Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
(The Hunger Games, Book 3)
Released: August 24, 2010 | Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
-
My name is Katniss Everdeen.
Why am I not dead?
I should be dead.Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss’s family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.
It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans—except Katniss.
The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss’s willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels’ Mockingjay—no matter what the personal cost.
-
Even though it shares many similarities to Battle Royale, Suzanne Collins has consistently denied any direct link between the two, and has said that she had never even heard of Battle Royale or its author until after her book was submitted.
REVIEW
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆ ☆
The movies are better.
The ending tricks readers into thinking the series was actually great, but only if you focus on the last two chapters. Mockingjay does have a genuinely heartwarming conclusion, but looking at the series as a whole, it’s not nearly as strong.
The Hunger Games itself was strong and could have ended there. The next two books drag with excessive emotional downtime, and it takes forever for anything meaningful to happen.
What frustrated me most was Collins’ handling of the two major plot points: the Games and the rebellion. She focuses so much on the spectacle rather than the substance. If she had dropped the whole “camera crew following Katniss for propaganda footage” angle, the story might have felt sharper, more serious, and more impactful. Instead, it often feels like watching an advertisement for a revolution rather than the revolution itself.
I was about to give this book 2 stars, but the ending redeemed it enough to bump it up.
