Book Review: Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

This is a spoiler-free review.

Summary: 

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

Review: 

This is a spoiler-free review.  Natalie and I may do a review with spoilers included later, once more people have had a chance to read Mockingjay.  I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone, so I'll keep this initial review general.

Anyone who has read the first two books knows that they are full of action---they are pretty much non-stop the entire time.  I was expecting the same out of Mockingjay, and was very surprised when the whole book felt slow.  It was almost like the book was a transitional, world-building piece that had all of the action in the last 40 pages.  I found that to be very disappointing.  You know what the tone of the book reminded me of?  Sookie's raw emotions in Charlaine Harris' Dead in the Family and Zoey Redbird's shattered soul in PC Cast's Burned.  

Katniss is not her usual fighting self in Mockingjay.  She has been almost irreparably damaged by the events in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, and a lot of the book focuses on her emotional upheaval and subsequent attempts at healing from injuries both physical and emotional.  

The world-building was, as usual, superb, but the plot was too predictable.  The first two books transcended the YA genre while this one definitely had a simpler, YA plot.  I predicted all of the ending events well before they occurred---something I hate to be right at!  

The whole book has left me somewhat unsatisfied---don't get me wrong, it's still a very good read, but it's not as good as what I expected.  After two years of waiting for the series to be concluded, I expected more out of Mockingjay.  I was ready for it to be as stalker-worthy as The Hunger Games and Catching Fire; however, the first two books were much better. 

  

Just One Gripe: 

The plot predictability. That, and the predictable ending are what left me so unsatisfied.

The Best Thing About This Book: 

I can't say what I liked best without spoiling anything---I'll just give you two page numbers to my favorite parts:  page 165 and page 197.

Appropriate for a younger audience: 

Hmmm, some parts did get very gory.

Score: 

Characters: 4/5

Plot: 3/5

Setting/Imagery: 5/5

Originality: 4/5

Ending: 3/5

Total Score:  19/25