2010;
390 pages. Book Three of the “Hunger Games”
trilogy. New Author? : No. Genre : YA; Dystopian Thriller. Overall Rating : 9*/10.
The flames of rebellion have come to Panem! There are uprisings in every district, except
maybe the coddled District 2, and Katniss’s District 12, which was recently
bombed into oblivion by the Capitol’s hovercraft.
It
would be great to have a symbol to unite the rebellion, a Mockingjay, someone
to put a face on the uprising. Maybe we
should ask Katniss, who’s recuperating from her wounds suffered in the
recently-completed Hunger Games. She’s
the logical choice.
Of
course, what would be even better is a martyr.
Symbols can be stubborn sometimes, but martyrs never are. Perhaps Katniss can be persuaded to become
one of those instead.
What’s To Like...
This is the third and final book in Suzanne Collins's blockbuster trilogy. It is unique in that there
aren’t any more Hunger Games being played, but that doesn’t mean Mockingjay is any less action-packed than the first two books. Nor any less bloodshed; lots of people get killed
here, both good folks and baddies.
The
first half of the book focuses om Katniss’s efforts to grow into the role of
being the Mockingjay. Photo ops do not
come naturally to her. The second half
deals with a black ops mission that Katniss finagles her way into going along
on, and will assuage anyone suffering from Hunger Games withdrawal.
The storyline is well-structured and the character-development is
topnotch. I particularly liked the way
Prim was handled. President Snow’s
demise felt just a tad bit clunky, but I quibble.
Everything builds to a tense and satisfying ending, which in turn is
followed by a short epilogue which is positively superb. The Katniss-Gale-Peeta love triangle is
resolved in what I felt was a refreshing manner. So in a nutshell, if you loved Hunger Games and Catching
Fire, you will be just as thrilled with Mockingjay. This is a mesmerizing
series, to be enjoyed by YA and adult readers alike.
Excerpts...
This is what all of District
2, all of Panem maybe, must be seeing at the moment. The Mockingjay at the mercy of a man with
nothing to lose.
His garbled speech is barely
comprehensible. “Give me one reason why
I shouldn’t shoot you.”
The rest of the world recedes. There’s only me looking into the wretched
eyes of the man from the Nut who asks for one reason. Surely I should be able to come up with
thousands. But the words that make it to
my lips are “I can’t.” (pg. 215)
“The impact ruptured your
spleen. They couldn’t repair it.” She gives a dismissive wave of her hand. “Don’t worry, you don’t need one. And if you did, they’d find you one, wouldn’t
they? It’s everybody’s job to keep you
alive.”
“Is that why you hate me?” I ask.
“Partly,” she admits. “Jealousy is certainly involved. I also think you’re a little hard to
swallow. With your tacky romantic drama
and your defender-of-the-helpless act.
Only it isn’t an act, which makes you more unbearable. Please feel free to take this personally.” (pg.
220)
“Fire is catching! … And if
we burn, you burn with us!” (pg.
100)
There
is a lot to like about this trilogy, but the one thing that stands out above
all the rest (at least for me) is this : a very commonplace motif – a rebellion against a dystopian tyranny – is handled in a most non-standard way.
Katniss may be the symbol of the revolution, but she is very definitely
not its leader. She is useful to those who
lead the uprising; but she is also expendable.
President Snow may be a brutal tyrant, but those who lead the rebels
aren’t choirboys either. Katniss reminds
me of the historical Joan of Arc: a
capable fighter, immensely popular with the ordinary people, but out of her
league when it comes to politics.
And
that makes for a fascinating character in a gripping trilogy, fully deserving of all the praise it's been given.
9 Stars. Both for Mockingjay
in particular and the trilogy as a whole.
For me, this was a great series, full of lots of action, lots of drama,
and lots of topics – violence, poverty, suffering, sadistic entertainment, and when
to rise up in revolt, to name just a few -
upon which to ponder. This is the
second trilogy I’ve finished this year already (the closing book of the other
is reviewed here), which means it’s time to see what all the hoopla is about
over Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy.
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