Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Book Three in The Hunger Games trilogy
Published August 24, 2010
ISBN: 0439023513

Review: 4/5

Cross reviewed on Goodreads

SPOILER FREE

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 plains - 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.

So, I FINALLY finished Mockingjay. It took me forever, it seems. And I finally realized why it actually took so long: Mockingjay is nothing like The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. There is such a different story structure to Mockingjay, and I truthfully think it caught me off guard. So, what's it about, besides the blurb from the flap? The story is very in depth, and in fact, this is probably the only similarity Mockingjay holds to the first two books. Whereas in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, the events are leading to what we know the series to be about (the Games), Mockingjay breaks all the rules and shows what happens after the Games; what happens when a country finally says no more.

Rebellion unfolds. So many people die. Not in the unforgiving and surprising way as, say, George R.R. Martin chooses, but more elegantly. Relationships formed for the characters during these books and despite all my attempts to try to see through it all, to see who might not survive, I failed. I didn't see most of these casualties coming.

The reason for me giving Mockingjay a 4 out of 5 was because, while it seemed to progress toward the big finale, it also felt like it dragged on a bit. I do understand a lot of preparation was needed by Collins to get her characters to this point where the Capitol would fall, but I can't help but think that some things could have been left unsaid, such as few of the propos that displayed Katniss and the rebels taking apart a few of the districts where the Capitol had latched their hooks. All that aside, I was pleased with the conclusion of the series. I still cannot believe it took me so long to read The Hunger Games trilogy, but it couldn't have come at a better time (what with the film debut a little over a month away).

Up next for review:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Find the link to the Hook, Line & Sinker Blogfest here. We still need participants.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Book Two in The Hunger Games trilogy
Published September 1, 2009
ISBN-10: 0439023491
ISBN-13: 978-0439023498

Review: 5/5

Cross reviewed on Goodreads.

SPOILER ALERT: All spoilers have been blocked out.

The Seventy-Fifth Hunger Games, named the Quarter Quell, have begun. The "Girl On Fire" returns. The new arena and its traps are far more deadly. Will Katniss make it out alive?

That has been my question since I finished The Hunger Games. What is in store for her? She played the Capitol for fools and now, she is reaping all of the consequences slowly. Painfully. But none more so when she learns the secret of the Quarter Quell: the victors will return to the arena. Because she defied the Capitol in such a manner, Katniss and Peeta both return to the arena with victors from past Games. Their ages vary, their states of mind and well-being questionable at best, but it makes them no less deadly.

When it all begins, I had it set in my mind that Catching Fire would close with some major event in the arena. After all, they don't enter the arena until 150 pages before the end of the book. It was logical. Right? Nope. I was SO WRONG.

Right now, if you're itching to highlight the spoiler and you haven't read the series, I urge you to NOT. Give yourself the pleasure of reading it on your own. For those of you have read the series, please, enjoy my reaction:

HOLY SHIT! OH MY GOD. SUZANNE COLLINS, I REVERE YOU!

The remaining victors, whose alliances still hold, are sprung from the arena in a final attempt to overthrow the Capitol. It has been the plan all along. When Katniss wakes, she learns the horrible truth. Panem is in various states of revolution and the worse of it all: District 12 is no more. It has been bombed; wiped out of existence. Just like the mysterious District 13. What will happen next?

I can't even begin to guess. As you can tell, I'm eager to start Mockingjay.

That is all.

Peace and Writing Love,

JWP

Now Reading: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Book Two in The Hunger Games trilogy
Published September 1, 2009
ISBN-10: 0439023491
ISBN-13: 978-0439023498

SPOILER ALERT: For those who haven't read The Hunger Games, I've blocked out bits here that would give big things away.

So, I haven't just started reading Catching Fire, but rather just got to posting it on the blog. I'm just getting into part 2, titled The Quell, which means we're getting into the Games again. What I'm absolutely loving about Catching Fire thus far is it is all about the repercussions Katniss is facing since she won the seventy-fifth Hunger Games.

I knew it would never just be that. Not in Panem. Here I find out that because of her little trick in the finale of the Games, which led her and Peeta to both win for District 12, all the districts are in an uproar. It's never been done. Never been thought possible. Now, there's rebellion and hope. President Snow won't let that happen, however.

