Did anyone else loathe the third book of Hunger Games?

[Christi]

I was so disapointed. I fell in love with the first two this one sucked. I liked katniss but in the third book she certainly wasnt a girl on fire she was week and it made the story week. I wanted her to take charge of her own life her destiny. Also the ending left me with a ton of unanswered questions and it drives me crazy i was mad when the book was done because there was still plenty left to address. I knew many would die it is war but I think some died simply because the author no longer knew what to do with them. I also didnt like Katniss voting for another hunger games i felt like the need to end the HG that it was wrong is really what got the ball rolling for everything else.

[Christi]

Also anyone else wonder how they could possibly make two movies out of the last book that would keep people interested. I think at least one of them would be weak and not have much of a story

[BubblesTheMonkey]

the first half was ok

[[deleted user]]

Honestly,
I thought it was too much information jammed into the last book. I found it very wordy, depressing and the ending was very disappointing...

[Alice]

I always know which guy should get the girl, and Gale just disappeared? Right. Sure. Peeta is a whiny bread-making boy. CLEARLY Gale should have hooked up with Katniss, Peeta should've gone back in the Hunger Games alone, then sunshine and rainbows, happy ending.

[Katie]

I didn't like the second or the third book. It was a terrible ending to the series.

[Cara]

I didn't like the third book either. The first one was amazing, the second one was great (it could have been converted into two books easily) but Mockingjay was awful, except for the last tiny little bit where they do the book and she ends up with Peeta. The rest, though, was just plain agony to read.

[☽Ƹɱɱɑ☾]

My favourite character died- Prim! :(
I don't understand why she was in the Capitol in the first place. And I was sad when Finnick died, too.

[Celeste]

I wanted it to end another more happyway I felt like in the end katniss didnt really love peeta and thst she had no choice but to stay wit him the end was totallycrappy and depressing and there were so many unnecessary deaths and in reality katniss didnt do anythinng what a dissapointment but its a good book no doubt about that iys just that I dont particularly like the ending or the fact that finnick dies >(

[Pamela]

If they do end up doing a movie (or two) of Mockingjay, I actually hope they change it to what it should have been and give a satisfying ending to it. (But then how many years am I going to have to wait to get the much needed closure on this thing...lol)

[Evgenia]

Well, even if I found interesting the mythology, the world building and all the thought the author put in her books, I just couldn't pass my dislike for Katniss. I found the way she thinks and copes with the things that happens in her life immensely disturbing. I didn't think that she deserves Peeta at the end.

[Pamela]

Too true, Peeta was much too good and took so much abuse, endured so much for her and was constantly under-appreciated. Dismissed even.

[Lina]

I didn't actually loathe it, but I can't say I hate it. I really liked the book, but the ending was just horrible. At once it goes too quickly. Everything happens too soon. Things happen that aren't supposed to happen. It's just not right.

[Cat]

Ok I can understand that Katniss had to be affected, also I actually really liked the mental manipulation by Snow and all that. I have to say characters dying, usually I don't mind that, but I is annoying when you choose to wait till the end of the book to kill of all those characters, and then write it in a way were it seems like many could have stayed alive and it wasn't the Capitol that killed them, it was dumb luck.

I think Prim dying actually added a lot to the book, it stole away any kind of happy ending, and made things change. Because after war, things do change. I could even understand that Katniss was mentally distraught. What I didn't understand was that even in that Epliouge, where she is supposed to be that much older. She still seems completely broken, and the family vibe, wasn't very- family.
Instead of showing Katniss's slow painful emotional death, I think they should have just killed her off, while she was trying to save Prim.

[Luke]

I remember finishing the last book, and just feeling depressive for the rest of the day. The way the books ends, in a pretty bland future, plain setting, boring boy and a Katniss that was just upsetting, made me feel exhausted and I could barely move for the rest of the day. But on the other hand, the fact that a book can have that kind of effect on a person, must be some kind of positive, in itself, right?

[Shae]

I don't loathe it, but I don't like it. It's nothing compared to the others in the series, and I kind of wish that the author would just rewrite it. It was kind of depressing. So many people died and the ending just felt... sad. *Sigh*
Where did the happy endings go? :C
(Although I suppose it was happier, compared to the cliff hangers of the other two books, but honestly! A series needs a better ending. Although the epilogue was appreciated, it still felt depressing, almost kind of... regretful.)

[John]

yes.

