Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

32 reviews

colorful_lulu's review against another edition

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

5.0


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leeyongjin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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loveisabird's review against another edition

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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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masucolmusings's review against another edition

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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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lucyford's review against another edition

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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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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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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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jadeilona_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

3.0


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paigeinabook's review against another edition

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

4.75


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saskiajva's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Reading this series growing up, I really hated Mockingjay and thought it ruined the whole series. As an adult, knowing who dies and where the story goes, having experienced trauma of my own, i was able to appreciate it for how masterful it is. She describes trauma and PTSD so incredibly accurately, the types of decisions that are made and the person Katniss becomes show so many nuanced and incredibly profound experiences. Honestly, i kind of hated it a bit because of how real the trauma felt. But it’s also what makes this book incredible. This is a series you can reread 100 times and always find new meaning and understanding in.

Tatiana Maslaney is an INCREDIBLE narrator

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marthadude's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I feel like I vibed with this one less than the other two but still a worthy entry. The last line goes so hard. 

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