Review: 'Mockingjay' by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, 2010, Scholastic Press, $17.99, hardbound, 390 pages. Category/Genre: science fiction. Cover: brilliant. It should be noted that the image of the mockingjay on the covers becomes more realistic with each passing book, until she finally breaks free of her bonds. Where we got it: publisher. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, & probably anywhere else you can think of. 


Spoiler Alert: If you haven't read The Hunger Games & Catching Fire, you may not want to read this review. 

Don't read this series if you don't like to see good characters die. 

Katniss's old life is literally in ruins as she visits what's left of her home in District 12. Because of her friend Gale, her family is safe, along with 800 others, all of whom have been evacuated to the rebel base in District 13.

Everyone wants Katniss to become the Mockingjay, the symbol of the uprising. But Katniss is more concerned about Peeta, who is in the hands of President Snow. When Peeta publicly asks for a cease-fire, however, Katniss agrees to be the Mockingjay, provided the rebels won't harm Peeta for being a traitor if they win. 

Meanwhile, the war rages on, and soon Katniss is in the thick of it, doing her best to promote the rebel cause and, much to her own surprise, inspire people. 

This installment brings everything to a head: the rebellion; Katniss's desire to kill President Snow; the love triangle amongst Katniss, Peeta, and Gale; and the fates of each of the characters. No one is safe in Collins's world, and everyone suffers. This brings out both the best and worst in people, and Collins deftly handles each.

The ending to this popular series is not entirely happy, but it is realistic, and it will make you want to read the trilogy all over again. 


If you like this one, try: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. (Again.)