Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

86 reviews

withlivjones's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

A thrilling end to the trilogy, featuring realistic, un-sugarcoated depictions of war where the stakes are high and a lot of favourite characters are lost :( Something I’ve loved in this series is that Katniss isn’t presented as some bulletproof heroine. Sure, she is able to hold her own to some extent but Collins could have made her some overpowered prodigal Mary-Sue (which is kind of how she’s presented in propaganda as the Mockingjay) when really she’s still so young and she never comes away from battle unscathed and instead almost always survives out of sheer luck or through other people’s help (or sacrifice). I think this makes her a super realistic and compelling protagonist. I also really like how the romance wasn’t really the focus of the trilogy, there was a bit more love triangle content in this book but even then it takes a backseat to the rebellion, and as Katniss says, she “can survive just fine without either” of Peeta or Gale. 

I do think that the pace sped up a little too much towards the end - we spend so much time in Katniss’ head leading up to the end of the war and the execution, but I would have loved to have seen more of her thought process as she decided both to hold the symbolic Hunger Games and to kill Coin instead of Snow, since both of these decisions are really significant and they just kind of happen without much explanation. The ending itself and the epilogue is really sweet though, and I like that it took a long time for Katniss to have children and that Peeta was willing to wait for her, since Katniss was so terrified of being forced to bring children into Panem in Catching Fire. Overall, I loved this book and the entire trilogy and I can’t believe it took me so long to read it!

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

wendyadarling's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Blood, and Alcohol

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

jupitersuns's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book so much that I hate it! I finished this right before I have to get ready for work and I cried like a baby. I definitely would recommend this to everybody!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

This isn't for the light of heart. Especially towards the end-- I had a dream dealing with body horror because of the last few chapters.

elysianbud's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

The last line is so damn good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lauragracel's review against another edition

dark hopeful sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

trintrin's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

I'm very confused.

Katniss went from being The Girl On Fire to The Girl Who Was Set On Fire By Someone Else — just a shallow puppet version of herself. I understand her sadness to everything that happened, the anger, the hollowness, and I even enjoyed most of the parts where she's broken and depressed and just roaming around aimlessly. But for the most part it felt like she couldn't think for herself at all.

At least she had a moment of clarity and shot Coin in the end (even if that was Snow's brainwashing and not her own thinking), kudos for that. 

Why was the Capitol's fall told, not shown? All that build up lead to nothing at all. I don't understand the whole broadcasting-everything-they-do plot point. A majority of the rebel plot was confusing, I couldn't tell what direction it was going in. Gale vs. Peeta ended so conveniently, Katniss didn't even get to choose. Maybe it was because I got spoiled, but Finnick, Prim, and Castor's deaths didn't hit quite as hard as I expected it to. The epilogue was unnecessary but I kinda predicted it would be there from the very first book. Effie and the prep team getting spared when Cinna wasn't seems like a cop out. And I'm still mad we didn't see the Capitol's downfall.

Moving on to things I liked — I liked that Katniss ended up with Peeta and not Gale (though I do like him). I liked that Katniss shot Coin and not Snow. I liked that Snow had an unmemorable death. I liked how almost everyone has some form of trauma even after it ends. The way Katniss reacts to the scent of roses, Joanna to water, Peeta to just about anything, and how they found a way to cope with it like Finnick and his ropes, the Real or Not Real game were a nice touch. The war, the question of how far you'll go and how low you'll sink in the excuse of it, what is right and what is overdoing it, what can be justified and what is inhumane were all really enjoyable. Katniss's reaction to Prim's death was realistic. If only Katniss was there for the taking over of the Capitol, it would've been a 5 star read.

Maybe I just had high hopes for the conclusion of such a well-loved series and set the standards too high.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Police brutality, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Dysphoria

tabbed_reads2much's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

4.25

I cried more than expected.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

Boy, these content warnings are a beast

jayden_314's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Eating disorder, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy