself. In the first book while she was often unsure or filled with self-doubt, she never let it overwhelm her, and it was that toughness that enabled her to survive. In this book, Katniss’s default reaction seems to be either acting like a sulky teenager when asked to perform as the Mockingjay or to have complete emotional meltdowns that require her to be sedated.

It’s particularly glaring because at the start of the trilogy Katniss had nothing but contempt for the way her mother gave into depression after the death of her father which left her to find a way to feed them and her sister. Yet in this book, Katniss avoids dealing with issues by hiding in a closet and going to sleep. I could understand why she’d be a bit of a mess at the beginning of the book, and when it looked like she was finally stepping into the role as the face of the rebellion; it made me want to cheer. But it seemed like just minutes later she was unable to cope with anything going on around her again.

Plus, with the first person narration of a confused and terrified young woman, we never got a view of the bigger war and what Katniss meant to it. So I couldn’t understand why everyone continues to insist that she’s such a valuable propaganda tool when she had just one really good on-camera moment after a battle. There could even be an interesting concept there with her not living up to the image she portrayed, but nothing is done with it.

There was still a lot I liked about this. The way that Katniss is still being used to some extent by the rebellion and still has to perform for the cameras was a nice touch that kept that reality show absurdity and falseness that ran through all the books. I was especially impressed at just how dark Collins was willing to make this.

Maybe the problem is just that I’m not the target audience. As a forty-two year old male sci-fi fan, I was interested in reading about the evolution of a scared but tough young woman into the face of a rebellion against a fascist government while shooting some bad people with arrows. I would have liked more of that and less of the love triangle. But close study of my teenage niece leads me to believe that they kind of like that mushy stuff.
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Dec 28, 2012 Phoebe added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantastic-kiddy-lit, dubious-genre-works, kiddie-lit, sciffy, phreminism

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I’ve been putting off writing this review. I suspected it wouldn’t be a fun one to write about halfway in, when I realized I’d been skimming for sixty pages and hadn’t even noticed. Reading through to the conclusion of this best-selling trilogy bore that suspicion out, but I feel no fiendish glee in saying so. The truth is, I’d like to be over there with so many of you, nodding my head and talking about how Collins has penned a kid’s classic that tops even The Giver for its unrelenting intensity...more

28 likes · like · see review

Apr 01, 2011 Lyndsey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-2010, reviewed-4-stars, about-dystopia-or-utopia

Be warned. Spoilers abound . As well as Major Ramblings. *salute*

Odd tidbit of information: Recently, I had a teeny, tiny silverfish (I almost typed catfish, which would have made this story much more interesting) that just chilled on my bathroom floor for days, in the same spot. It had to have been at least three or four days.

I know it was alive because it would half heartedly scurry out of the way of much-too-close feet, a stark contrast to the usual lively and feisty personality of the creatu...more

74 likes · like · see review

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About Suzanne Collins

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been busy writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little...more

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The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxset (The Hunger Games, #1-3)

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