[Ginger]

I too hated much of this book. It did, indeed, feel forced. I came away with the distinct sense the author knew there is big money in trilogies, and that was the raison d'être for this book. Much of the plot felt sensationalistic. While the first two were compelling and wrenching, this one went over the top in its wrenching-ness. It was too much.

[Pamela]

Is there a book or series anyone would recommend to counter the affects of this soul-butchering book on my psyche? It's taking up too much space in my head. I need to replace it with something else....but something that won't leave me feeling this devastated afterwards. (To top it off, the lazy writing failed in the "show-don't-tell" and was just insulting on top of the gut-wrenching sucker-punch to my mind.)

So, any palate cleansers out there someone could recommend?

[Trishé]

I was disappointed by the third novel. I did not think it was horrible, it kept me fairly engaged as I read it, but when I reached the home stretch the entire thing felt very rushed to me.
It seems as though Collins had too many loose ends to tie up and she did not give enough time in the novel to do so. I was left feeling like Collins needed to end the novel but couldn't quite decide how to do so, therefore the readers were left with a forced jumbled mess.

[Zack]

I disagree! The third was my favorite!

[Alissa]

I really think the 3rd book was very rushed. It just seamed like the author was in a hurry to finish it. I thought overall it was okay, but the ending was just terrible and I had no closure. It was like it was going and just fell off a cliff! It was like you still have questions to be answered. Was Gale and Katniss still friends? Did Mrs. Everdeen ever see her grandkids? Ya know? It was just so rushed and I was disappointed. I just didn't feel like it should have ended that way. :/

[Marina]

I absolutely did not like the third book at all and it ruined the entire series for me. I was expecting this huge show down to happen to between Katniss and Snow and then it didn't. And then the book ended. I don't have any problem with the fact that people died or the very end of the book, but as a whole it just felt like a huge letdown. While I did not like Katniss as a character at all in this book, I do appreciate the fact that it shows what this time of action would do to a persons mental health. I may also be biased because I believe the ending of Harry Potter is perfect, and everything else pretty much fails in comparison.

[Emma]

It seemed like Collins just wanted to finish the trilogy. But it's all that I've got for an ending, so it'll have to do.

[M]

I just didn't like the last book. The ending wasn't very good, and the plot kind of strayed from what the series was originally supposed to be about.

[Tishdm]

I sat and read the first 2 book in about 2 days. I love them and could not put them down. The last book was a really hard read. It took me about a week to finish. Part 1 really sucked and was really boring. Part 2 was better. It had me wanting to see what happened next even though I hating seeing Peeta that way. Now Part 3 felt rushed. I felt like it left a lot of unanswered question. I hated how the first to books have you hating President Snow and after reading about what he did to Peeta it makes you really hate him. I hated how they ended it with him. I totally get Prim dying and the others and I get that this is a war. It leaves you wondering what happen to the other characters. I love that Katniss ended up with Peeta. I wish they would have let Haymitch have more of a happy ending

[Lin]

I despised Mockingjay.
The first and second books were fantastic.
In Mockingjay, everything was depressing.
Katniss was portrayed as being weak and defenseless, constantly going to other people for comfort and support. Sure, she may be only sixteen, but she has to support her whole family from a young age.
She also thought she was a Mockingjay - which was stupid. And killing Coin instead of Snow, what was she on about? She trusts snow? Yeah, over my dead body.
Throughout the whole trilogy, I was wishing that Katniss and Gale came together, not her and Peeta. The ending with Prim and Finnick dying... I wish Collins had not done that. Yeah, she might've been looking for something dramatic... but killing Katniss' sister? Really?
The epilogue was rushed and disappointing. I know Suzanne Collins was capable of much better writing - take the first two books for example!
Mockingjay sucked.

[John]

I threw it against the wall of my bedroom when I finished reading it. I think the point in the third book when Collins stopped writing was about 5 minutes after she got her movie deal.

Now that Phillip Seymore Hoffman died, no reason to watch the last movie now either.

[Adrienne]

I was SOOOOO sick of it all by the end.

[[deleted user]]

I'll just put it this way: Mockingjay is probably the first book I've ever read where I thought, "Hollywood changes would actually make this better."

Because the problems I had are all the things the film is going to cut: lack of action, lots of internal monologuing, and hiding in closets. (Plus I just can't see Jennifer Lawrence putting up with Mockingjay!Katniss.)

I liked the bare bones of the plot--the depressing ending, Prim's death, how Gale was consumed by the war--but the execution was lacking. Katniss just wasn't active enough for a protagonist. I kept thinking that literally any other character would have made a better focus. At least they had goals and worked towards them.

