As I had previously reported, I received Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins as a gift for my birthday (September 1st). I finished it by the end of the day on September 5th and I've just been letting the ending sink in before commenting. That time has come.
In other reviews, I have tried to keep things as spoiler-free as possible. That will not be the case here. You have been warned.
***SPOILER ALERT***
Mockingjay picks up about a month where Catching Fire left off. It's not as jarring of a transition as Hunger Games was to CF, and I was quickly able to remember what had happened even though I haven't read the previous book since before school let out in June.
At first, the book seems to move at the same breakneck speed of the first as opposed to what I felt was a plodding pace in the second. I think this is mostly due to Suzanne Collins' fantastic ability to really capture a scene and make the reader invest in these characters. However, with Mockingjay, that's a bit hard to due, because Collins doesn't invest enough in the new characters and she really screws up the ones that the readers have had a book or two to get to know.
One of the new characters, the second in command of District 13, comes off as kind of a prick at the beginning, only to have Katniss (and, by extension, the reader) warm up to him as he does more heroic and/or stupid things to win her trust. And then he dies. Yeah, it's about that abrupt in the book, too. The thing is, I can't even remember the characters name. I can remember some of the things he did. Like died. But, I can't remember his name. He left that big of an impression on me.
And ***SUPER SPOILER ALERT*** some of the old characters really get screwed with. We learn that Gale is really just kind of a sadistic, twisted bastard. Not that I can blame him, mind you, but his capacity for violence was not really explored here, so it was just as shocking to me as it was to Katniss when he went into detail about his plans to lay some hurt down on the Capitol.
That was one of the things that bothered me about this book and with the series as a whole. It is repetitive. It's difficult to point out in this one, as it isn't exactly the same, but the best example I can give is that people keep secrets, Haymitch really understands Katniss, Katniss always sulks about her situation or half the book, and there is always a Hunger Game. In Mockingjay, it isn't an actual HG, but it's similar enough that Katniss and crew refer to the final mission in the Capitol as such, and it comes complete with televising the names of the surviving rebels/contestants.
What bothered me the most, and I really hope I'm not alone in this, is the final "twist" of the book. I found it more to be of shock value than anything that carried any real dramatic weight.
****SUPER DUPER SPOILER ALERT*****
****SERIOUSLY, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED****
****THIS RUINS THE END OF THE BOOK****
Prim dies. In a fiery, melty death. And if it hadn't happened in the way it had, I think I would've felt something besides anger at it. I know, it's Collins characters to do with as she pleases, but we can have the "when does a character no longer belong to the creator and belongs to the masses" debate in a different entry. My immediate reaction was to reread the scene again and again to make sure I had it correctly and it wasn't a dream or hallucination or something. It wasn't. Katniss' motivations for her actions in and about the Games were about keeping her family safe. Before the first Game, she takes Prim's place and then makes Gale promise he will look after her family.
And then, out of nowhere, her sister shows up and gets flash-fried like a Thanksgiving Day turkey. Not only is it sudden and not really supported by the story at all, but it is described fairly graphically. I'd actually be a bit uncomfortable letting some younger readers at this book.
And speaking of uncomfortable, if you're a teacher like me, pray that your students are either old enough to handle the ending or not old enough to figure it out. Because it really is a tender moment and I wouldn't want the burden of trying to esplain it ruin what just happened.
Overall, the fact that this whole series has gotten me worked into such a frenzy is saying something. In a good way in this case. The story is just as wonderfully written as the first two books and, despite a shaky ending, I still loved every page (almost).
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