The Hunger Games: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

On the Back of the Book

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.

My Thoughts

I never fell in love with the series and this book was definitely my least favourite of the series. Maybe it's me but for me this book was just a load of fighting stuck together and called a rebellion. There wasn't a story until the end, I mean there were parts that should have been in more detail, even if it had meant switching POV's. I would have rather had a really good multi perspective book that I fell in love with than what I got. The Hunger Games would have worked so well that way. All in all I wouldn't have finished this book if the author's writing style wasn't so easy to read.

I still wasn't 100% with the characters. Katniss had more of a human edge to her but I still don't like her, my main issues are with some of the other characters.

Peeta: I wanted more from him. I mean for an author so happy to describe graphic violence, why wasn't any of the book from his POV? It would have made interesting reading.

Prim: Prim's end wasn't right. It totally invalidated the whole series for me. What was the point? It should have been her mum.

My Rating

2.5 stars - This book was easily the worst in the series, it's just mindless violence. All they could think about was going to war. I gave this book its rating because the reading was easy and because Katniss was slightly less irritating in this one. I was feeling generous as well, on a bad day I'd have given this 2.

A Final Note

As with the rest of the trilogy, this book most definitely isn't for the squeamish. It's got some quite graphic violence in it. I was almost sick with the sheer horror. So people of a sensitive disposition this is one to sit out.

• Book Summary from Goodreads