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Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Mental illness, Torture, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide attempt
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Torture, Vomit, Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - review
Death.
Madness.
Sadness.
Hate.
Broken families.
Broken hearts.
This is what war brings.
And Suzanne Collins makes us understand it, in the worst (but also, the best) possible way.
I can't say it's a perfect novel, but I can say it's one of the most real, most true stories ever.
I didn't particularly enjoy the beginning of the book, which I found slow and unnecessarily long-winded at times.
However, the authoress' excellent writing style comes through again in this last volume.
Although she doesn't use a particularly complex language, she makes vivid and clear descriptions of the events and always manages to capture the reader's attention. Her strong point is the great emotional leverage she has on the reader, which at times, though, proves to be too overwhelming.
Her skill is such that the protagonist's emotions are mirrored by the reader, who continues to suffer, rejoices in small victories, but continues to be tired and destroyed along with the main character. For this reason, reading can often be confusing and tiring.
Some narrative choices, however, such as the love triangle between Peeta, Gale and Katniss, (already present in the previous books, but in this one with an higher importance) can sometimes be superfluous.
The characters are always well characterized and some of them have interesting evolutions (as for Peeta or Beetee), but the great number of different characters can sometimes make us lose focus on the single ones.
Katniss, in this book, is subdued, she is not the strong and fighting protagonist she used to be.
She is emotionally destroyed, tired, upset, indecisive, suffering (and the reader inevitably feels all this).
For this reason probably, the narrative speed is sometimes intercut and not linear
The story, despite everything, after the initial part is very engaging.
Even though the story is told by a teenage protagonist (and with precarious mental and physical conditions, to say the least), the story of the war is realistic, raw and painful to the right point.
The final part of the book is the most frenetic, but at the same time the most controversial.
Sometimes the danger results excessive, almost "targeted" against the protagonist; I also considered the death of some characters superfluous and useless for the plot:
We notice more and more then, how Katniss is not herself
The ending is not perfect, but it remains consistent with the story told, albeit terrible and painful.
At the end, it's back to the starting point. The author's greatest flaws are at the same time her greatest strengths. Yes, Katniss is over-emotional, but that's justified in situations like those depicted in the book. Yes, the death of some characters may not have made sense, but war does not follow a logic. Rich, poor, young, old, good, bad: war affects everyone with no holds barred.
I cannot say that "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay" is a perfect book, but I can say that it is one of the books that really left something in me. I can say that the Hunger Games, that Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch, Gale, Prim, Finnick, all the others and everything they went through, will always remain in my mind and in my heart.
What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again.
It's like a game. Repetitive. Even a little tedious after more than twenty years.
But there are much worse games to play.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, War
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Rape, Vomit
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, War
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Torture, Grief, Alcohol, War
Minor: Vomit
Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Mental illness, Vomit, Abandonment
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism