Review: MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins

I always get sad at the end of a series that I really like.  Part of me just wants it to go on and on.  I want to know what is going to happen to the characters after the final curtain.  So, it was with a heavy heart that I finished Mockingjay, the last book in the Hunger Games Trilogy. 

While I really liked this book because I was so invested in the series, I had a few problems with it.  Let’s start with what I liked. 

Mockingjay finds the country of Panem in a full revolution led by the President of District 13 against The Capitol.  Because of Katniss’s popularity and identification with the rebellion, she is enlisted to become The Mockingjay, the face of the revolution.  Peeta is being held prisoner in The Capitol, where he is compelled to give interviews condemning the rebellion.  I really think that it is in this book where Katniss goes from being girl to a woman.  She is no longer playing a game, but using her skills to further a cause which will change the whole country.  This series is a rollercoaster ride of action and this book moves super fast!

Now, for my concerns.  We get a chance to see more of Gale in this book, which is nice, but I really thought we would have seen a more intense love triangle.  Gale didn’t fight for Katniss, and that seemed contrary to his character.  This wasn’t hugely distracting, since this is more of an action series than a love story, but I saw it as a missed opportunity. 

My main problem with this book was the change in the writing style.  Collins had so much that she needed to pack into this book, that she forgot one of the basic rules of writing – Show Don’t Tell.  In between the main action scenes, there were long passages of the author telling the audience what happened, rather than allowing the reader to experience it with the characters. 

Overall, I give Mockingjay…

Plot – 4 bookmarks

Character Development – 4 bookmarks

Love Story – 3 bookmarks

Social Commentary – 5 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Kristin Stewart (Katniss), Hunter Parrish (Peeta), Phillip Kelley, my best friend from high school (Gale), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Haymitch), Megan Mullally (Effie), Tim Gunn (Cinna), Chris Pine (Finnick), Kelsey Batelaan (Prim), Andre Leon Talley (Plutrach)