Mockingjay

Mockingjay
Suzanne Collins
Scholastic, 2010
Dsytopia

As you all probably already know I've been super, super excited for Mockingjay to come out. I re-read Hunger Games and Catching Fire last month to refresh my memory on everything that has happened and to remember where Collins left off. I finished the book Wednesday night, but have wait until now to write the review because I had no idea what I wanted to say; I didn't want to just ramble away about how it's amazing or I loved/hated the ending. So here's my attempt to do more than that without giving anything away.

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. From Goodreads.com

Let's just get the initial "I loved it" out of the way; it was an amazing end to an amazing trilogy. Collins created the same page-turning excitement in the final installment as she did in the first two. The plot twists are unexpected and keep you reading, and the build-up to the end is, as always, amazing. Katniss is still just as amazing, interesting, stubborn, difficult as she was in the first two. The love triangle continues on with added twists. And all I will say about the ending is that I thought I worked perfectly with the direction of the last book and the trilogy overall.

I must say although I completely and totally love the whole trilogy, I definitely feel that the first book (Hunger Games) was by far the best. The Games, the suspense, the romance, everything comes together so very well in this first book. The second book (Catching Fire) is wonderful and just as interesting as the first, but there's so much going on. The Games, the possible rebellion, trying to figure out whose side everyone is on made the book a bit overwhelming at times for me. But this works since that's exactly how Katniss is feeling, but I wasn't as "into" the book as I was the first (I did still read the entire thing in one sitting, so obviously I was "into" the book). I most certainly liked Mockingjay more than Catching Fire. The book didn't feel like Collins was just trying to tie everything up in a nice little bow at the end; there were still twists and turns right up to the end.

Katniss has become one of my all-time favorite characters. Right from the beginning I have loved her; I know she can be a bit annoying, difficult, selfish, but I think she's fascinating. In Mockingjay, she's finally allowing all that has happened to sink in, she's become a more broken character. Everything has caught up to her and like most people it's getting to her. She isn't necessarily a more likable character, but I felt even more on her side.

I can finally breathe a sign of relief that the fate of Panem has been determined -- at least for now. I think I need to go begin re-reading right now to truly soak in all that happened now that the "what's going to happen, who's going to die, who's Katniss end up with" is gone.

Get it immediately and begin reading