MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins

August 24th, 2010 - Scholastic

I would include the synop, but it has such big spoilers!

Wow.... The series is over for me. There are no more books to read in the world of Panem.... This is an extremely odd feeling.

Because I can't say much about the book without dropping spoilers, I'm going to state some very vague opinions, and then I'm going to write my real, spoiler-filled opinions at the bottom, so if you want to read them, scroll, scroll, scroll!

Well. This book. Was. Different from the rest of the series. Of course, the book was amazing, and, of course, I loved the characters, but I kind of felt that Katniss was a little whiny throughout it all. Towards the end, her whininess felt justified and I actually liked it, because instead of just whining, she was actually in a situation where her cynicism counted, and she had to doubt all possibilities in order to fight.

It was sad. Duh.

Now, anyway, here are my spoiler-filled comments:

WARNING!!****** SPOILERS AHEAD. CAUTION! AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

OMG. First of all, the book wouldn't have been as good if Prim hadn't died. Or if Finnick lived, or if anybody that died lived. I never actually cried, but got very close when the kids right before her died. I already knew that she was going to die, because friend's had been little bratty spoilers. I also love how fast the ending is. I loved the way that when the second bomb, which kills Prim, goes off in the Capital Circle around President Snow's mansion, it knocks out Katniss, and she basically misses the crescendo of the war. I don't know why, I just really thought that was a great and interesting take on it.

But here are my problems with this book- IT'S SLOW!!!! Sure, stuff happened before they got to the Capitol, but it all happened under the same circumstances and either in District 13, or in some gray ashy battlefield. Nothing interesting really happened until they got to the Capitol, and only then, when they finally set off the first few pods. That's when it got exciting! Travelling between colorful apartment buildings as crazy pods are set off. Running through sewers with a man who can't speak as your only guide. Genetically mutated lizard-things that smell of roses trying to decapitate you! And then the second bomb went off. It was going, going, going. The story was going a 1,000 MPH, and I loved it! And although President Coin needed to die, I thought that the way they just threw Katniss into her old room at the Training Center was boring. And then it gets even more boring as she goes off again as she's sent to live in District 12. Sadness, grief, annoying gray stuff. It's not until the epilogue that it's even interesting again.

I will give this to Suzanne Collins though: That epilogue was so amazing. The last line was the absolutely perfect finale for THE HUNGER GAMES Trilogy. I love the last line:

"But there are much worse games to play."

Well,

See ya tomorrow,

-Aaron