The Hunger Games Book #3: Mockingjay

I finished the third and final book in The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, this weekend. I  honestly did not want the series to end. I was that hooked on it. But as with all things, it did come to an end and for a final book it was probably the most action packed out of the three.

Katniss is taken from the arena and brought to District 13. Peeta is taken by the Capitol and District 12 is destroyed. The battle between the Capitol and the districts has begun. Katniss becomes the Mockingjay or spokesperson for the rebels. Will the rebels defeat the Capitol and gain their freedom? Or will the Capitol beat the rebels and punish the leaders of the rebellion?

Katniss and the survivors of District 12 went from one bad situation to another by going to District 13. They don't follow the rules of the Capitol, but they have their own rules that aren't that much better. Every day citizens are stamped with a schedule on their arm detailing where they're supposed to be and at what time. This include eating, sleeping, and bathing. They amount of food given to each person is determined based on age, height and weight. Hoarding food, even a slice of bread, is a punishable offense. The entire district is underground, so they don't get any sunlight or fresh air. But Katniss and the rebels are made to believe that they're better off this way and that it's for the greater good because they're not under the Capitol's rule anymore.

For some reason or other, Katniss always ends up being the TV star, even though, as Haymitch delicately puts it, she's terrible at it. As with the district tours after the first games, she has cameras following her trying to get good shots for propaganda spots, or "propos," to televise over the districts; however this time its to rally the rebels. What's upsetting is that all Plutarch and President Coin (the president of District 13) seem to care about is what "propos" shots they can get out of her. Throughout the series, Katniss always seems to be used as part of someone's "Games". In Hunger Games, Haymitch wanted her to put on good, convincing show to get sponsor for supplies that will help her win the Games, which Katniss did in order to survive to be able to see her sister and Gale again. In Catching Fire, the Capitol wanted her to put on a show to hopefully squash the rebellion, which Katniss only agreed to to save her family and friends. Then she finds out that Haymitch secretly used her and Peeta to start a rebellion that was already in the works. Now District 13 is using her as a means to rally the rebels and get under President Snow's skin. How does this make them any better than the Capitol? Because they don't host any hunger games and send children to their deaths for amusement? But isn't living underground and being forced to follow strict schedules and rules just as bad?

Unfortunately, as much as I liked this book, there was a point when I actually said out loud "are you kidding me?" and I had to put the book down for a little bit. The book, without giving too much away, was basically  building up to one goal, the assassination of President Snow. The reason I made the aforementioned statement was because it was such a good build up until this one particular moment where you're at the edge of your seat hoping that they reach this goal, only to suddenly have a summary of the events and it's nothing like you hoped. Really, all that build up and the resolution was so simple that it can be summarized? I was hoping for something a little more dramatic like the endings to the first two books. There is a dramatic twist at the end which somewhat makes up for the previous summary, but then Suzanne goes into a summary again. The very end I was happy with, but honestly I really expected more from Suzanne. The pace and plot of the book was great until like the last like 3 or 4 chapters. There were still surprises which were great, but I was still somewhat disappointed. I know that since it was the last book of the series everything has to be summed up and resolved at the end, but with all the battling and build up through most of the book, I think there may have been a better way of doing it.

I hear that there is a possibility for a movie based on this series (really, what a shock!). That they're already casting for it. I don't know if they're gonna do all three or just The Hunger Games and I'm not sure if I really want to know until I see the trailers for them on TV. It would kind of be interesting to see how it's portrayed on screen, but I feel the books are descriptive enough that you can create your own visual in your head. That is truly how powerful Suzanne's words are. But if they do film all three, when they get to Mockingjay, I surely hope they do something a little better with the end than what was done in the book. But realistically, knowing how movies are these days, and the factor that Suzanne I believe wrote the screenplay, I surely doubt it.