Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Hardcover, 400 pages

Scholastic Incorporated

August 2010

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'sfamily 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 designs 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 rebellions 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.

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First thing first I do not know how to write this with giving slight spoilers away so if you wish to not have spoilers do not continue reading.

What I love about all these books is that they pick up right were they left off from the last book. Unlike so many other books in series. You can't possibly top the Hunger Games but I think this one really gets you active in it. Between finding out District 13 exist to seeing Prim dying (which pisses me off but more on that later). You see more of Gale's personality in this book and you may even love Finnick (which I did). So since I already said this won't be spoiler free I am going to continue the review with each part being on a character.

Gale- Being that Peeta was captured by the Capitol you get more Gale in this book. You see how his mind is always working as if he is hunting. I see the connections between Katniss and Gale as brotherly and sisterly. Yes, they kissed sometimes but I think that was because Katniss wanted the physical attention. When Peeta and Gale were in the cellar of Tigris' show talking I liked that they were bonding and agreeing in the end it was up to Katniss who she would chose. I could really see that when Gale said "Katniss will pick whoever she thinks she can't survive without" he was suggesting that he knew Katniss would pick Peeta. I think Gale was seeing that everything Katniss did was for Peeta's safety and he was being a man and helping her.

Finnick- I didn't care much for Finnick in Catching Fire but I grew to love him so much that when the lizard-human mutts killed I was mad. He had just got married to Annie and then didn't even get to know he was a father. Ultimately, Katniss and Peeta owe their lives to Finnick. He was the best character. He was serious when necessary but yet still have his humorous moments. Finnick went through such a struggle back in 13 that when he got to marry Annie all you wanted was him to have a happy ending but instead he gets killed.

Prim- I fully believe that this series would not be the same if Prim's name wasn't drawn back in the Hunger Games at the reaping. To kill her off was the stupidest thing ever. Even though, you don't see much of Prim til Mockingjay you can sense her closeness with Katniss throughout it all. I was looking forward to reading the end and finding out everyone lived happily and Prim becoming a doctor. Her death shocked and pissed me off so much I had to take breaks from reading the rest of the book because I was so distracted I wasn't really reading the words. Because you know if her name was never drawn and they killed her it would not have been that big of deal but instead it was.

Peeta- Finding out Peeta wasn't rescued in the arena because Katniss was their main focus really shocked me but in the end I saw how it was necessary. Before they rescue Peeta from the Capitol hearing about torture and seeing how it tore up Katniss really made you believe all they were maybe doing was beating him or stuff. When you find out they "hijacked" him into hating and wanting to kill Katniss really irritated me. I was sitting there reading thinking "Nooo, he loves Katniss and even though she won't admit she loves him too." In the end, seeing him struggle a bit with the urges after he realized it was false, his hatred toward Katniss, was realistic and something you could see in real life but the quickness in which he got over the "hijacking" seems a bit unreal. I think something like that would take years. In the epilogue, seeing him be the strong one and reading that Katniss isn't over everything made really think that maybe deep down he was still struggling but putting on the strong for Katniss and his children's sake.

and finally the last character I will address is the main star, the Mockingjay....

Katniss- The fact that she was in denial the whole, pretty much, of her love for Peeta really bugged me. When I say of her love for Peeta I don't necessarily just mean the love he has for her. I mean like a best friend or brotherly type of love. I fully believe she loved him the whole time otherwise I don't see her protecting him or wanting to save him. Alot of her actions wouldn't make sense if she didn't love him. So I truly, loved it when in the end Peeta says "You love me. Real or not real?" and she replies "Real." I ultimately, fully, believe that her love for Gale was strictly a family type of love. I didn't like how easily Katniss into essentially being "the puppet" for the rebellion. But if she didn't then Peeta might as well be dead. After, having Peeta try and kill her for Katniss to still want to save him shows how she is not selfish. Then when you think about everything she does is not just for her safety but for everyone else's, like her mother, Gale, Peeta, and Prim's safety or even just the people she meets in each district. I think the only selfish thing she ever did was deny her feelings to Peeta and when she killed Coin but even then killing Coin could easily be justified as a selfless act.

All in all this book was amazing. Not as good as the rest but still worth reading. I loved it. Of course I really love Peeta the most.