Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

**This review may contain spoilers**

This is the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy. I was completely blown away by the first book (well aside from the writing style itself) and the ideas that it presented. And as such, was very eager to devour the next two books. The second book proved to be lackluster, and this one followed in its footsteps unfortunately. It provided a decent ending, but after the Hunger Games, it just didn't have the excitement the first one did. And if you haven't read the first two books yet, don't go any further, go give them a read! This is not a stand-alone type of book.

Katniss is now with the rebel District 13, but Peeta is still trapped by the Capitol and President Snow. She isn't sure what she wants to do and wanders around aimlessly while everyone tries to convince her to be the "Mockingjay" and a symbol for the rebellion. When she finally decides she has to do something for Peeta's sake, she still isn't sure how she feels about it, but she gets back into the swing of things and tries to make a difference. But it could cost her so many things that are important to her life.

Katniss is always pretty unlikable. But in this book she's unlikable in the bad way, not the unique way. She just doesn't have very many redeeming qualities at all. Gale too isn't the greatest of characters. I almost feel like they deserve each other. Even Peeta isn't written as brilliantly as he was in the first two. He's a mere shadow of himself and while some can argue that's the point, I think it could have been done better. I did like reading about the people of District 13 though, there's was an interesting culture. And I actually liked President Snow in this book. Finnick and some of the other side characters were remarkable as well. So maybe I'm just the weird one.

Whereas the 2nd book moved too slow, this one moved too fast. Too much going on, not enough description of the important things. And the last part of the book felt like a dungeon crawl in some sort of role playing game. It was just stiff and didn't flow naturally. And its all still told through Katniss' eyes. And she's not the best narrator. I think a 3rd person perspective would have given this series so much more. Even the world building aspects would have been better. Like the other two books, there is a lot of violence in this one, but at least its realistic violence, even if it is gory. I don't want to spoil too much, but I think the end was well written and believable, so that saved this book a little bit too. The concepts are fantastic, its just the execution that could be worked on.

Not the best ending it could have been, but at least it was something. I can tell you, at the very least, I'll probably reread the first book a few times over. An interesting series to be sure.

Mockingjay
Copyright 2010
400 pages

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

**Warning, this review could contain spoilers**

Ok, so I have to admit I've become fully blown obsessed about this series. I even want a little Mockingjay pin that I would actually wear and show my geeky side with. That being said, I'll never rate this book five stars despite my obsession because of some of its errors. But in the end, I can't wait to read the 3rd book (although I suspect that's more because of the first book than this one) so I can't rate this one too poorly.

Catching Fire is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. Do not try to read this book as a stand-alone. You will be completely lost. These are the kind of books that should be read in order. And you won't regret reading the first one anyway, so if you haven't read it yet, go start there.

After winning the games with Peeta, the first joint winners ever, Katniss returns home to District 12. There she tries to get back to her life, but nothing is the same. And when the six month tour of the districs comes around, as a winner of the Hunger Games she is compelled to go and put on the show that she and Peeta are madly in love, even though she's not sure what her feeling are. And worse yet, the President of the Capital, knows its just a ruse, and he suspects that others think the same when signs of rebellion start appearing all over the districts. Eager to stop the rebellion in its tracks, he makes some not so veiled threats to Katniss, and she finds that she is not as safe as she thought she was.

Katniss has never really been a likable character. And that's actually ok. Its kind of refreshing to have a main character who isn't likable. Peeta on the other hand, is just as charming as ever. I would have really liked to see more character development for everyone else though. There are so many important people in Katniss' life that it seems a shame they are never really fully explored. Although her clothing designer does get some great moments in this book.

My biggest complaint about this book would be the pacing. I understand its a middle book, but really, it is just mainly filler. Instead of taking an in-depth look at the different colonies they tour, more time is spent on Katniss' wardrobe. And I just don't understand that. Same with the action at the end, it didn't take long at all and by all accounts it should have been the largest part of the book. But it was just too rushed. I did like that we got a little bit of what was happening after the games filled in though. It would have been nice to see them but at least Collins kept us in the loop. I'm also not a fan of Collins use of the first person, I think this story would gain so much more by being in the 3rd person. We'd get more background on the world and things that aren't as important to Katniss but are important to a reader.

It was good to get more background but after Hunger Games I expected much much more from this book. I am still very eager to read the 3rd book though!

Catching Fire
Copyright 2009
391 pages

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

After hearing so many people rave about this book, I knew I had to read it. I had read one of Collins' Gregor books before and enjoyed it so I knew this couldn't be too bad. Not to mention I absolutely love dystopian novels.

The Hunger Games is set in a United States far in the future. Only it's not the United States anymore, its Panem, a controlling government city surround by twelve districts. Katniss is a member of district 12, best known for its coal mining and starving citizens. When her sister is picked as one of the tributes for the Hunger Games (an event put on by the government every year that has a boy and a girl from each district fight to the death until on one is left remaining) she selflessly volunteers to go instead. With the boy tribute Peeta they head to the Capitol where they will be trained for the event and gussied up for everyone to see and place bets on.

Advertised as star-crossed lovers Peeta and Katniss are quick favorites. They clean up nice and become a quick hit with the sponsors who are allowed to give them gifts during the game. They are dropped with the other tributes in a field and quickly have to kill, be killed, or get out of there to plan how to survive. When the games start turning brutal and death seems to be imminent they must stick together in order to survive. The problem is, the rules say only one of them can win.

There's a lot more to this story than I could ever summarize without giving away important plot details. It is full of depth and frightening, yet intriguing ideas. Katniss as a character is ok. She's very standoffish and since the story is told from her in the present tense that can make for hard narrating at times. Peeta is genuine and you find yourself rooting for him, but Collins does a good job of not making you trust him fully. The rest of the characters only have small parts so there isn't much detail about a majority of them. This is probably a positive aspect as you don't care too much when they die.

Collins is a pretty good writer. That being said, I didn't care for the first person present tense in this novel. Its never one of my favorite tenses because it seems awkward and doesn't lend itself to describing things very well. While we can get a faint gist of Kat's world from her eyes, it isn't as much as I wanted to see. She has the makings of a very interesting world and human destiny, loads more information would be appreciated.

This is a great book that shouldn't just be limited to juvenile fiction. I think all ages can enjoy this book; especially those who favor dystopian fiction. There are a few flaws in the book but not enough to keep it from being a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Hunger Games
Copyright 2008
374 pages