Book Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Welcome back! As promised, today I’ll continue reviewing installments of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Our review for today is for the epic conclusion to this incredible series, the haunting Mockingjay!

When I first read Mockingjay back in 2014, I came away thinking it was my least favorite in the trilogy and assigned it a 4-star rating. Now that I’m older and have more interest and understanding in the political plot, I’ve bumped it up to 5 stars.

Highlights

Katniss’s Determination

First and foremost, like with the entire trilogy, my favorite part of Mockingjay is Katniss’s continual pursuit for justice. She doesn’t follow political agendas, but fights for what will provide justice for the most people. Her bravery, quick thinking, and perseverance maker her a stand-out character in modern literature.

Peeta’s Hijacking Portrayal

I HATED seeing my man like this, but the author did a fantastic job of turning our sweet Peeta into a Capitol mutt. What I imagined him being like was a lot similar to Theodore’s transformation in Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman (random comparison, I know!), and that’s exactly what Collins gave us–our cute and squishy Peeta turned into a sarcastic, cynical, and threatening creature that still has the capabilities of unearthing that sweet heart of his.

Finnick’s Portrayal of Anxiety and PTSD

In Mockingjay, we see our sexy yet broken Finnick struggle with the knowledge that his true love is being held captive by the Capitol, and even though I HATED seeing my other man like this, I felt so sorry for him and wished I could jump in the story and help him, which is the exact kind of sympathy that authors should aim to provoke in the reader.

The Politics

The reason why I initially didn’t like Mockingjay as much as the first two installments was that it features more of Panem’s politics than the others. Now that I’m older and try to keep up-to-date with politics myself, I found it interesting as to how the author shows how political parties can divide us and incite more division if the parties are more focused on seeking revenge/pushing an agenda on their opposition rather than being what a republic should be: for the people, and controlled primarily by its citizens, NOT the party leaders.

Lowlight

The Ending

My only beef with Mockingjay now is that the ending feels a bit rushed to me. I wish we would have received a more detailed description of what happens to Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and Haymitch in the future. Especially my boy Haymitch. I need an entire series based on that goober, please.

Wrap Up

Overall, after this reread, there’s no doubt in my mind that The Hunger Games trilogy should keep it’s position as my #1 favorite book series of all time.