Review: Mockingjay

Title: Mockingjay (The Hunger Games ~ Book 3)
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publication Date: August 24th 2010
Publisher: Scholastic Press
ISBN: 0439023513
Length: 390 Pages
Link to Synopsis: Goodreads
Source: Purchased (Kindle Edition)
Buy It: Amazon US / Amazon UK

My Rating: 4 Stars

** SPOILER ALERT ** 

I have to say I am so sad to have this series come to an end. I managed to read all three of them so quickly and now I wish it would have taken me longer, however once I had started I simply could not put them down. As I went to bed last night I was at 81% complete and I kept wondering what was going to happen next, thinking about the last few pages I had read... I might as well have just stayed awake and finished it.

Before reading this third and final book I had saw some grumblings here and there about not liking the ending. I understand that. I also felt it was a bit to rushed. There was so much build up making it to the mansion, finding Snow, killing him... then 'it' happens and we are back in a hospital, fighting over, war is won.

'It' of course is the death of poor sweet Prim. Everything started with Prim and really it ended with Prim. In my eyes it was a sacrifice for the greater good. If those children had not been targeted by the Rebels would Katniss have killed Coin? We could all tell she was power hungry and by the way things ran at #13 [like a concentration camp, including being imprinted with numbers/times at the start of everyday.] I could not see how her as a President would be all that great. If those children and Prim had not been murdered I can't see how Snow could have ever got Katniss to see Coin was no better...

...Well that is until she went and suggested one last Hunger Games. I have to admit I have no idea how Katniss did not kill her on the spot. This moment in the book was very interesting. At first I expected Katniss to go crazy at the thought, such as how Peeta did. But when she voted 'Yes', I was at first stunned. But then when I thought about it I fully understood. I think she was buying time. If she had voted 'No' and agreed to the killing of the Capitol Residents who is to say Coin didn't already have them all lined up ready to be killed? If it was agreed that there would be one final Hunger Games then there would need to be time to get ready for it. This gave Katniss the time she needed to kill Coin.

I do wish however than when Peeta found his way back to #12 and to Katniss that there would have been a discussion about her decision. It is never mentioned again and we are left to insert our own thoughts on her decision... but maybe that is what the author was wanting to have happen.

I am glad that Katniss and Peeta found their way to each other in the end, I was never a big fan of Gale.

All in all I have to say Catching Fire is my favorite of the three books. If I had not watched the movie for The Hunger Games first then I may have found it to be my favorite. But as I knew what was going to happen I found Catching Fire exciting from start to finish as it was all new to me.

As I have said all along I would strongly suggest this series to anybody and I will be making a case for everybody I know to start reading it immediately so that I can have some more people to talk about it with.