Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am seventeen years old. My home is District 12. There is no District 12. I am the Mockingjay. I brought down the Capitol. President Snow hates me. I will kill him. And then the Hunger Games will be over…

 

In the third and last novel of the “The Hunger Games” trilogy, we again follow Katniss Everdeen. She survived the Quarter Quell, as did Finnick, Johanna, Beetee and Peeta. However, not all of them were saved by the rebels. Peeta and Johanna are now in the hands of the Capitol, and they are not treated well, even though Peeta knows nothing of the plans of the rebels.

After the Victors escaped from the Quarter Quell, the Capitol and the Districts waged war on each other. District 12 was destroyed completely, much like District 13 was, more than 75 years ago. The other Districts are suffering huge losses, but the rebels are led by a well-organized, but largely forgotten District: District 13. District 13 did not cease to exist entirely, but instead spent the last 75 years building and inhabiting an extensive military base beneath the grounds of their District. The leader of District 13 is a woman called President Coin and she leads 13 and the rebellion with an iron fist.

In Mockingjay we follow Katniss in her role as the Mockingjay, the mascot of the rebellion. Her face and words are what push the rebels to continue fighting for victory.

Eventually, the war is brought to the Capitol itself. This is where Katniss becomes part of her third Hunger Games.

A magnificent ending

 

Although the mood of Mockingjay is even heavier and darker than it was in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, it is fitting of the story. Katniss becomes depressed after losing Peeta and feels she cannot get him back. She is forced to become a puppet of President Coin and sees things she wished she hadn’t.

However, as the story continues, Katniss becomes stronger. She ends up being miserable, but eventually finds a way to become happy again.

At one moment the story took such a critical turn that I gasped out loud. The twist was so unexpected, and so intense, that it proved once again what a magnificent writer Collins is. She knows how to influence the reader’s feelings, and even if they resist at first, Collins will eventually have them within her grip again.

More depth

The characters, especially Katniss, evolve into deeper characters that the reader will empathize with. The story itself gets more depth too, as you now follow the war against an oppressive government regime. And again the book has a lot of graphic gore in it.

As I mentioned in the review of The Hunger Games, I still don’t understand why these books got the “young-adult” tag. Perhaps it was even more applicable to The Hunger Games than Mockingjay, because this story has a very grown-up feel to it, as you can’t even tell that Katniss is 17 anymore because of what she has gone through. The “coming of age” problem we often encounter in young-adult books is one of Katniss’s least important problems.

Why you should read this book

You should read this book because you have already read the first two books of the trilogy! There’s no way you’re going to want to pass up this shocking conclusion.

And I can’t wait for the movies!

Manon Eileen is a twentysomething-year-old with a passion for the written word. She loves to read and write; so much, in fact, that she has decided to make it her career. She writes in the SF/F genre and is an avid blogger (seriously, check it out). Meanwhile, she's working on getting a bachelor's degree in Clinical Psychology and Criminology.

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