Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

  

        Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins is the thrilling conclusion to the Hunger Games trilogy following the collapse of the Capital after Katniss and Peeta are separated during the 75th Hunger Games. This novel really shows the effects of war on the everyday citizen and how traumatic it is to be a part of something that started long before you were born. I really appreciate how adult these books are, especially for being a YA novel.
        Katniss is too young to have to deal with everything that she has been through, from being forced to participate in the Hunger Games to becoming a symbol of the revolution. She’s not even sure if she wants to be the Mockingjay, but she feels that she has no other choice, she feels as if the rebellion cannot survive without her participation. Katniss is forced to deal with the loss of family, friends, and her youth; she's a traumatized 17-year-old who just wants to do what’s right for her family. My heart goes out for children who must face the real life realities of war.
        While I did enjoy the novel, I felt that it dragged towards the middle. There doesn’t have to be constant action to hold my attention, but there could have been a little more to the plot. Then, it felt as if Collins was attempting to shove as much as she could into the last 100 pages, the plot twist with Coin, Prim, and Peeta’s sudden cure. I’m glad Katniss ended up with Peeta, but I felt that the Coin twist came out of left field. Lastly, Prim’s death felt completely unnecessary. What was the point? Time and time again, Katniss has done everything she could to spare Prim from the horrors of the Hunger Games and war, just for her to die needlessly. I was angrier about that than anything else I had read in this trilogy.
        Overall, I enjoyed rereading this series and would highly recommend it to anyone who is feeling nostalgic for a classic dystopian YA series. Personally, I would rate this novel a 4/5.

Quotes

• Page 232

• Finally, he can see me for who I really am. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly.

• And I hate him for it.