Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Book 3) - Audio Audio CD – Unabridged, August 24, 2010

EDITED below to add my comments in response to another review as requested by comments here.The most powerful book in the series, Collins dives straight in to the realities of rebellion and war. At times hard to read, Mockingjay unflinchingly portrays war as it is... characters fighting over how far is to far in war, loss of innocence and innocent lives, knowing which side you are fighting for, along with the role media propaganda plays. Collins set out to tell kids in a way they can understand, the realities of war behind the images we see on TV. She succeeded... and even more so she succeeded without a particular left or right wing slant to the book, which is rare for these types of works. It is dark for YA, but it is also real and in that reality is it's value as a read for teens, who in 5 or less years could be on frontlines themselves.What makes this book so powerful is the characters that Collins creates. Over the course of the 3 books you grow to know and love them, so seeing bad things happen to them, or them make bad decisions or grow apart hurts. But this speaks to the mastery of the work. If it wasn't so good, you wouldn't care so much. In a story about war the relationships will be tested, people will be lost, and yes, people will be broken. It could not have been any different and still be the story about the realities of war that Collins wanted to tell.Highly recommend this entire series.***************** Below my comments in response to Suzanne G's great review (link below): *****************http://www.amazon.com/review/R1R6D1DAM9L0ZF/ref=cm_cd_pg_pg2?ie=UTF8&asin=0439023513&cdForum=Fx229UU4T33F95N&cdPage=2&cdThread=Tx2F3UH15I2LUG3&store=books#wasThisHelpfulI think your review is one of the most coherent and thoughtful of the negative reviews, but I still can't bring myself to agree entirely with it.One of the more minor reasons is your use of the phrase "anti-war." This book is anything but anti-war. It is clearly laid out in the two preceding books all the reasons there must be a war, that war is the only option. Life in Panem is greatly improved after the war. A true anti-war piece of literature would have found other options besides war, or would have made post war life bleaker as a result of war. I think to reduce the message to "anti-war" or "war is awful" cheapens it.Instead this book examines the realities of war, not just that war is awful but things such as the moral relativism that occurs in times of war. Gale's idea for the nut is a great example of this. For me this is where Gale crossed the line, but it could also be equally well argued that the Nut had to be either captured or destroyed for the rebels to ever win the war and since capture was impossible, Gale's plan was the only way to prevent further loss of lives and protect against the Capitol's rule. You can see this as well in the argument of the double bomb when Katniss is questioning Beetee and Gale about "playing from the Capitol's handbook" (at what point do we become the evil we fight against), but you also see her rationalizing it post-argument and wondering why she is so against it if it can defeat the Capitol. You made a comment about there being too much talk of strategy but I think in the strategy discussions is where you saw so much revealing info about who Katniss was and why, why Coin wasn't the solution, and why Katniss and Gale couldn't be together.The dynamic between Gale and Katniss is so interesting in this book because they have such different perspectives upon entering the war. One of the reasons Katniss is so impotent for part of this book (drugged, hiding, crying) is because she is terrified to make any decision at all. This is well in line with what I would expect of any character who had every decision she made in HG and CF backfire to unintended consequences that only hurt those around her. This puts her in stark contrast to her longtime friend, Gale who is not afraid of making tough decisions but has never had to live with the results of them (until the end of MJ).Gale has had to fight hard for the survival of his family, he has been forced to work in the mines he hates, been beaten and whipped. He has had to watch as the girl he loved fell for another because of the Capitol's games. Yet he has never been given the opportunity to know any Capitol people closely or to truly fight back and likewise has never had to feel the ramifications (particularly as they affect others) of his actions against them.Katniss, on the other hand, has had the opportunity to know what it is like after you kill. She understands the ramifications of her actions. She knows that your actions don't always bring about the intended consequences. She has had the chance to know, and come to care for people in the Capitol, thus humanizing her enemy. You said something about Katniss being in no position to judge Gale, but I never thought she was judging him. She understood his decisions even when she didn't agree with them (and found herself wondering why she didn't agree). I think she would have made the same decisions as Gale had she not had the experiences she had, that led her to understand things Gale could not (such as how it felt having to live with those tough decisions). But she did have those experiences, and having had them she couldn't ignore them.You said in one of your comments that you expected to see the bond between Gale and Katniss, and I think that bond was there in the way they felt comfortable challenging one another (something they had always done and that Katniss didn't do with those who didn't have her trust) and in Gale's knowledge of how Katniss worked. But here is a relationship that was built from day 1 on survival of their families, where they always differed in their extremeness against the Capitol (Gale always being the more vocal, more extreme). And now they are placed in an environment where food and daily survival are a given for their families (who are not actively engaged in the rebellion, and are receiving food and care regardless of