Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3)

Title Mockingjay

Author Suzanne Collins

Genre Dystopia, Young Adult

Stand alone or series The Hunger Games #3 (Final)

Pages 398

Reading Difficulty 2 

(on a scale of 1-5 5 = dictionary vernacular)

Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3)

STOP!

Possible Spoiler Alert:

After facing her second Hunger Games, the Quarter Quell, Katniss Everdeen has been rescued from the clutches of the capitol, and relocated to District 13, headquarters to the revolutionary fighters. She finds, just like in the Hunger Games, she is being used as a pawn in someone’s game. It is up to Katniss to make her own decisions and complete the goal she has set out for herself – Kill President Snow. 

"Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."

I will not go into too much detail about what I liked and didn’t like. In this final installment of the Hunger Games series, either you’re in or your not.

It read slow. I kept waiting for Katniss to man-up and act like the main character. As the book continued, and she still showed no signs of improvement, I looked to other characters. Peeta, as always, steels the show. His character takes an extreme turn in this novel, which is intriguing and infuriating at the same time.

The battle between the Capitol and the Revolutionary fighters felt one-sided, full of senseless death. Don’t get me wrong, I like for things to be quasi-realistic, where people are dying from both sides (like H.P. #7), but Collins went overboard. The only authoritative figure mentioned in the book on the Capitol’s side is President Snow, while there are millions of new names to add to the character-clutter for the revolutionary’s side. This mass of new characters becomes especially confusing further in the book when Katniss is in the thick of battle, and she isn’t sure who’s is on her side.

Though I had a tough time, I was glad I finished this book. The last 10 or 20 pages made up for the crap in the middle. Katniss steps up and takes actions in her own hands. She finally shows some emotion, other than anger and confusion, and there is a definite winner to the Peeta Vs. Gale battle for Katniss’ heart. 

Rating: B


Question: 
If you were Katniss, would you vote Yes or No to a "Final, symbolic Hunger Games," using the Capitol's children?