Suzanne Collins (1) (1962–)

While not mind-blowingly good enough for me to rate it five stars, this book will forever be one of the first that comes to mind when I think of YA novels that I grew up with. The world that Suzanne Collins created is heartwrenching and intriguing. Most characters have enough depth to make me want to know far more about them, even more minor characters like Cinna. Katniss is a strong female character, and her practical, straightforward mindset is nice to see in a woman in YA. She is not show more "above" romance but, realistically, has far greater concerns throughout the story. I found Peeta a little flat and boring, but his level-headedness and devotion to Katniss are endearing. Interestingly, Haymitch has always been my favourite character, but I think the movie added more to his personality than the book did upon revisiting it.

The disconnection between the perspective of those in the districts and those in the Capitol is an interesting societal commentary and probably my favourite part of this book. What is an immoral life-or-death scenario for the disadvantaged is seen as entertainment and an excuse for excess by those in the Capitol. Though most are well-meaning, those who grew up in a life of luxury are unable to connect to the district citizens as human beings, let alone equals. Meanwhile, Katniss and Peeta note this pityingly, as if the transgressors were children with no means by which to do better. This disconnection continues as, within the arena, acts of humanity and emotion are deemed acts of rebellion and treachery by the gamemakers and politicians, especially Katniss' respect for Rue, and the only way to rectify such actions is to treat them as devoid of all meaning after the games are over. I am excited to re-read the rest of this series and remember how this separation boils over. show less

SPOILERS WITHIN!!!! This book is really hard to rate. I hate it, I love it. It was wonderful in the way that I could not put it down--I NEEDED to continue reading and couldn't stop. But there were a lot of things I also didn't like about it.

For me, Mockingjay was about the loss of a hero. And I'm not talking about Panem's hero or the Capital's hero or anything like that within Mockingjay's pages. I'm talking about me. The reader's hero died in this book. Katniss's character seemed really show more weak and fickle. I can't even count how many times the scenes changed because someone sedated her. I'm not saying she shouldn't have been traumatized by everything thrown her way, but we're robbed of the strong, willful Katniss we've grown to love over the course of the first two books. She became a passive hero, one that just follows the path the book sets out for her, not carving her own.

She even seemed to become the very idea of a tribute that she had always rejected before (which is something that really endeared her to me as a heroine). In the last book, one of the most horrible parts was when she shot that woman and killed her without hesitation. This is what she did NOT want to do (she mentioned this several times in her thoughts). She didn't want to turn into the monster that the Capital wanted her to become. But she did anyway.

Many sequences in the book seemed very rushed, and even without purpose. I think the biggest flaw of this book was the lack of emotion. Katniss mourned the death of Rue more than her sister Prim. What? How can that even BE? And the very death of Prim seemed, to me, the most wrong thing Collins could do to to her trilogy. The whole commencement of Katniss's adventures began with her stepping forward to save Prim. In that way, the evils of the book one, and the heroes lost. Everything was for naught.

And Finnick. He grows on us as one of the most lovable characters, and yet he's killed off with maybe just a few sentences and Katniss moves on. So many characters were killed off without real purpose. There was no emotional aftershock or mourning. It just happened.

AND then the romance. The love triangle between Katniss and Peeta and Gale seemed to be brushed aside. I hated, absolutely HATED that Katniss chose Peeta by default. Because Gale moved away and got that "job." It's one more example of how Katniss was a passive character in this book. She let everyone else make her decisions for her, and it did not endear her to me at all. I started to dislike her, and that's HORRIBLE for a book's heroine, at least in this kind of book! The whole reasoning with the dandelion was lovely, but it wasn't enough. When did Katniss and Peeta's relationship rekindle? How did they meld back together? Why were we robbed of these sweet scenes? I hated that everything was thrown at us at the end in a couple of paragraphs. I love Peeta, and I loved the tender and uneasy and at times awkward relationship he and Katniss had, but we were completely robbed of any of this at the end. They just came together because there really wasn't anything more for them to do.

In the end, Katniss was weaker than when she began. Yes, I know, war does this to people. But as a heroine for a book with so many broken characters, I just wanted SOMEONE to rise up at the end of the book higher than when they started. I wanted a CONCLUSION of their characters. A well-rounded arc to end them. Not just a fizzled end.

So I love and hate this book. I love it because it had so much tension and Katniss got her Peeta in the end and for the Finnick characterization and for the sometimes beautiful scenes. But I hate it for its countless, horrendous flaws. show less

5 / 5 ⭐️

it didn’t come as a surprise to me that this book slays. i been knew. when i was 13, i stayed up until 3 am to finish this in one sitting. now, as a 26 year old adult, i once again stayed up past my bedtime to read this. some things never change.

the hunger games has always held a special place in my heart — i love the movies and watch them frequently, but i haven’t revisited the books since the third one came out. i remember being disappointed by them, but i’m ready to show more reconsider that opinion and be proven wrong.

the first thing that struck me during this re-read — peeta is an ENTIRELY different character in the books vs. the movies. like, whoa. he’s way snarkier in the books, way more charming. he has a lot more personality in general. i would never say anything bad about josh hutcherson… but maybe he was the wrong choice for peeta.

katniss is extremely interesting — she’s well-written in some ways and very tunnel vision in others. but she’s a joy to read! i’m so glad this isn’t dual POV; i honestly think it would detract from the story. this is all katniss all the time and i am so glad it is.

THE HUNGER GAMES exists in a pared-back universe — COLLINS only gives you the details that you absolutely need. and that facilitates the action of the story! no distractions! it’s definitely more dystopian fiction than fantasy. but has there ever been a better allegory/metaphor for late stage neoliberal capitalism than this? literally no.

i loved it, i was hooked, i enjoyed every second of it. i’m giving it a higher score than i originally did: 5 STARS!! SUZANNE COLLINS — you made history. show less

Suzanne Collins has done it again. This book took me back to the first and second Hunger Games novel in ways that I didn't anticipate. Collins masterfully rips your heart out of your chest and smashes it over and over and over again. Her storytelling is a menacing ploy to make you root for Haymitch and the other tributes despite knowing what their fate is. This book's beauty matches that of the 50th Games Arena in every aspect. The odds were not in our favor while reading this.

All pain and show more joking aside, Collins did a beautiful job with this story. It's always evident when an author cares for her fanbase and seeing one of the most popular theories be teased as potentially canon is one of the most amazing things ever. show less