Because of Katniss's display in the arena, I'm guessing she'll be the tribute pulled for the Quarter Quell Games, which is a series of the Hunger Games that only occurs every twenty-five years. Because it only occurs during these times, the stakes are raised and the dangers are increased. Will the "Girl on Fire" survive a more deadly version of the Hunger Games? I'm eager to find out.

Review of Catching Fire to follow.

Peace and Writing Love,

JWP

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Book One of the Hunger Games Trilogy
Published December 14, 2009
ISBN-10: 0439023483
ISBN-13: 978-0439023481

Review: 5/5

Cross reviewed on Goodreads

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers have not been blocked out.

I ran right to my Mac to write this review after finishing The Hunger Games. Holy WOW factor! I am stunned at how amazing a writer Collins is. While I knew what The Hunger Games was about, and what the actual Games were, I wasn't in any way prepared for some of the gruesome deaths she cooked up for the tributes. Death by tracker jackers? Rock to the skull? Mauled by mutts and then an arrow to the head? Each death, more visual than the last, kept me reading on and praying for Katniss's safety. And Peeta's, too. He was kind of just there and pops back in part three for good. He wasn't an outstanding character, but worked just enough to make me feel more for Katniss wanting to keep him around.

What really astounded me most about The Hunger Games was the Games itself. I'm curious as to the year this is all taking place, because I'm not certain if it's ever mentioned. I do know it's a far off dystopian and the country of Panem is a mock of the United States. Or perhaps it was the United States. I can't be sure. These people called the Gamemakers devise traps inside the arena for the tributes, eventually drawing them back together at points where they will either kill each other or claim a piece of survival gear. What I found truly remarkable is that the whole arena, while set in a forest, plains, rocky terrain with a whole lake there, is just that: an arena. I forgot until the very end that that the tributes rose out of the ground to start. I had become so invested in the landscape and how Katniss used everything to her advantage, I thought it was real. Another part that I found very interesting was the whole program of tributes gaining sponsors throughout the course of the Games. This damn blood feud, of people watching kids murder each other, is like our Olympic Games. The athletes have numerous sponsors that make things manageable for them, such as the best gear for their sport. Likewise, at the start of the games, if I remember correctly, each tribute was implanted with something that tracked their movements and recorded their actions, their reactions and their triumphs. This is what their sponsors would base donations on to see that their favorite tribute ends up the victor.

All in all, the whole structure of the Games was incredibly developed on Collins's part.

If there was anything at all I can complain about, it's the tiny things on Katniss's characterization. She asks too many questions. Debates too much over things. I wasn't much a fan of that. At one point, she asks five questions back to back, all relating to Peeta and the Career tributes, and whether he's alive or not. It could have been handled better and I'm hoping to see more growth in Katniss's first person narrative once I jump into Catching Fire.

Other than that, I end the review here. I am very excited now that I've read The Hunger Games, I can be doubly excited for the film release. I'm eagerly awaiting a second trailer.

And now I am faced with a terrible decision. Do I become sucked into Catching Fire RIGHT NOW, or do I give it an intermission so I might read Clockwork Prince. I'm hoping the latter wins over.

Peace and Writing Love,

JWP

Now Reading: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Book One of the Hunger Games Trilogy
Published December 14, 2009
ISBN-10: 0439023483
ISBN-13: 978-0439023481

I really can't believe it's taken me so long to read The Hunger Games trilogy. I remember being a Junior in college and hearing about the first novel's release and how well it was received. And that might actually be an understatement. I don't have much to say other than I'm stoked. One, to actually have it downloaded on my Kindle and ready to go, and two, to have seen the fantastic new full first trailer of the film. I can't comment yet like real fans of The Hunger Games, but I'm ready to be impressed by that film.

I would normally spiel a little bit about the book for those who haven't read it, but this time, it's the other way around. Everyone knows what it is about and I'm the one in the dark. After this comes Divergent, by Veronica Roth. I do have to say the cover is stunning. It's simple and gorgeous. I've gotten to the part early in the book where Katniss is describing the Mockingjay pin, and how it's a cross breed of two birds. I'm ready to indulge.

I did preview the book a while back, but never got to read it. Here's that day! I need a tiny break from my urban fantasy kick, anyway. I'm sure the review will be within the next month, perhaps sooner.

Peace and Writing Love,

JWP