MOCKINGJAY

This is my MOCKINGJAY post.

If you haven’t read it/finished it, you should stop reading now, because there are *spoilers*.

I’m kind of late to the game, since this released a couple of weeks ago, but I managed to stay away from the reviews and opinions of others during that time. When I did finally check to see what everyone was buzzing about, I saw that several had some of the same concerns/preferences as me.

First, let me say that despite the few things I didn’t “prefer,” this book rocked. Is it my favorite of the series? I don’t know.

Also, let me say that I’m the type of reader who wants the girl to get the guy. I enjoy tears and some drama and I’m 100% girl power. So in that regard, my Hunger Games trilogy would’ve ended with Katniss kicking some serious butt and rising to power as President of the free world. She totally would’ve taken over . . . happily ever after.

That didn’t happen, but it wasn’t *supposed* to: Katniss was being used—the entire time. I do appreciate that Suzanne Collins kept the realities of war at the forefront. I hate that the survivors were cast off; that Haymitch (still a raging alcoholic) and Katniss and Peeta were sent home, disregarded and even forgotten. It’s not the shiny, happy ending I expected. But then, that’s how life works, right? Revolutions happen, people are overthrown, but everyone eventually moves on.

I didn’t like that Katniss was never really given the opportunity to choose between Gale and Peeta. There should’ve been more drama there, I think. I wasn’t so deeply involved that I read this story just for the romance plotline—the war and the games were always at the forefront for me—but neither Gale nor Peeta gave Katniss much reason to choose either one in this chapter of the trilogy. And Gale just seemed to drop out of the way. He didn’t put up much of a fight, in my opinion. Fight for the girl, show her why she needs you: give her something to wrestle over and cry about (not that Katniss didn’t have plenty to cry about already). I just didn’t feel, in the end, that Katniss convinced us she needed Peeta.

There were a few parts that could’ve used more development—especially the places where Katniss was drugged/recovering and we had to find out what was happening from secondhand sources. That was hard for me. It was also hard to read about specific people who died (and Good God they were dropping left and right) and not see more about how it affected her. As a reader, I needed time to mourn.

I didn’t particularly care for the Epilogue, either. Yes, I like that we saw a glimpse into the future and how it works out for Peeta and Katniss, but the future was so bleak. It’s almost as if more Games are right around the corner. For me, this would’ve been better left to the imagination.

That being said, this is how the book *should’ve* ended, because the reality is that war sucks and heroes are forgotten and everyone is left to pick up the pieces and forced to move on . . . but it’s impossible because they’re forever altered. And the fact is, war happens and revolutions happen, but how fast are we to forget? To fall back into the same trap? It doesn’t take very long—and in District 12’s case, only a generation.

It’s hard to consider the end of MOCKINGJAY and feel satisfied. It doesn’t feel like I picked up a novel to escape the realities of the world; I opened it up and saw reality.

But then, that was the Point.

Collins was successful in her final book, because it ended in the most realistic way possible. I’m still thinking about it hours later. Both nights I was reading it I had nightmares. And I could barely put it down. In some places I had to remind myself to breathe. Compelling stuff, and I admire her for creating such a complex world that nearly mimics our own.

At the end of the day, Collins is the author, she knew what she was doing, and it all makes sense. It’s a fitting conclusion. I know I’m going to have to pick up the series again and read all three straight through—because there *have* to be things I missed. Maybe then some of these subtleties will show themselves and I’ll have the answers to a few of those questions that still linger.

For instance: what happened to the pearl?