Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Spotgaai by Suzanne Collins

337 reviews

dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous dark emotional 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

This was just the perfect way to end this story. It's much darker than the books before, and we can see how destroyed Katniss is after all the events of the past books and this book.
At first it was a little slow, but interesting. It wasn't the same as the ones before, but it was definitely interesting and not boring. I was really sad with the deaths of some of the characters I loved.
I loved the last phrase Katniss says to describe what Peeta can give her, the promise that life goes on, no matter how hard our losses are, and that it can be good again. 

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adventurous dark medium-paced
Loveable characters: Yes

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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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

I cried more than expected.

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

we could all live a hundred lifetimes and still not deserve peeta

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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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emotional hopeful tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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