[Rs]

I agree. The first two were about the revolution, Katniss was a fairly strong character, especially in #1, and there was an element of hope. Book three killed my faith in the revolution, Katniss as a strong character, humanity (at least the humanity in the Hunger Games world.)

[Genevieve]

I loved the first two books, but I really hated how the third one was written. It had so much potential and yet it turned out the way it was. I'm not whining about the multitude of deaths in the books and wanting a more Twilight-esque ending because yes I thought the deaths were inevitable and they were actually essential to the whole dystopian world and war and revolution etc. But I felt like the whole thing was really rushed. Like as if Collins did not even bother writing anymore after Prim died. When Prim died, I expected Katniss to at least have a hand in bringing down the Capitol or even witness it. But it was all just "Oh the Capitol fell after the silver parachutes detonated." Which made me go like "What the heck?" Katniss did not even have that much substance as mockingjay, and if the Capitol fell so easily when the rebels came, why the heck did they even go on that 'mission'? To find a reason to kill of the multitude of characters? Some of their deaths were even purely unnecessary, like they sacrificed themselves for the sake of it. (Eg. the meat grinder) It's like Collins slowly build up the story behind the rebellion and then have it done in a few chapters. And then Snow was just so easily caught. If the Capitol was so easily overthrown, what was the point of the months of preparation? There isn't even a buildup that slowly lead to overthrowing Snow and the Capitol. So many things were left unexplained. Most of the main character's fate was brushed off in a couple of sentences. Peeta's recovery was even worth describing, and Katniss just goes about the rest of her life in a half-crazed state. So many characters were invented, but they were all invented to be killed off - and not even in a way worthy of how they contribute. How did Panem turn out? What happened to the Hunger Games they voted to have? Not to mention the relationship between Katniss and Peeta. I was an avid shipper of them in the first two books, because they added just the right amount of character and hint of their circumstances to their relationship which differentiates them from cliche romance. Their relationship was so steadily built up in the first two books, torn apart by circumstances in the majority of the last book, and then vaguely resolved in the last three paragraphs. What the heck man? It's as if she still can't make up her mind about Gale vs Peeta vs none, but rather chose Peeta because of the circumstances. It's almost as if she's forced to again. And her children. "Peeta wanted them." Oh really, Katniss. What about you? Your children?
All in all, I loved the plot and the first two books. Even the first part of the third book, but it had no substance. Like all of that could have be condensed to a few chapters to make way for even better character development.

[Natalie]

I did enjoy the book as a whole, but Katniss and Peeta were both pretty much useless for a good portion of the book-- but they were also drugged, had been tortured brutally, and had lost everyone they'd ever loved at the end of the book, so that was simply realism. Katniss and Peeta were both pretty awesome towards the end, taking down Snow and being strong enough to basically start their world over again, despite their loses.

It was also very interesting to see Peeta when he was out of it, because some of the stuff he said was entirely truthful, whether Katniss wanted to hear it or not. Peeta going back to normal was definitely a good thing, but his brief mean streak made his character much more real. Katniss showing her vulnerable side and realizing one person couldn't do everything made her character more fleshed out and realistic. In that light, most of the things people hated about the book was just deep character development.

The ending, however, was poorly resolved. Killing Prim off was pointless, and having Gale and her mom both just *poof* disappear was just plain poor storytelling. I mean, Gale and Katniss pretty obviously weren't going to end up together, but having him disappear and making them have not even an ounce of friendship left between them after 5 years was disappointing, and kind of under-minded Katniss' strong character. Okay, being with a guy doesn't define you or the story, yet the moment you end up with one, your best friend is no longer anything at all? And don't give me the Prim death BS, because that was an excuse, and a bad one at that.

Some parts of the story was disappointing, yes, but overall the story was still excellent.

[Aphromisna]

Mockingjay where to begin? I know maybe by first saying that it bored me to death after Katniss left District 12 in the beginning and right before the Epilogue. That fact that she kills Coin instead of Snow I actually liked, but other then that the book was dreadful. Like others have said I felt like it was forced to made to the likings of fans with Team Peeta or Team Gale. From the first two books it's oblivious that Collins was in for either team, but then you read Mockingjay and it's like she forced the love to Peeta on Katniss.

[Luis]

Eunice wrote: "Sad things will happen, obviously. It's not a dystopian novel for nothing. If you want a happy, perfect novel filled with riches and goodness and loveliness, read Twilight instead because no-one di..."

it was a bad story plot it sucked it was all about how she survived if i had writen the books i would have left it off at the first one

[#mrs.horanswag]

I loved it as much as the others!!

