Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

4 reviews

loveisabird's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i’m old enough to have been in the target audience when mockingjay was released, and my main memories of the book are everyone seeming disappointed in the conclusion and after finally getting handed off a copy of the book from a friend feeling maybe not that negatively but at best neutral about it.

now to be fair, while 14-year-olds were ostensibly the target audience, how many 14-year-olds were really equipped to deal with the themes and questions put forward by mockingjay? how were 14-year-olds supposed to understand what was going on with president coin, or why katniss didn’t make her romantic choice until the last paragraph in the most undramatic manner?

so i stand by my belief that the hunger games should not have been YA books. mockingjay does tell a good story, even with all its tragedies, which is evident when you’re 27. but that good story is ridiculously rushed. so my new the hot take is that mockingjay should have been two books. i think both more things needed to happen plot-wise in the revolution, and we needed more time spent on some of the things that did happen. (admittedly an argument that could be made for any of these books).

conveniently taking this stance means the controversial stance that it was correct to have two mockingjay movies is further validated. it SHOULD have been two movies because it should have been two BOOKS!!!!!!!!

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It’s hard to keep up a series at the same high quality all the way through. This one did a good job. Ended differently than I would’ve liked, however. In fact, I hated what became of Katniss in the end (before the epilogue) - felt like it defeated the point of the whole series. Also, I found the twist underwhelming. Rounding up to four foot storytelling, but the story itself, because of the ending, was a disappointment.

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theirgracegrace's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Mockingjay completes a trilogy in a crescendo of violence and trauma. Katniss has survived two Hunger Games, but recovering from the trauma and finally defeating the Capital is a burden that she can barely bear. The frank discussion of the PTSD and mental psychosis that comes from so much death and devastation in a teenager is a breath of fresh air from how many childhood traumas are handled in fiction. The ending is bittersweet but offers hope for a future of healing. A riveting and visceral ending to a series that has changed how I see the world for the better.

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orchidlilly's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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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