Thursday, September 2, 2010

Review: Mockingjay

MOCKINGJAY (The Hunger Games #3)
Suzanne Collins
Young Adult
390 pages
Scholastic
Available Now

This review contains no spoilers.

THE STORY
Katniss Everdeen has faced death more times than she can count. She's survived not one, but two Hunger Games, and has become the poster girl for a revolution. But her survival and her unwanted celebrity status have come at a price: she has lived while others have died in her name and at her hand, and that is a heavy burden to bear.

In the wake of the first public wave of the revolution, Katniss finds herself ensconced in District 13, once thought to be annihilated by the Capitol for it's defiance. Her family and best friend Gale are safe, but Peeta Mellark remains in enemy hands, and Katniss is struggling with his absence.

The revolution needs her. Her family needs her. Peeta needs her. Everyone needs something from her, but Katniss only has so much left to give. There are few around her whom she can trust, and a war is brewing whether she wants it to or not. It's time for her to make a decision that will irrevocably change the face of Panem forever.

MY THOUGHTS
Intense doesn't seem to be an adequate enough description for the final installment of this profound trilogy. It starts out a little slow, almost as though Collins is giving us time to fully grasp the enormity of the decision Katniss must make, and is allowing us to catch our breath before Katniss chooses to either embrace her public persona, or fade into the background while the rebels surge forward without her. Collins is certainly not one to coddle her readers or cocoon us in a protective bubble with vague allusions to violence and promises of a better life. No, she thrusts the savagery and cruelty of a society that would sacrifice it's own children for sport right in our faces so that we cannot defensively shield our eyes, but must remain riveted to the page as the horrors unfold one after the other.

Katniss is a changed woman. She still stokes the fires of rebellion with a relentless fervor, but the strength of her conviction seems to have waned, replaced now by confusion and weariness. She's escaped the physical arena only to be catapulted into a political one where the attacks are stealthier and more insidious, the enemy less recognizable, and the endgame nearly impossible to ascertain. No matter which direction she looks, she is but a pawn in someone else's ploy. She's the essential piece in a war not of her making, yet one where responsibility can be ultimately laid at her feet. Her mind is constantly churning, the questions are endless, and those she thought she knew best reveal new colors.

This story is dark. Light is not a luxury Katniss, nor the reader, is afforded. We are confined to underground tunnels with her, and together we all frantically try to claw our way out of the suffocating blackness and find a sliver of hope to which to cling. But we aren't given one. That hope is continually just out of reach, there are no breadcrumbs to follow that lead to home and safety, and there is no guarantee that any of the characters we so love will live to see the end result of their fighting. To be so fully submerged in such desolation is disorienting, unnerving, and completely mesmerizing. It's thrilling to not know which way is up, who to trust, or who will lay down their life for their cause.

My only wish for this story is that Katniss own her emotions a little more. For so long she's been told what to wear, what to say, who to be attracted to, who to stay away from, and ultimately who to be for the camera that's it's robbed her of the ability to decide for herself. We got brief moments of real, genuine emotion from Katniss with regards to Peeta and Gale in the previous novels, and I was hoping that she would step up in this last book, disregard the cameras and the prep teams, and take control of her feelings so that no one else could lay claim to them ever again. She ultimately does make a romantic decision in the end, but it lacks the confidence she shows in other areas.

Though the story is bleak and by the end of her ordeal Katniss's blazing fire has been forcibly extinguished, we are left with the knowledge that the embers have yet to lose their warmth and with the right conditions and a little coaxing, a new flame might flicker to life.

Rating: 4/5

17 comments:

  1. Amazing review, Jenny. I am not sure I will be able to write one. I haven't been moved so much by a book in a long time...

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  2. WOW! Wonderful review. I really need to read this series.

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  3. Great review :) I lvoed this book too. For me, it ended well. Everybody does need to read this book !!!!

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  4. Excellent review...I loved this, but I think it's because I just felt that glimmer of hope :)

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  5. AWESOME SAUCE review! I agree with you on many points!

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  6. great review and analogy.
    kjovus
    you check out my review here: kjovus.blogspot.com

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  7. I think out of all of them Mockingjay was my least fav. I felt there were some unresolved issues with Gale, but I still heart this series mucho.

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  8. Wow, GREAT review!!! Sigh, I really did love this book...

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  9. Brilliant review! Wow, I can't believe how much this book is affecting people. I think that's a clue that I have to start the series. I love the fact that things aren't covered up - the book sounds raw and intense. Great!

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  10. Ash - I had a hard time writing it, I felt like I could have written an entire paper and still not said everything I was feeling:)

    Tori - Thanks! You definitely need to pick it up. The first one is my favorite by far, but it's a great series overall:)

    Savannah - It ended how I would have liked as well, though I could have used just a little more resolution in some areas.

    Mollie - Thank you:)

    Melissa - Thanks! If had ended with no hope at all I think I would have been upset, especially given how dark it was leading up to the end!

    Jamie - Why thank you;)

    kjovus - Thank you, I'm hopping over now to read your thoughts

    KC - I agree, it was my least favorite I think in part because I expected so much of it. Still enjoyed the read though:)

    Emily - Thank you! This will always be one of my favorite series:)

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  11. Emidy - It's certainly a series worth reading:) It's one of those that make you think and forces you to feel. Hope you give it a chance!

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  12. I want to read your review on this but since I haven't even begun the series yet, I don't think it's a very good idea. I will however be jumping right on over to read it once I finish it!

    -Ashley

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  13. Blah! I had a long comment typed out and somehow lost it.

    No matter. Great review! You gave me a lot of great things to think about and consider. I think I am actually going to reread the entire series now!

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  14. Excellent review. I agree with wanting Katniss to own her emotions more.

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  15. This story is dark. Light is not a luxury Katniss, nor the reader, is afforded. We are confined to underground tunnels with her, and together we all frantically try to claw our way out of the suffocating blackness and find a sliver of hope to which to cling. But we aren't given one. That hope is continually just out of reach, asian clothing uk , asian salwar kameez uk , asian wedding dresses uk , asian readymade suits online uk , asian mens wedding clothes uk , ready made pakistani clothes online uk , salwar kameez usa , buy white chikankari kurti online , red chikankari kurta , chikankari suits , chikankari kurti there are no breadcrumbs to follow that lead to home and safety, and there is no guarantee that any of the characters we so love will live to see the end result of their fighting. To be so fully submerged in such desolation is disorienting, unnerving, and completely mesmerizing. It's thrilling to not know which way is up, who to trust, or who will lay down their life for their cause.

    ReplyDelete