Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins *Spoiler alert*

The plot: Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy will keep young hearts pounding. (Summary from goodreads.com)

The cover: I like the symbolism of the bird breaking free and chattering its bonds, so to speak. Also the hopeful light blue suits the cover. I definitely prefer the US versions.

First sentence: "I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ash settles of the worn leather."

My opinion: I picked up Mockingjay just after finishing Catching Fire and I was really eager to find out what'll happen to Katniss, since I've gotten to really like her and feel for her in the first two books. Maybe it was too soon or I had to high expectations, I don't know, or maybe the third books just wasn't as good as the others. It does have another direction in the premise. No more surviving the Games in the arena as in the other, but rather a full-scale guerrilla war. I feel that I should find this interesting enough, since it draws many parallels to what actually happens in the real world at the moment with the people standing up to dictators. But sadly, Mockingjay doesn't capture my interest the way the others did, and this form of it might be one reason. I am more interested in relationships (not only romantic) between a few characters that I "know well" and there was little time for that.

In The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, it revolved around one or a few people whereas Mockingjay is about one entire nation, and I just feel it more difficult to connect to that. Katniss is thrown into the war against her will or is at least persuaded, because the rebels need their "Mockingjay" as a symbol. The rebels attitude to civilian casualties is another thing that bothers me.

As far as the love story is going, given all that's happening in Panem, is it natural that the love story from the other novels are toned down (who would've time to think about somethings as trivial as romance when your life is a stake?) but that dulls the store somewhat for me. And Katniss is also acting very cruelly and keeps leading both Gale and Peeta on, and it disturbs me. Make up your mind already! Still in the end Katniss makes a decision between her two suitors, although in a way it is done for her. Just like everything else in this novel.

It sounds like I hate this novel but I don't. I'm glad I read it. It just wasn't as over-the-top crazy good and unputdownable as the other two. But if you've read the first two, of course you have to read Mockingjay too.