[Pam]

I thought it was much weaker than the others with the aftermath of killing Coin not given much treatment. Personally, I felt like Katniss should have not ended up with either Peeta or Gale.

[Maryam]

I think the 3rd book is very good, actually. Katniss' insanity was understandable. Suzanne did a very good job ending the trilogy in a very dramatic way and making Katniss and Peeta the wounded war veteran that really just needed to be in a peaceful, quiet, yet familiar place. Although I had a hard time picturing the scenes where they were trying to get into the Capitol, it doesn't make it any less good. I was disappointed with Prim & Finnick's death because ofc I loved them so much. After a long time passed I realized that obviously the good side had to lose some good people to make the book more realistic.

[Kevin]

It was great up until the sister died. :'( Tears were dropped.

[Sparrowlicious]

I think Mockingjay was really good. I mean come on, you can't expect that a thing like the Hunger Games doesn't mess up the head of the participants that survive. I think this book is really important since it shows Katniss cope with the situation. Or how she doesn't quite cope with it.

[Raducan]

The third book wasn't bad it was just more psihological and more about what happens in Katniss's mind while the revolution happens in the backgound. The love triangle was a little forced but it didn't matter that much. The third book is more about Katniss then is about revolution or anything else and it shows the effect of the Hunger Games, the effect of evil. She goes almost insane because what happens around her and you remember that she is only a teenager forced to see people who loves beeing killed, like her father.It makes you understand the sacrifices that she makes to fight the evil (herself,Prim). The epilogue is about rising from the ashes while the old scars will never dissapear.

[Jenny]

thank you to the person who also shares my opinion. i HATED this book! and that's coming from a person who reads all the time and can count on one hand the amount of books i hate. the whole book was rushed. the character deaths were mostly unnecessary, and cruel. and the ending was a total botch job. really, you write an entire trilogy around a love triangle just to wrap it up in an unsatisfactory few pages. and the guy she doesn't choose doesn't even get a happily ever after. what a croc! plus she isn't even really happy. she's just in a haze, so how can she really appreciate her great life. and can i just say Peeta is WAY too good for her. she is whiny and annoying and she just play's with his emotions all through the books and only cares about herself. she doesn't even care about him until he doesn't want her. even though all through the books he has been selfless and only thinking about her well being. for reals! sorry Suzanne Collins, but this book was one of the most disappointing books i've read. i really hope a fan will re-write this book!

[Raducan]

Jenny wrote: "thank you to the person who also shares my opinion. i HATED this book! and that's coming from a person who reads all the time and can count on one hand the amount of books i hate. the whole book wa..."
You can not expect someone die for a particular reason... in a war someone will surely die. And how could she be happy when she sees dead people every night, when she lives in the ashes of her home(district 12), when her sister died?

[Jenny]

Raducan: "You can not expect someone die for a particular reason... in a war someone will surely die. And how could she be happy when she sees dead people every night, when she lives in the ashes of her home(district 12), when her sister died?"

this is a book. not a real war... the author chooses who dies and who doesn't. and obviously people had to die... she couldn't have ended the book if Snow hadn't.

people get over more devastating things all the time. do you think they should just wallow in their sorrows instead of trying to find joy in their lives? i just wanted a happier ending is all i'm saying.

[Hol]

Have to agree and say that the third book was the weakest of them all. I read the book in one sitting but nothing really stuck with me. A lot of the characters became annoying and the deaths were over in a flash so it was difficult to mourn the characters. The epilogue was decent. It was good to see that Peeta and Katniss were still damaged by everything which made it more realistic.

[Dylan]

The final book was almost an entire different story! If you changed every name I bet you couldn't recognize it was in THG trilogy!

[Rylan]

Christi wrote: "Also anyone else wonder how they could possibly make two movies out of the last book that would keep people interested. I think at least one of them would be weak and not have much of a story"

This is a great question.
I checked in on this feed 2 years ago and I'm glad to see the hatred still at a general forefront. Mockingjay (pathetic name for a book, by the way) still angers and confuses me to this day, it completely ruined the other two books for me.
And forget this "oh but war is realistic, people die" nonsense, can anyone genuinely say they were moved and saddened but that ending?? Harry potter/lord of the rings kill off characters, but they do it in an appropriate way. This is the same reason I can't understand people's obsession for GoT. Blind murder does not constitute good story!!

