Book Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay (Hunger Games, #3)

DESCRIPTION:
Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans -- except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay -- no matter what the personal cost. 

REVIEW:
From the cliffhanger catching fire, I immediately grabbed the book to read. The first few pages were so boring that it made me pause and sleep instead (favorite pastime: sleeping). But there were some scenes that motivated me to continue reading.

I admire how Suzanne Collins made her readers badly breathe for air at the very end of each chapter. Reader usually pauses when he/she needed rest. But Collins knew this habit, and tried to break it by dragging the reader at the peak of the story, then suddenly—Bang!—end of chapter and crave for more.

Disappointments

*The pacing is really confusing.

*Unreasonable killings. I don’t really understand why Katniss killed Coin instead of Snow. Maybe because she knew that Coin was behind the falling of the parachutes that killed Prim. But there were no justification of her reasons. How about the involvement of Gale on the incident? Katniss didn’t even try to blame or hate Gale even she heard no sorry from him. Horrible, isn't? I really can’t think of strong reasons to justify what she did, really.

* She agreed on having the last Hunger Games for some of the capitol citizens. She said “for Prim”, but I doubt Prim would agree with her, if she was only living. The purpose of the rebel is to cease the Capitol’s brutality murder of some innocent citizens. In this case, she wasn’t different from the Capitol anyway. Whether she did it for revenge on what happened to Prim or anything, I don’t think any reason will suit to be accepted. It really doesn’t make any kind of sense. What was they were fighting for from the beginning?

*She kept passing out. I really don’t get it. Every time something terrible happened on her, she would collapse and tadaah—unconscious!

* disregarding mother. I really hate this book really pictures such kind of mother. How could a mother afford to let her daughter go insane without giving any comfort? Okay, Prim was her favorite daughter, but would it be a reason why Katniss deserve to be left alone?

* I have misjudged Katniss. I thought she was an image of a girl who's strong, not just physically but mentally, as well. I don’t know, but this book really ruined what image or personality I’ve seen her on the first-two books.

Mockingjay. This book is really not into emotions, I know that since from the Hunger Games. Author isn’t the problem or the book. The wrong is on Katniss; she doesn’t know who she really loves and what really love means. When she said she cared about her family, she acted it. I have to defend this book. There are people who barely talk about the feelings, and I guess Collins considers this as one of Katniss’ personlity. People from districts said she loved Peeta, but she didn’t know. I didn’t know, too, until I read this book.

Is it hard to be forgotten or to be loathed? How difficult would it be if you’re not just forgotten, but loathed to death, as well? But what if you did nothing to deserve it?

In that case, I have proven that Katniss really loved Peeta. To forget about his condition, she made herself busy by going onto wars.

I thought I was going to dislike the ending as my friends said so. But I liked how it ended: from the ranting and throwing of pillows on Buttercup, to the acceptance of his medication. I like the epilogue, having Katniss her own family. Somehow, she has broken what she promised to herself during the hunger games: she wouldn’t want to marry anyone and have kids. So, the epilogue of this book indicates:

No Snow

No Coin

She has recovered from the trauma

No threat to be crept up

No more Hunger Games!


Real or not real?


You might wonder why I’ve given this book a 5-star rating. Drop it! I don’t know, either. But I think because I just pretty enjoyed reading this book that I even brought this to school to resume reading it there, and even took some picture of myself along with this book. Real or not real?
It’s real.

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