Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jul 22, 2010 cc rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-read, young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In 3 words: sucked. Major. Ass.

No, really, it SUCKED MAJOR ASS. And I’m not saying this because my Team didn’t win. Truth to be told, that was the only thing that didn’t bother me in Mockingjay, but everything else did.

To me, the whole book resumes itself as a mix of 1- characters going mental (Katniss, Finnick, Johanna, AND PEETA, for crying out loud) and spending most of their time being taken care of, 2- stuff and people getting blown up, most of the times resulting in a bloody shower of huma In 3 words: sucked. Major. Ass.

No, really, it SUCKED MAJOR ASS. And I’m not saying this because my Team didn’t win. Truth to be told, that was the only thing that didn’t bother me in Mockingjay, but everything else did.

To me, the whole book resumes itself as a mix of 1- characters going mental (Katniss, Finnick, Johanna, AND PEETA, for crying out loud) and spending most of their time being taken care of, 2- stuff and people getting blown up, most of the times resulting in a bloody shower of human limbs, 3- political drama, and 4- Buttercup, the cat. Go figure.

In addition to my simplistic perception of the plot, there are a lot of things I just can’t get over either because they happened or because they didn’t. And they are:

* Shadow-Katniss. Since the beginning it annoyed me that our kick-ass heroine, was mentally and physically resumed to a poor version of herself and that she never recovers. Am I wrong, or she spends like 300 pages doing little else besides getting injured, going to the hospital to get medical assistance and take painkillers?
* The war. That the hell happened?! First, I didn’t understand most of it (my own fault, I’m sure); second, we didn’t actually get to “see” President Snow coming down from his pedestal – call me crazy, but for some reason, I was expecting this amazing action sequence with Katniss chasing after him before finishing him off. Yes, she tried to, but it didn’t amaze me in the slightest.
* Teams. Despite the fact it didn’t bother me at all that Katniss ended up with Peeta, it annoyed me a lot that she didn’t choose. Team Peeta or Team Gale was probably the biggest question mark this book had to give an answer to, the dilemma everyone was waiting to see resolved so fireworks could be launched up into the sky everywhere around the globe, and maybe I’m only speaking for myself when I say, I wanted to testify the moment, to know the reasons behind her decision, to hear her speak her heart and watch her choose with it. Well, NOTHING happened. One boy was assigned to a different district, and the other one went back to be her neighbour. She felt relieved, and ended up with the one whose residence was closest to hers. I felt punked.
* Gale and Katniss’s mother leave without a word. This was particularly shocking and unbeliavable. They were feeling guilty for/grieving Prim’s death: yes, but for me this isn’t a good excuse whatsoever for them to just take off without a single “Goodbye Catnip, my lifelong friend!/Goodbye my now-only-daughter!”
* Finnick and Prim’s fate: WRONG. Finnick didn’t deserve at all what happened to him, and as for Prim, what the hell was she doing at the war? When/how did she get there?
* Katniss and Peeta ending up all burned up. I have to admit it made feel a little uncomfortable. I wasn’t expecting them to come out of a “war” with no physical injuries, but coming out like that, for me, was a bit over-the-top tragic for an YA book.

Believe me when I say, I am sorry to feel like this, for having this negative opinion about the final volume of the series I began reading with such enthusiasm, but I can’t help it if disappointed me. I truly envy those who think Mockingjay was perfect.

Cuidado com o Dálmata - Mockingjay ...more

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Feb 28, 2011 Tiffany rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. For some reason it was hard for me to get through Catching Fire and I put it away for a few months before I finished it up. I remembered why I loved the series to begin with: the characters and the refreshing feeling of reading something that hasn't been done before. Mockingjay is no different, except here we see the characters fall apart over and over again and almost give up their will to live on multiple occasions.

I will most likely reread Mockingjay to catch things I missed the first time ar ...more

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Jan 04, 2011 Vivian rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2011

Amazing trilogy all around. Fantastically well thought out, great story and characters, heart-breaking, all that glowing praise.

But if I think about it, there were definitely little things that bothered me, which I'm mostly adding because I'm excited GR finally lets us use spoiler tags :)

(view spoiler) ...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Lindsay rated it really liked it

Shelves: adventure, science-fiction, dystopia, young-adult

I wouldn't have guessed initially that the series would progress into such ethically complex issues. It's not a simple story about the big bad evil Capitol and the plucky noble freedom fighters, there is good, evil and the whole spectrum in between on all sides. This book really brings home how void of all conscience tv producers can be for the purpose of audience manipulation. An excellent, disturbing series. ...more

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Jul 27, 2010 Chelsea rated it really liked it

Mockingjay, even more so than the previous Hunger Games novels, was remarkable in its realism. The actions and resulting consequences -- while not always what we want to happen -- feel true, feel how things actually work.

If you are wondering why I didn't mark Mockingjay as five stars if I found it so great, well, the ending left me unfulfilled. Not a bad ending, totally works, I just expected more. Maybe that's due to hype.

I'll refrain from saying more, because I do believe this a novel that n ...more

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Dec 27, 2010 Holly murphy rated it it was amazing

so a little sad, little confused and a lot of action, so all in all a good read!

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Oct 17, 2010 Diane ~Firefly~ rated it liked it

Shelves: ya

What an intense trilogy. I'm a bit surprised at the ending chosen, but the journey there was very thought provoking. It is definitely a story that will stay with you. Katniss was given a lousy hand and played it out the best she could. For someone who really just wanted to be left alone to take care of her family, she was thrust into circumstances that made that impossible. You may or may not like Katniss, but you have to admire her overwhelming need to protect those she loved or felt responsibl ...more

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Feb 16, 2011 April rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, dystopian, read-in-2013

Just wow. I'm a complete sobbing mess, with snot threatening as I've just finished the book. I can't even think very coherently at the moment and have yet to decide if I want to make a rare exception for spoilers in my review...so I will save my thoughts for later. I will say: that was one hell of an emotional roller coaster ride. ...more

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Feb 06, 2011 Nancy rated it it was amazing

I passed this series up so many times because it didn't catch my interest. I finally gave in to see what all the fuss was about. Wow! Now I know. One of the most beautifully barbaric books I've ever read! Thank you Suzanne Collins for such a great read. ...more

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