Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

112 reviews

astrangewind's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Mockingjay is a brilliant example of dystopian fiction. As a sequel, it draws on the previous books without replicating them, which is shockingly absent in much of YA fiction. It feels like a truly accurate representation of a true dystopia being taken down by a revolution, which is to say there cannot be a happy ending. And there isn't.

There's only the event, the grief that follows it, and the steady eventuality of learning how to live again, albeit not entirely happy.

Collins' expression of PTSD, through pretty much every character, is painfully accurate. No, the characters don't return home unscathed. It's a beautiful and necessary and heartwrenching book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, War, Death, Violence, Torture, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, Animal death, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Forced institutionalization

masucolmusings's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

“I think that Peeta was onto something about us destroying one another and letting some decent species take over. Because something is significantly wrong with a creature that sacrifices its children’s lives to settle its differences. You can spin it anyway you like. Snow thought the Hunger Games were an efficient means of control. Coin thought the parachutes would expedite the war. But in the end, who does it benefit? No one. The truth is, it benefits no one to live in a world where these things happen.”

real or not real? i rest my case. still the best dystopian novel i’ve ever read in my life 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Physical abuse, War, Child abuse, Death, Suicide attempt, Child death, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Torture, Grief, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Vomit

downsophialane's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

This book is by far the hardest of the series to read; it's just so bleak and so sad. Every character is so horrendously traumatised. It's hard to watch Gale becoming more and more warlike, especially knowing how that ends. It's hard to see Peeta as a twisted husk of the lovely boy he was before. The expansion of Finnick's character is emotional but very well done.

His death is just so incredibly unfair, and I had forgotten it... because we, and Katniss, are never given a chance to properly mourn him. Prim's death feels like such an obvious metaphor - an effective one - but we spent so much time with Finnick and understood so much of his trauma. And then, we aren't given a chance to mourn him - which is why I'm sure I totally forgot that it happened! In my mind Finnick will be living a long, peaceful life with Annie by the sea somewhere.

Mockingjay is a war book. It's not my subgenre and reading it is stressful and awful. But, some bloated pacing in the middle notwithstanding, it's a very good book, asking young adult readers challenging questions of culpability in oppressive systems. That passivity can be violent was a massively influential idea for me when I first read this book in 2010 (and forever after). 

It's wild that love triangle had the cultural grip that it did because it's actually so sophisticated and complex? The key relationships and characters are so fascinating. I will never not be thinking about Peeta Mellark and Haymitch Abernathy and Finnick Odair. 

Some of the pacing in the middle was a little bloated but that ending was something to behold. Every decision.

The rebels win the war.... off page? Our heroine is unconscious for it? Such an interesting subversion of the Chosen One trope.

Excellent narration by Tatiana Maslany. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Mental illness, War, Death, Child death, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical trauma, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Self harm

daisdu's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Reread. Really good conclusion to the series. I feel it tied up all the threads that have been laid over the course of the books, while still acknowledging that life goes on, and though this conclusion might not be perfect, it was still worth fighting for. Definitely some painful moments over the course of the book- I cried a lot, but I think those moments were done really well and felt worth something.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Addiction, Murder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Medical content, Genocide, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Classism

riereeds's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's been so long since I read these books the first time that it was like reading them for the first time again. My chest hurts for Katniss and all the things she had to go through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Torture, Gun violence, War, Addiction, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Blood, Drug abuse, Death, Police brutality, Outing, Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism

oystersauce's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Blood, Death, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Torture, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Minor: Miscarriage

josiew's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Classism, War, Confinement, Mental illness, and Child death

Moderate: Drug abuse, Gaslighting, and Torture

harmonygracie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Peeta <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Blood, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Child death, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Emotional abuse

lucyford's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I mostly enjoyed this book… until the last hundred pages or so, which was painful to get through and not even very enjoyable just because it’s so depressing… but otherwise, it wasn’t bad! I really liked all the politics of it and how complex all the characters were. Be warned before you read it, it’s not “fun” except for like 2 scenes maybe, but plot-wise I think it was a great end to the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Kidnapping, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Torture, Genocide, Confinement, Deportation, Gaslighting, Gore, Violence, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Self harm, Medical content, Abandonment, and Toxic friendship

kh108_'s review

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Alcoholism, Violence, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Torture and Drug abuse