Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) in The Dusty Bookshelf

Feb 02, 2012 Nessie Q. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, dystopia, i-heart-3, suspense, people, gore, tragedy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm gonna level with you here. After reading this book, I was stuck in a sea of emotions that really influenced my thoughts. Thus the three star rating I gave. However, now that I have had the luxury of mulling over this book for a few days (yes, I did), I have to admit I made a huge mistake. This book definitely earns five stars.

Before we move on, I want you to spare a few minutes while I try my best to describe how this book made me feel... Imagine yourself sitting on a bench while waiting for I'm gonna level with you here. After reading this book, I was stuck in a sea of emotions that really influenced my thoughts. Thus the three star rating I gave. However, now that I have had the luxury of mulling over this book for a few days (yes, I did), I have to admit I made a huge mistake. This book definitely earns five stars.

Before we move on, I want you to spare a few minutes while I try my best to describe how this book made me feel... Imagine yourself sitting on a bench while waiting for one of your bestfriends to arrive. When you see him, you feel so excited that you don't notice the knife he is holding - until he stabs you with it. And before you even recover from the shock and pain, he stabs you again.. and again.. and again. At his point, you can't even figure out what hurts more -- the pain of the blows your friend is dealing, or the shock of the betrayal. This is how the book made me feel.

I'm sure a lot of you were expecting a very great ending with this one. I did too. Which is why the events that transpired really got to me. Everything happened so fast I never had enough time to contemplate what will happen next. What I have to say though, is that this book.. it is not the kind of book that sticklers for good endings will appreciate.

It is kind of hard to appreciate this book unless you get to its core. And because of that, I think that this book -- the book that concludes the trilogy, is a work of genius. It hurts you so much it makes you think. It makes you wonder about the things that really matter. It makes you ask why and forces you to come up with the answers.

This book doesn't spare feelings. It paints a perfect picture of what happens in a war. That no matter what you do, nothing will prepare you for it. The people you care about will die. At times, so quickly you don't have the luxury to mourn it because you're too busy keeping yourself alive. And if by some devil's joke you are forced to witness it again and again, it tears you apart that there's nothing left to feel anymore.

Many people complained that Finnick's death wasn't even given much thought. That he deserved a more fitting death or that Katniss should have at least mourned for him. I disagree on both counts. The fact that Finnick's death came as a surprise only shows how Collins really wanted to be realistic. Because during a war, that's how death happens. You can't expect it to be glorified while your comrades are running for their lives nor could you expect it to come only when you're ready to meet it.

Prim's death, for me was a stroke of genius. Katniss's fight started when she offered to take Prim's place in the Hunger Games. It's only fitting that it ends with Prim dying (not that her fight ends there per se so I hope you get what I mean). I know that this logic is sick. But if Prim didn't die, would Katniss have the courage to kill Coin? Maybe she will stand up to her. But do you think Katniss would risk it if Prim's life were at stake? I don't think so. Prim's death, in a way released Katniss from the bonds that were weighing her down in such a way that now that she had nothing else to lose, she might as well risk it all. That if she goes down, at least the only person who will go down with her will be her enemy.

Again, people complaining about Katniss being whiny and losing the strong character she had in the previous books should at least give her situation more thought. Katniss, from the time she stepped up to offer herself as a tribute to the time she assassinated Coin never had the luxury to mourn for her losses. She never had the luxury to recover from shock. So give her a break!

As for the whole Gale and Peeta thing, I'm glad she ended up with Peeta. The thing is, Gale has was already consumed with anger that he seemed to forget how precious human life is. He became an animal - the kind of animal he initially hated. Peeta on the other hand, still remained true to the promise he made in the first book. Although he was brainwashed at first, it was clear how in the end, he refused to be a pawn of the government. He's the only one who can give Katniss the kind of life she deserved - a life that's full of hope. A life that's far from the one she was forced to live during the duration of the book.

(BTW, please stop comparing THG to twilight. You may not be aware of it but that's actually a big insult to THG author. There is no point of comparison at all.)

This book is awesome. Sure, it's really depressing. But that's also what makes it a work of genius. It's not just a typical book that will leave you so satisfied you'll forget about it after a few months. It's a book that's meant to disturb you so much that you will never recover from it. ...more

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Mar 24, 2012 Lynne rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, fantasy, dystopian, romance, family-ties, youngadult, serious

I was NOT expecting this trilogy ride to end the way it did. It took me a week to stop being so upset about the ending and decide how I was going to review this book.

I enjoyed it as a whole and I needed the closure it brought to the end of the The Hunger Games books. Honestly, I didn't expect everyone would make it to the last page, but I was still taken by surprise and terribly upset by the end (near end) of this book.
This is one time an author didn't wrap everything up at the end in a pretty ...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Delia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dusty-bookshelf

Mockingjay is the exceptional conclusion to Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games Trilogy. Coming from someone forced to read the first book, by good friends, I am now a total Hunger Games fanatic. This was a heart wrenching, mind blowing series and Mockingjay was its crowning jewel.
Collins has an amazing skill at tearing at her characters in a agonizing way, all the while allowing them to learn and grow. Life is not easy smiles and banquets for Katniss and the rest of her crew. She is thrown at the ...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Ashley Morissette rated it it was ok

I feel that this series moved slightly downhill with each successor. I wasn't entirely satisfied with the feel of this book out of the three, but I kept reading it. one thing that bugs me with these books is the author's cliffhanger words and /or sentences at the end of each chapter. Its irritating, but also a ploy to get you to keep reading. The motivating factors to keep reading these aren't the plotlines, but the need to read on a bit more after a bomb is dropped at the end of each chapter. ...more

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