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A review by biblioauds
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There are not many series that receive an all-out five star rating from me, but alas, The Hunger Games trilogy ended on the right chord. Not often do I find that YA literature so masterfully details and displays mental health in such a way that makes grief, loss, tragedy, betrayal, and sacrifice feel like it means something. For this series, I was Katniss Everdeen, and I could see Finnick's eyes, and Peeta's hands.
I want to draw a quick comparison to one of my favorite anti-war books ever, if not one of my favorite books ever, Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut. It is not often that books, especially ones not labeled 'anti-war' come close to bringing me to my knees like that book did, but Mockingjay sealed the deal with its ending. (No Spoilers Ahead!) I so badly wanted a certain ending. I am even more pleased with the ending I got, its realism, and the cat. That cat.
I feel that as masterfully as Suzanne Collins wrote this anti-war, anti-propaganda, dystopian teen fic, it would be awful of me not to touch on how masterfully she writes a true trilogy. I love the homage to the first book and second book, and how this truly felt like an ongoing narrative, rather than a solid pilot book, mediocre money grab second, and fan-service third.
I was physically and mentally and emotionally distraught during this entire thing, and that's a lot saying that I actually read this entire series via audiobook, mostly while I was driving to and from two different states. I had to stop the audiobook several times and even started another book during this series to give myself time to savor the writing, the characters, the plot, all of it because Suzanne Collins didn't just give me a hero. She gave me a girl, and a boy, and another boy, and all of those people's friends, colleagues, and enemies, each written to utmost perfection, down to the villain. Thank you, Hunger Games, and may the odds ever be in your favor.
I want to draw a quick comparison to one of my favorite anti-war books ever, if not one of my favorite books ever, Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut. It is not often that books, especially ones not labeled 'anti-war' come close to bringing me to my knees like that book did, but Mockingjay sealed the deal with its ending. (No Spoilers Ahead!) I so badly wanted a certain ending. I am even more pleased with the ending I got, its realism, and the cat. That cat.
I feel that as masterfully as Suzanne Collins wrote this anti-war, anti-propaganda, dystopian teen fic, it would be awful of me not to touch on how masterfully she writes a true trilogy. I love the homage to the first book and second book, and how this truly felt like an ongoing narrative, rather than a solid pilot book, mediocre money grab second, and fan-service third.
I was physically and mentally and emotionally distraught during this entire thing, and that's a lot saying that I actually read this entire series via audiobook, mostly while I was driving to and from two different states. I had to stop the audiobook several times and even started another book during this series to give myself time to savor the writing, the characters, the plot, all of it because Suzanne Collins didn't just give me a hero. She gave me a girl, and a boy, and another boy, and all of those people's friends, colleagues, and enemies, each written to utmost perfection, down to the villain. Thank you, Hunger Games, and may the odds ever be in your favor.