if Gale and Katniss provide it), and where the battle against the Capitol is their primary concern. So their reasons for being together are less, and the things that separate them are more noticeable, all their tender moments together are based on past memories, not current feelings. In battle they are partners, because that's what they've always been, partners protecting each others backs. But when Katniss needs someone she seeks out Finnick or Haymitch, because they (having experienced what she has) will get it. Here again is where I think Gale and Katniss were always a tragic love story. Because, if not for Katniss' time in the arena, they may have grown to love each other equally over the years in district 12, but they still couldn't have been together because without the time in the games and the rebellion, Katniss (firm in her decision to never marry or have children) would have never allowed herself to succumb to the love and actually be with Gale.Another complaint of yours, I think, was the treatment of Peeta and that Katniss barely fought for him. One, I think the fact that Peeta was hijacked (while making the book harder to read because it contained less of the tender moments from the previous 2) was what made Katniss truly come to appreciate Peeta. It gave her the opportunity to want the Peeta she had so often taken for granted and we see this in Katniss' feelings as they travel on their mission throughout the Capitol. Two, As far as why she didn't fight harder to get him back... well Katniss wasn't the most emotionally self-aware person. In HG on the train back to 12 she breaks Peeta's heart. And in the beginning of CF we find her wanting to be close with him again but not doing a damn thing about it, although everything in Peeta's nature says he would have forgiven her. So basically she spends 6 months letting Peeta mope, wanting him and doing nothing until Peeta makes the move to rebuild their relationship. Throughout CF we see her repeatedly pulling from him, because she doesn't think she deserves to have him since she will never fully commit to him (with the exception of the beach scene when she lets herself go but only to try and persuade him to save his life, and only temporarily giving in to her emotions). So no, I don't really find it out of character for her to not fight for him in MJ. I think it is completely her character. She thinks because she has decided on a life without a partner she has no right to fight for him. When hijacked Peeta confronts her about who she really is (you're a piece of work, aren't you"), she agrees with his assessment. So as much as she misses and wants the old Peeta who loved her and didn't see her cold, manipulative side, she can't find it within herself to particularly disagree with everything he sees in her now or to fight against that.This too is an interesting aspect of the story for me. Because yes pre-hijack Peeta loved her in a very self-sacrificing way. But what did he truly know of the real Katniss? He had loved her since the first time he saw her, without ever having an actual conversation with her, and by the time he got to know her, he was blinded to her faults by his love for her. Katniss only knew Peeta in terms of his loving her. She recognized his steadiness, and the hope and tenderness he brought to things, but it was always a given, she never sought to be good enough to earn it. Post-hijacking Peeta saw everything about Katniss her good, and her bad. Katniss couldn't take Peeta for granted anymore. So when they "grew together" IMO they grew to a much deeper love than they could have otherwise experienced.As far as Katniss's decision Peeta or Gale being made in the last 4 pages... to me it was clear from HG on that Peeta was always the choice... She felt things when kissing him she never felt with Gale, any moment of inhibition (sleep medicine, or semi-consiousness, etc) she found herself wanting Peeta, even after she so-called "chose" Gale in CF she was trying to talk herself out of wanting Peeta. So maybe that wasn't played out in the text officially until the last pages, but it is weaved throughout the books. I think from the moment you read the line referencing the meadow and "a place where Peeta's child would be safe" it is clear that the book will end with Peeta's child in a meadow. So even if it passed quickly in MJ it's was foreshadowed long before. I've read a lot calling it a "default ending" because Peeta was the one who came back. And true I don't think she would have ever chased him down. It wasn't her nature to chase a man, or to feel like she deserved a man like Peeta after all she had done.But after a time of healing ("slowly I came back to life"), and in particular healing alongside Peeta she is ready. I don't think anywhere is it evident that she is dead inside. For me, when she declares she loves Peeta that is her victory, her declaration that the war has ended. Because she never would allow herself to admit to love or have a partner under the Capitol's rule. It meant she had healed enough to allow herself to love and be loved and to have forgiven herself enough to have been deserving of love. She waited 15 more years to have kids because experience taught her that the incoming power may not be better than the old power. And to me I imagine those 15 years as the time it took to rebuild, and fully demolish the arenas and build the memorials (look at how we are 10 years past 9-11 with the memorial still under construction, rebuilding still happening, and the after effects still being fought, I think 15 years is realistic). Dead inside, means no emotions good or bad. Instead, Katniss very realistically has good days and bad days. She says "when the bad days come" (meaning that there are good days in between). She talks about the terror of being pregnant with her daughter (which is very real for someone having lost so many people she cared about), but she also talks about the joy of holding her daughter in her arms.Anyways, those are just my thoughts. I enjoyed your review and your comments a lot because it made me really examine why I felt the way I did about the book.

