Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

47 reviews

bxnny's review

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, War, Child death, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Adult/minor relationship

loveisabird's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Physical abuse, War, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Torture, Xenophobia, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Police brutality

Moderate: Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Blood, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Animal death, Death of parent, and Self harm

samanthaeumir's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Police brutality, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gore, Miscarriage, War, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Torture

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

halaagmod's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, War, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, and Torture

Minor: Animal death and Miscarriage

mermaidsherbet's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, War, Death, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Body horror

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Torture, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Genocide, Blood, Grief, Gore, Murder, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Medical content, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, Suicide, Stalking, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Vomit, Self harm, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Slavery, Trafficking, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Eating disorder, Infidelity, and Addiction

madisonbell_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death

inkysplodge's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Confinement

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Vomit, and Drug abuse

emilywemily6's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Reading this series as an adult is so much more meaningful than when I was a kid. My only complaint about this book is the pacing; a lot of the book felt a bit slow while certain parts in the Capital were breezed over too quickly. But the author does an amazing job at capturing the aftereffects of trauma in these characters. This book is the culmination of a series with themes like: media’s impact on public opinion, authoritative governance, the lasting effects of trauma, being used as a pawn in the plans of others, etc. I’m less satisfied with the ending now as an adult because the internal scars of Katniss, Peeta, and others are more clear to me than when I first read this book and was just happy Katniss and Peeta end up together- but war doesn’t satisfy anyone. It feels so realistic and penetrating that while there were moments of tears while reading, I am reeling in the aftermath and will probably sob as I dwell on the trauma, what it meant for the characters, and what it means in real life. Everyone should read this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Violence

Moderate: Self harm, Chronic illness, Medical content, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Police brutality

Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Ableism, Bullying, Miscarriage, and Vomit

kelly_e's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games, #3
Genre: YA Dystopian
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: August 24, 2010

T H R E E • W O R D S

Dark • Haunting • Contemplative

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Every now and then I decide to pick up a YA novel for a quick, palette cleanser and when the mood stuck this time I decided to close out The Hunger Games series with Mockingjay. I didn't quite know what to expect heading into the final book of the trilogy and since I am reading these years after all of the hype, I hadn't really seen any reviews.

My main takeaway after finishing was a feeling of unsatisfaction. Throughout books one and two there is a forward progression of characters development, particularly when it comes to Katniss. However, in book three there was a sense of stagnation, which seemed odd and just disappointing. There isn't a whole lot of hope, rather this is filled with doom and gloom. I understand the reason behind all of this, but at the end of the day I'd have been okay with just one book.

Suzanne Collins has certainly created something worth reading with this trilogy. However, Mockingjay is hands down my least favourite. It felt drawn out, at times with not much going on, yet somehow the ending was rushed. It just didn't make sense to me.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the series
• young readers

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart."

"Some walks you have to take alone."

"Closing my eyes doesn't help. Fire burns brighter in the darkness." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Grief, Murder, Gun violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Violence, Gore, and War

Moderate: Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Body horror, Ableism, Self harm, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Vomit

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Animal death, and Pregnancy