From the Bookshelf of Should have read classics…

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)

Suzanne Collins

Start date: September 7, 2010

Finish date: September 30, 2010

Discussion: Group Book Discussions

Why we're reading this: I know that this is not a "classic", but we are all reading it so lets discuss it. Besides, it will be on…more
[close] I know that this is not a "classic", but we are all reading it so lets discuss it. Besides, it will be one soon!!!

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What Members Thought

May 12, 2012 Anne (Booklady) Molinarolo rated it liked it

Shelves: permanent-library, good-fiction, young-adult, sci-fi-dystopia, summer-2012

3.5 Stars

I couldn’t wait to read MOCKINGJAY to find out what happens to Katniss and the other characters I fell in love with. And after reading the conclusion to the Hunger Games I was left dumb-founded, saddened, and angry; angry at Collins mostly. While her writing is still quite beautiful and descriptive, she surprised me with some unpleasant twists of plot and characterization.

When Katniss visits her home in the Seam for the first time, I felt her sadness and vulnerability. She still hasn’ 3.5 Stars

I couldn’t wait to read MOCKINGJAY to find out what happens to Katniss and the other characters I fell in love with. And after reading the conclusion to the Hunger Games I was left dumb-founded, saddened, and angry; angry at Collins mostly. While her writing is still quite beautiful and descriptive, she surprised me with some unpleasant twists of plot and characterization.

When Katniss visits her home in the Seam for the first time, I felt her sadness and vulnerability. She still hasn’t fully recovered from the concussion that Joanna gave her in the Quell Games. She feels as desolate and vulnerable as her surroundings and responsible. Her arrow piercing the arena force field brought the fiery explosion and Snow’s bombers rained fire, destruction, and death upon her people.

She reluctantly lets herself become the rebels “mockingjay” on her terms. She still wants to protect Peeta and the other victors that were captured by the Capitol. By forcing President Coin to accept her terms, Katniss becomes a pawn in the leader’s own agenda, and Katniss is very expendable. So are the other Hunger Games Victors. Coin is as much of a despot as Snow is. The evidence is the harsh and rigid living conditions in District 13. She doesn’t realize her influence upon the citizens of Panam. We readers get a glimpse of it when she visits District 8. Her visit to the hospital, her jump to the rooftop to down Capitol hovercrafts, her defiant pledge to Snow: If We Burn, so will You. The girl on fire when she is spontaneous has a truly warm and giving heart. Her views on the killing of all the people in District 2’s Nut is also evident, but her decision to kill the Capitol woman and her vote in whether or not hold a last Hunger Game floored me. I cheered her action at Snow’s execution.

But what Collins did to Peeta, Finnick, and Prim really surprised me into a furious rage against Ms. Collins. I absolutely loved those characters. Poor Haymitch, he was getting so likable and strong, only to end up a drunk once again. The resolution of the love triangle surprised me, but really didn’t. It had to be resolved in that way for the girl on fire, since the trilogy really was Katniss’ story. I have to admit that I again teared up, especially in the epilogue; a fine way to end the Hunger Games saga with children playing in the Meadow. My emotional reaction clearly is entwined within my rating of MOCKINGJAY, but I can’t help it.
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Apr 23, 2012 Stephanie rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle-books-i-own, speculative-fiction

I don't think i could've anticipated the conclusion to this series at all. The third and final book is nothing like the other two; it's so much darker and sadder and more depressing. And that's saying a lot. I find that my enjoyment of a novel depends hugely on how much i like the characters. If i don't like the characters, i don't like the book. And it turns out that if i like them too much, that can also be a bad thing.

I feel like Suzanne Collins doesn't just make characters, she crafts real p I don't think i could've anticipated the conclusion to this series at all. The third and final book is nothing like the other two; it's so much darker and sadder and more depressing. And that's saying a lot. I find that my enjoyment of a novel depends hugely on how much i like the characters. If i don't like the characters, i don't like the book. And it turns out that if i like them too much, that can also be a bad thing.

I feel like Suzanne Collins doesn't just make characters, she crafts real people. They're so human and so fragile, and they break and then they heal again but they're altered forever. The characters you fall in love with in the first book are all but gone by the third. And that's so very hard to enjoy in any way.

It's definitely not a bad story by any means. I didn't think it was a bad ending. It just wasn't at all what i'm used to. I don't know how they're going to turn this one into a movie; the other two are heart-pumping and visually exciting and dangerous but fun, and this one is just a deranged wandering between a hospital and a battlefield where everyone is methodically being picked off or marred beyond recognition.

I don't know how to sum this book up and do it any justice. I understand now why these books are written the way they are—rather simplistically, from a first-person point of view. Being in Katniss's head makes the story plenty real, and any more imagery or word play would've made it much too penetrating. It's not fair how easy they are to read, really. I can't believe that my twelve-year-old nephew has read these. It's like 1984, but even more devastating because it draws you in so close. It's like The Giver, but so much more real and definite; there's no ambiguity to this story. It just looks you right it the face and says "look at this. This is your world. Can you deny it?"

The story has a strong, clear message, but there's no moral, exactly. Human nature is an ugly, twisted thing any way you slice it, and all we can do is hold on to the little shreds of goodness in us and weather the ebb and flow of things. There may be no solution to the predicament. History repeats itself. It's hard to even hold on to the ones you love. And that is extremely depressing, and that's ultimately what these books boil down to. ...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Allie Danielson rated it it was amazing

Finished my reread of the original trilogy as I’m teaching THG in one of my classes.

While I see issues in book 3, I still love the ending. I know that’s controversial, but I find it to be very honest.

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