I may have been disappointed with "Catching Fire," but that didn't stop me from buying the final installment of the "Hunger Games" trilogy as soon as I'd finished the second book. However much the last book let me down, I was too invested in Katniss' world to not see how everything comes together. I had hoped "Mockingjay" would end the series with a bang and provide a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. Once again, I found myself not only underwhelmed, but frustrated and angry by how much of a mess this book was. Spoilers follow.After being rescued from the Quarter Quell by the rebels at the end of the last book, Katniss learns that District 12 was destroyed and only a small portion of the population survived. She also discovers that District 13 still exists, but it isn't the safe haven that people had hoped it would be. Instead, it's an underground bunker where everything is strictly controlled and regimented, and ignoring or straying from the rules is a strongly punishable offense. Worse still, Peeta was not rescued and is being held captive by the Capital, his fate unknown. Still reeling from recent events, Katniss is expected to be the symbol of the rebellion, the Mockingjay, but she isn't sure if she can fill this role or if she even wants to. With the districts steadily falling to the rebels and the attacks from the Capital getting more brutal, Katniss realizes that she has to stop President Snow, no matter what it takes...no matter the costThis book should have been great. It has the framework to tell an empowering story of Katniss standing up for what she believes and becoming a symbol for the change she desires. The potential for action and wide reaching consequences is present, as is the possibility for a great deal of character growth and development as Katniss faces opposition not only from Panem, but also from District 13 and their plans. But "Mockingjay" doesn't deliver and instead falls tragically short on all fronts. It's a mess; everything that was done well in the first two books is mishandled here, the result being a book that is unsatisfying, frustrating, and oftentimes even boring! I've raved about Collins' ability to pace the last two novels; they were rarely boring and kept you turning the pages, desperately wanting to know what happens next. That sense of suspense and needing to read just one more page is gone here. A good seventy-five percent of this book is spent with Katniss milling about in District 13, either in a drugged daze or frantically trying to work things out in her head. When she finally gets to the Capital, the story picks up again and races to the climax, but it takes an incredibly long time to get there, and then ends on the same slow, disconnected note. Frankly, it's a chore to get through, and a book with this much promise simply should not be this boring. What happened?Like I said, very little happens in the novel. If you go through the list of events, it seems like there are a lot of big things going on: Katniss goes to District 12, Katniss begins her life in District 13 and agrees to be the Mockingjay, she shoots some promotional videos and ends up in a firefight in District 8, District 13 is attacked and later manages to rescue Peeta, Katniss is present when District 2 is conquered by the rebels, Katniss infiltrates the Capital, important characters die, and Katniss finally gets to kill Panem's leader (sort of). See? There's a lot that happens, but it feels like most of the book drudges along with very little in the way of important events taking place. This is because Katniss either isn't there for the big events (rescuing Peeta), they happen very quickly with little time to think about or enjoy them (District 8, District 2, the bombing of District 13, and the death of the leader), and because they're interspersed with long periods where Katniss just sits in District 13 and does nothing. The infiltration of the Capital provided a level of excitement similar to that present throughout the first novel, but it's such a small part of the book that it gets lost in the pages and pages of either flying through events or moping around District 13. I couldn't bear to put the first two books down...I had a hard time wanting to pick this one up.We don't even get a satisfying ending after slogging through page after page of Katniss lamenting over this or pondering that. I'm not the kind of reader that needs a happy ending. In fact, most "happily ever after" endings rub me the wrong way. I do, however, need a satisfying conclusion that brings closure, and that simply isn't provided here. Katniss has an intriguing discussion with President Snow about the death of her sister. Then, in a moment of apparent madness since Katniss' thoughts are too jumbled and rushed to make sense, she decides to kill President Coin, while Snow dies either as a result of his health or the mob that closed in after Coin's death. From here, Katniss spends days locked up and considering suicide before her fate is decided off screen. She's then sent back to District 12, where she spends the rest of her days in a detached daze, eventually settling down and having a couple kids, not because she wants to, but because her husband begged her to. That's it. After three books of buildup, we get a nonsensical, unsatisfying ending wherein Katniss becomes an emotional vegetable and we don't even know how the Capital and districts were affected (beyond that the arena where the Hunger Games were held has been torn down). It's rushed and feels like Collins either ran out of time while writing or didn't quite know how to finish the trilogy and therefore made a mess of it. At one point, it is revealed the Coin wanted Katniss to be killed in the rebellion as a martyr, and I can't help but think that might have been a more satisfying ending both for Katniss and the book as a whole. Perhaps