[Tiffinee Brown]

This last book of the series really disappointed me. The thing is this why did the author make Katniss seem so independent and wanting to make sure she had the ability to have the life that she wanted. In the end she settled and made a life with the person who was the easiest at the time. Just so disappointing they need to rewrite the ending for the new movie because I am sure everyone will be disappointed. In the end she did conform after all that fighting for freedom she still ended up really not to be free.

[Kevin]

To answer the question, I'm not sure that loathe is the right word, but certainly both Mocking Jay and Catching Fire lacked the fundamental element of the strong leading female. The stories, as a whole, were quite interesting (albeit derivative if you watched the original Battle Royale). The unfortunate decline of Katniss's character was really what made the books lag behind the original. It would have been great to see Katniss really come into her own as a leader, or at least a soldier, as opposed to a whiny figurehead. However, I wouldn't want to detract from the overall work, as the first installment really did set the bar pretty high.

[Liana]

I had some pretty strong feelings about the literary choices Collins made in the final installment of the series, particularly related to Prim's death in the series, the resolution of the Peeta/Gale conflict, and Katniss voting to continue the Hunger Games. For me, Collins used Prim’s death as a way to create an easy fix for the choice between the 2 guys. When Prim dies as a result of the bomb which Gale has possibly had a hand in making, Collins has him bail out with the whole “i failed you because i couldn’t protect your sister like I promised, and now i understand you’re going to pick Peeta.” Everything about it felt like the easy way to write the story-line and a complete cop out from allowing Katniss to wrestle through the decision and decide how much the Hunger Games have changed her- Does she connect more to the girl she was before the reaping, hunting in the forest and starving to death in District 12 (which would lead her to pick Gale) or has the traumatic experience of the arena, which leads her to declare that President Snow’s death must be at her own hands, unalterably changed her and led her to be in love with the one person who understands what she has gone through (Peeta)? And not only does Mockingjay lack this important soul searching moment for Katniss, but Gale dropping out of the running for Katniss’s heart happens at the expense of Prim’s character and the promise for hope which she represents in the novel. Why bring up Prim’s potential to be a doctor if she is just going to be killed? Prim’s death completely undermines the sacrifice Katniss makes to replace her in the reaping. Even if Collins wanted to leave her readers with a profound sense of the terrible nature of war, the deep scars and tragedy from which Katniss and Peeta will never recover, I think she loses the strength of her message when she kills Prim, leaves Katniss’s mother attending the sick far away (while her daughter suffers-wouldn’t it have been heartwarming if she came back to finally take care of her daughter after years of depression), and presents Gale's fate as an afterthought. It seems inconsistent with the story to leave him working in a district far away and no longer even sharing a friendship with her. For me, all of this + the necessary (aka what I was able to accept) deaths in the story + the tragic state of Katniss and Peeta at the end still haunted by their experience, left too terrible of a taste in my mouth about the series as a whole…and judging by the unbelievable outcry of other devoted readers, the same goes for a large portion of her audience.

On a separate note some other parts which I wish had happened differently were:
1. I wish we had seen Katniss get into President Snow’s mansion and confront him then with her bow and arrow and choose not to kill him. Instead the bombs go off (Prim dies, Katniss goes crazy, etc) and we are robbed of a victorious moment until after the rebels have won. I think having Katniss ask permission to enter Snow’s room and confront him while he is defenseless is so much less exciting. Why make her the heroine, the Mockingjay, a victor in the arena who had the sense to know who the true enemy was, if not to carry out her role all the way? I do think though that the Coin twist was great on Collins’s part–I had a suspicion something like this would happen because of the similarities between District 13 and the Capitol. But again, Katniss’s ability to see the true enemies and recognize that destroying the Capitol would only put in place another leader (Coin) who was unwilling to reach out to other districts in need, is totally inconsistent with her vote to continue the Hunger Games. For me, the continuance of the Hunger Games do not represent revenge for Prim’s death, they only serve to keep in place a terrible practice which symbolizes the power of a government like the Capitol or under Coin’s reign.

2. Up until the end I kept thinking that Haymitch was going to step in and sacrifice himself for Katniss or (more likely) Peeta. It would have been such a great way to have a victorious tribute who had fallen so far out of grace with his drinking and years of unsuccessful tributes truly live up to role. His noble sacrifice would have shown how important Katniss was to the story (because he has grown to care so much for her/is a father role etc.), the power of the Mockingjay for the rebels, and I think his death would have served a purpose in the novel opposed to let’s say Prim’s. It also would have allowed him to keep to his promise of protecting Peeta if he had died in order to save him.