Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) in FINDING AUDREY READ-ALONG

May 11, 2011 Adeeb rated it it was amazing

It's the end of the series. The final battle. President Snow has to be defeated. Katniss wants him dead.

This final book in

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins

is just as amazing as its precedors.

Although it is as good as its precedors, it is very different. The setting is different, the plot, everything is different.

They're seeking out war. There's no rest. It's all about hardwork.

There were two main things in this book that kept me turning the pages. First of all, I wanted to know so badly who she chooses. Peeta or Gale.

I'm ...more

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Sep 14, 2011 Kinga rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-and-favorites

Because the movie is coming out and I'm getting nostalgic about this masterpiece!

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Mar 24, 2011 Veronica Ross rated it it was amazing

11/28/14: Just such a good book. Such a good book is all I can say. I hate it and I love it. There's of course aspects I would change but when it comes down its really really great.

12/22/13 : I just re-read this book for the second time back in November. I reviewed it again but at some point it got deleted or something. This time I enjoyed this book a whole lot more. I think the story was a beauty. It embraces life for what it is. Maybe it's because I was prepared or maybe it's because I've mat ...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Roslyn rated it it was amazing

Sprung from the Quarter Quell, Katniss Everdeen has been rehabilitated to District 13, alive and thriving underground all these years. President Coin runs this district on a strict schedule, and directs the rebel forces as she sees fit. The only problem is Katniss. District 13 as well as all of Panem expect her to be the Mockingjay; the face of the rebellion, yet Katniss cannot accept this responsibility. Peeta is still captive to the Capitol, and war is a constant across Panem. In this final bo Sprung from the Quarter Quell, Katniss Everdeen has been rehabilitated to District 13, alive and thriving underground all these years. President Coin runs this district on a strict schedule, and directs the rebel forces as she sees fit. The only problem is Katniss. District 13 as well as all of Panem expect her to be the Mockingjay; the face of the rebellion, yet Katniss cannot accept this responsibility. Peeta is still captive to the Capitol, and war is a constant across Panem. In this final book in the trilogy Katniss has to decide her role in the war and save Panem from certain destruction.

**I strongly recommend this series for people who aren’t necessarily fans of war stories, but of how war impacts human lives.

Review-Spoilers!!
Before I wrote this review I surfed youtube.com for reviews because I was still having mixed feelings about the book as a whole. The reviews I watched brought up good points and cemented my opinions on many aspects of the story.
One reviewer brought up how the deaths of Finnick and Prim seemed unfair and how the whole book was extremely violent and dark with almost no room for humor. Her opinion was that the story went a step too far in the blood and guts department and that the deaths of Finnick and Prim didn’t need to happen. I have to say I disagree. Absolutely the tone of Mockingjay is different and much heavier than that of the first two books, but it needs to be. I am a reader that always reads the “about the author” blurb on the book at some point while reading the story. Suzanne Collins says she is interested on the impact war has on people. If the tone of this book didn’t take on the language and descriptions it did, the point would not be made. Death is a certainty with war, and the violent images that are constant, brutal, and always taking a toll on the characters are necessary for the theme Ms. Collins wishes to illustrate. This series is no longer about Katniss; it is about how war can destroy a person, and indeed a whole country. While I love Katniss, I found the change of themes refreshing and interesting.
To discuss the deaths of Finnick and Prim brings up interesting points. Finnick’s death was very hard for me to take; yet I also saw how it was necessary to add to the build up and themes of the story. Finnick was a character I couldn’t stand and didn’t trust at the beginning of Catching Fire, and then loved up until he died. His death meant something to me as a reader because I saw his character develop. Prim on the other hand, did not make me tear up or even sad at the occurrence of her death. I think this is because, while Prim is mentioned a lot in the book, it is in a way that drives Katniss. What we know of Prim is that she is Katniss’s sister, she is good with animals, and she is a healer. Definitely, she is Katniss’s driving force, but her death left me feeling like I never really got to know her; she never developed as a character. While I believe Suzanne Collins meant for Prim’s death to be the more heartfelt one, Finnick’s was much worse in my opinion.
To address the Gale/Peeta/Katniss triangle, I must say for The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, I was team Peeta (against my better judgment). For the first half of Mockingjay I was completely team Gale, and my opinion was only cemented when Peeta showed up as a crazy person (to be discussed later). I always thought Katniss would choose Gale because of the familiarity, the security, and the obvious love they have for each other. Gale is the known, which makes Peeta more spontaneous. However, Gale becomes darker and more obsessive as the plot continues. While I understand that this is another illustration of what war can do to a person, it also made me return to team Peeta, because Gale was being driven mad by a need to kill and a need to win. Peeta, while not perfectly sound himself, because the better match for Katniss.
When Peeta was first brought to 13 and had his first meeting with Katniss, I couldn’t help but be happy. I was annoyed with Peeta. It was wonderful to not have some dramatic love scene where Katniss rushes into Peeta’s arms and tells him she’ll never leave his side again. And they are not nice to each other; even downright hateful at times. I enjoyed being team Gale and hating Peeta, but I also loved Peeta’s forcing himself to get better. It added a new depth and maturity to the characters. They weren’t in some silly game, they were fighting a war, and with that comes an aging and maturity.
Stylistically I loved reading from Katniss’s point of view in this book. There were many war scenes where I found myself confused, and there were so many images and none of it made sense. It was as if I was Katniss and experiencing it first hand. Not many authors can write so realistically from their characters point of view, and I greatly appreciated how Suzanne Collins didn’t always make things perfectly clear, and relied on other characters to explain things to Katniss she didn’t understand.
Finally, the end of the book was a terrible letdown. I heard many people say they didn’t like the end of the book and was just expecting Peeta to die and life to go on. I could live with that. But babies? Come on. I hated it in Harry Potter and I hate it in The Hunger Games. Why does it seem like every time something bad happens the characters feel the need to have a child to make themselves happy again? Katniss never wanted children and I respected her for that. I hate that she let Peeta talk her into it, and I hate that children were them comic relief for the readers at the very end when so many other points could have been made. I would have liked to see how Panem was being rebuilt, and how the people slowly began to feel all right again. Also, Johanna Mason’s character never had a solid ending, and I feel as though-her being on her own-she could have made a great diplomat. I would have liked to see her as some prominent governmental figure in the new Panem.
So while there were things I didn’t like about this book, I have to say the good outweighed the bad. Also, strictly for change of pace and an excellent theme I have to give Mockingjay five stars. I can’t wait to see what Suzanne Collins writes next! ...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Johanna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

If you thought this book would be just a continuation of the other two, think again. Perhaps one even got a hint that it should be different from the cliffhanger ending of Catching Fire. I struggled with getting through the second book - everything leading up to the games just felt unncessary and bland. So, reading this last book in the series was nothing I planned on until I stumbled upon reviews from old war veterans and their families - because they raised it up towards the sky. Perhaps it wa ...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Amber Smoke rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, favourite-books, dystopia, series, owned-books, favourite-series, too-many-feels

Previously finished on 29th of feb 2012

Beautiful and tragic, the final book of The Hunger Games had a lasting affect on me.

There is so much loss and horror as the rebellion sweeps Panem and this book has opened my eyes to the value of life and motives leading to murder and vengeance and ultimately, undeniable, accurate, vile human nature.

Katniss is a character I care for and even though at sometimes she makes decisions I may not agree with I am still empathetic with her character and I respect ...more

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