the idea was to show how deeply Katniss has been damaged by what she's been through, and I get that, but her final decision and eventual fate make no sense given what we've seen of her from the first couple books and they make for a poor ending. There should be some sort of satisfying payoff for getting to the end of the series, and "Mockingjay" fails to provide it.As can probably be expected, there are a couple deaths in the book, and they're people who are pretty significant in Katniss' life. When Rue died in "The Hunger Games," I was distraught and shed a few tears due to how touching and tragically beautiful the scene was. Rue was a young tribute that Katniss had only just met. In this book, Finnick and Primrose both meet their end, and neither receives the care nor triggers the emotion that was present in Rue's death. Finnick dies off screen during the raid on the Capital at the hands of Capital-engineered mutts, and is hardly thought of afterwards. Primrose also dies in Panem when a bomb is dropped on the group of children she is trying to save. Finnick was one of the few friends that Katniss had that really seemed to understand what she was going through, and Primrose was the person that Katniss loved above anyone else, the one who she was prepared to sacrifice her life for in the first book. We're told that Katniss is affected by Prim's death, but we never really feel it. It happens too fast to make a lasting impact, and that could have worked had Katniss' emotions been handled well enough to successfully make us feel the raw pain that losing her sister so suddenly would have brought. Rather, the dazed, detached state that Katniss seems to be perpetually in gets in the way, and we simply don't get the same emotional response. The only time I felt even a little sad over Primrose's death was when Katniss grieved with Buttercup. And better yet, Prim's death also encourages Katniss' mother to write her a letter saying that her mother can't bear to be around Katniss anymore because it reminds her too much of Primrose...seems like a convenient way to take mom out of the picture. The loss of life in the first and even the second book was made to feel tragic, but the death of two very important people to Katniss in this book is quickly glossed over with none of the impact that is present in the early books...and it's a damn shame given how emotional they could, and by all rights should have been.There were a couple of things I liked about "Mockingjay," though they seem very small in the grand scheme of the book. I actually really liked that District 13 isn't what Katniss (and everyone else) hoped it would be. It's different and puts the characters in a new environment that we haven't seen in the first couple of books. Additionally, the way of life in District 13 is incredibly practical and makes sense given their situation. It adds a new element to the book and gives the characters new obstacles to overcome. I even found myself thinking that some of the brutal tactics District 13 used were refreshing because it really makes it seem like there aren't any clear cut "good" or "bad" guys. It's a shame this idea wasn't explored more thoroughly. I also really enjoyed the media aspect of the rebellion. In fact, I've thought the role of the media in all three books was interesting and was pleased to see it carry into this book.Romance-wise, we finally get a resolution to the love triangle, but like with so many other aspects of the book, it's a disappointing conclusion. I've mentioned in my reviews for the other books that both Peeta and Gale are decent guys with both having their individual attributes and flaws. That kind of falls apart in this novel. Peeta is absent for a lot of the story, and when he returns, he's suffering the effects of torture and is practically insane. He recovers enough to accompany Katniss during the infiltration of Panem, but is never quite as stable as he once was. Gale is given something of an unfortunate makeover by the author and is suddenly bloodthirsty and not understanding of Katniss' plight. Katniss also never has to make a decision. She overhears her two suitors talking while in Panem; one of them comments that she'll pick the one she can't survive without. That should set up a difficult choice for Katniss, but she ends up being given a pass on this when Gale decides that a big job in District 2 is more important than her (and really, who can blame him given how she is by the end of the book) and Peeta ends up settling down with her because, it seems, they're both stuck in District 12. So much for the agonizing indecision that plagued her over which guy to date. A lot of time and pages are spent both in the last book and this one with Katniss thinking about her boyfriend problem, yet we don't get much in the way of a satisfying resolution. Romance isn't my thing and, honestly, I was rooting for Gale until the end of this book, but even I felt a little gypped by the outcome.Katniss, oh, Katniss...what happened to you? She started off as a strong heroine in "The Hunger Games." Practical, skilled, decisive, and confident, she was the type of protagonist that so many YA books are missing, the type of protagonist you want to succeed because they're so likable. In the second book, the character took a turn for the worse and became selfish, whiny, and passive. Sadly, that trend continued in "Mockingjay," and Katniss somehow became even more indecisive, selfish, and whiny than she was in the second book. Perhaps worse, she became spineless. I think everyone wanted to see her break away from her role as a pawn, first of the Capital and then of District 13, and become the symbol she wanted to be. I hoped she would be decisive in this book by standing up for what she wanted and taking an active role in the rebellion's decisions and events. But she doesn't do any of this and instead