Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Spotgaai by Suzanne Collins

337 reviews

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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." 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
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

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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional reflective 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-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

Amazing Amazing Amazing. Team Peeta 4 life. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

Expand filter menu Content Warnings