spends most of her time, as I said before, in the hospital on drugs or moping around District 13. I could have forgiven her being like this in the beginning of the book since it would have been understandable in her position and would have provided the opportunity for her to take what she's been through and grow into a strong heroine. She remains static, never getting better and instead getting worse throughout the book. I found myself hating her for how selfish and passive she was and wondering where the Hell the Katniss from the first book went. It's as if the character development went backwards through the series: this should have possibly been where she began and the Katniss from "The Hunger Games" should have been what she grew to become. She's also so detached and dazed in this book that it's difficult to relate to her at all. It's hard to enjoy a book when the main character is so unlikable, and harder still when the protagonist used to be such a strong heroine.I've mentioned in my reviews for the last two books that Katniss isn't a particularly good narrator, and that remains true for "Mockingjay." Not only does she still not provide a unique point of view, but she also isn't present for a lot of the big events. This book should have been either third person or have switched the point of view to Gale or Plutarch or anyone else who was more involved. To reiterate, it feels like nothing happens because Katniss is present for so little. There's also a problem with the utilization of the point of view. The purpose of telling a story through the eyes of one character using first person is to let the reader get inside the character's head and see what makes them tick, what motivates them, and what leads them to make the decisions they make. The choices that Katniss does manage to make are incredibly nonsensical. When asked if there should be one final Hunger Games to punish the Capital, Katniss contemplates if this is how the Hunger Games were initially started and then ultimately votes for it. Really? She's fought so hard to end the Hunger Games and she wants to have one more. Her justification is that it's for Prim, but that's just what she says. We don't get any insight to this choice; she doesn't really think about it or weigh out the different sides. For something that's so incredibly inconsistent with her character, there needs to be more reason behind it; we need to see what she's thinking. The same is true for her decision to shoot Coin instead of Snow. We get that the discussion she had with Snow is making her think, but the decision seems to be made in a moment of madness. She doesn't even really think about it afterwards, so we never truly understand it. Katniss spends a lot of time being indecisive, and when she does choose to do something, it isn't justified particularly well, which defeats the purpose of using the first person point of view. .Most of the other characters fare equally poorly. Despite his ordeal at the hands of the Capital, Peeta seems to recover pretty well, though he's never quite the same. As I said earlier, Gale becomes suddenly vicious and doesn't care about how many lives are lost to achieve their goal of overthrowing Panem. Although I personally appreciated that Gale actually seemed passionate about what was going on (unlike Katniss), this seemed more like a lazy way for the author to make us dislike him so we wouldn't be so disappointed when Katniss ends up with Peeta. Haymitch isn't seen all that often, though when he is, he's the same cynical grump he was in the first couple books. It's quite disappointing that he returns to seeking comfort in alcohol at the end, as it feels like his character went nowhere. Finnick is probably the only character that seems to grow as we learn more about him, which makes his death all the more frustrating. Most of the characters we meet in District 13 are painted with the same ruthlessly practical brush with Boggs perhaps being the exception. We don't really see enough of anyone else to get a feel for how their characters are growing. Prim seems to be coming into her role as a doctor, but we only see her a couple times in the book, and Katniss' mother is practically absent. There are a lot of players in this story, and most are disappointing in how little they are developed.On a random note regarding Snow, I was hoping something would be revealed that would make him a little more sympathetic or at least give more insight to the character. I think back to a book I read a couple years ago, "Poison Study," which also featured a harsh ruler. Towards the end of the book, the protagonist learns a big secret about him that makes the reader understand his motivations, even if you don't agree with what he's done. I wanted something similar for Snow and was hoping that Finnick would provide it when he begins to spill the President's secrets. Instead, all we learn is that Snow really is a terrible person that poisoned his enemies in the past and isn't above forcing the Games victors into prostitution. I'm aware that not all villains need to be made more human, but it would have added a unique element to the novel and possibly would have given Katniss more to think about.I've used the word "disappointed" in various forms quite a bit in this review because that's the best way to describe "Mockingjay" - disappointing. There was a lot riding on this novel, and I suppose it never could have lived up to what people expected (as final books rarely do), but it could have provided a riveting story that ended in a satisfying conclusion. To reiterate what I said at the beginning of the book, "Mockingjay" is a mess...how can the author take elements that were handled so well in the first couple books and mangle them so badly? I give the book two stars, one for the couple things I liked and one for the promise the book held. It could have been amazing.

Read this to my kids who were hooked from book one. Personally, I found the love triangle between Katniss, Gale and Peter to be a little awkward and lacking throughout Catching Fire but the added dynamic of Peter's transformation in Mockingjay really brought home the complexity and the drama the story needed. The pacing was much better than catching Fire which was very slow in the first half. We loved the build up to the climactic crescendo. Again, I feel the author could have done more to allow Peter to regain his form in the last quarter but that's just me. The tale itself was rich and full of lasting imagery and sentiment.

Mockingjay for me was like reading something from another author. The first 2 were very clearly written for young adults and were very easy flowing whilst book 3 feels more serious and more detailed. Maybe this was intentional as Collins knew her initial fans were growing up. We are introduced to district 13 as the war on the capital kicks off. This one is slow to get in to and doesnt really pick up speed until part 3. I loved the whole Peeta story with his memories being tampered with and in all fairness, the story wraps up pretty well but book 3 is my least favourite. I would still recommend this trilogy.Lastly, I was team Gale all the way.

Towards the end Iwas a bit disappointed as it seemed to rush to a finish. But the very last chapter won me over as I am a sucker for a happy endings. Many parts were underwhelming, the story line seemed rushed in parts, and dragged out in others, also sometimes I found it hard to picture the action scenes clearly (but the could be down to my poor imagination). Yet at times the descriptions seemed too simple, and hard to believe. Finally Katnis' character (woe is me..) is rather annoying at times. However, overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend :)

Some minor spoilers within.I have read the hell out of these books in the past week - all three of them. It's a tremendously satisfying series of books and every single one of them was hugely enjoyable. However, the last book suffers (a little) from several issues. The first is that it just doesn't feel as coherent as the first two - without the driving force of the Games themselves, it has to be a very different book and the characters don't feel quite so credible to me. The second is that the ending seems to undermine most of the central messages I took from the book. It just doesn't gel - it's a jarring misstep to my sensibilities. The third is that the horror of the central plot-line loses a lot of its impact with the half-hearted way in which events are described. Certain characters, I feel, deserved better in their final send-offs.Don't get me wrong - it's still an intensely good book, and a reasonably good cap-stone to a tremendous trilogy. It doesn't take away from how good the first two books are, and it stands up well as a book in and of its own rights. It's just I came away from it feeling a little colder than I think I would have if some other paths had been taken.

Finnick?” I say, “Maybe some pants?”He looks down at his legs as if noticing his outfit for the first time. Then he whips off his hospital gown leaving him in just his underwear. “Why? Do you find this” — he strikes a ridiculously provocative pose — “distracting?”I laugh. Boggs looks embarrassed and Finnick looks more like the guy I met at the Quarter Quell”― Suzanne Collins, MockingjayThe third book in the hunger games trilogy is much better than the second, I was quite relieved! Unlike the second where I had a sense of dejavu this was back to its original uniqueness (yes, I have decided that is a word).“You’re still trying to protect me. Real or not real,” he whispers.“Real,” I answer. “Because that’s what you and I do, protect each other.”― Suzanne Collins, MockingjayWe carry on in this book where the second left off. Peeta is still being held in the capitol and everyone else it still in district 13. There is a lot of action some quite gruesome deaths ,some of which are of a couple of quite beloved characters. I have to admit you start to loose the will to live along with Katniss when reading this book!“What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again.”― Suzanne Collins, MockingjayMockigjay was a book I didn’t want to put down as I was desperate to see who got to the end. The ending is good, not corny, which I was worried it would be. It is defiantly worth getting through catching fire to read this book. I give it four out of five stars.“I clench his hands to the point of pain. “Stay with me.”His pupils contract to pinpoints, dialate again rapidly, and then return to something resembling normalcy. “Always,” he murmurs.”― Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay