Review: Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans -- except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay -- no matter what the personal cost.

Hunger Games Trilogy:
Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay

Visit Suzanne Collins' website for more information.

Review:
I'm going to warn you now that this review may end up veering into spoiler territory so if you've not read the book then you should probably look away now! As much as I enjoyed the first two books in this trilogy I have to admit that it isn't a series I feel incredibly invested in. I liked the books and the movies but I wouldn't consider myself a Hunger Games fangirl, something that is probably obvious when I mention that it took me four years from buying the entire series to actually getting around to reading Mockingjay! I actually think not being totally hooked on this series worked in my favour when it came to this last book because it meant I wasn't as disappointed as I could have been. I had a feeling that I wouldn't be happy with how things ended (one of the reasons I've put off reading this book for so long) so it didn't come as a huge surprise to me that this book was the worst in the series.

What did surprise me was how incredibly different Katniss is in this instalment though, I know she has been through a lot and I guess in some ways her emotional state was probably a far more realistic reaction to that than anything else, but I found it so frustrating to watch her sitting around moping. I desperately wanted her to be more proactive and kick ass like she always was in the past and I got bored of watching her hide away from life and trying to ignore what was happening around her. She does get some of her fight back later on but it came a little too late to redeem the story for me. I hated the ending with Snow too, all that build up, the way Katniss has lived for one reason and one reason only - to kill him, yet at the end she just doesn't. Why? Why would she avoid that when she's standing there with the perfect opportunity? I just don't get it.

Don't even get me started on the love triangle. I knew she would end up with Peeta, I wasn't happy about that fact but I knew it was coming no matter how much I thought Gale was a better fit for her. But Peeta spends the whole book hating her, he was tortured by Snow and made to hate her and I felt incredibly bad for everything he had been through but it wasn't realistic that the anti-Katniss programming he had been through would have been reversed so quickly. I just found it impossible to believe that he would be able to get past what had happened to him so fast and thought it would have been better for his mental health for him to have been allowed to heal with someone else. I felt from quite early on that Suzanne Collins was trying to make Gale look cold and uncaring about innocent lives so that we didn't mind him not ending up with Katniss. No matter that he is the one person who has ALWAYS been there for her, who has had her back, who has looked after her family, who is capable of fighting by her side and who has been willing time and time again to put himself in danger to protect her. None of that means anything because he helped design a weapon that killed Prim. He didn't put Prim in harm's way, he would NEVER have hurt Katniss like that but oh what a convenient way to keep them apart.

The ending of the story feels rushed, we don't really get to see how life improves for those in the districts and Gale just takes a job away from Katniss and disappears off the page without even saying goodbye. What happened to him? Don't we get to see him find happiness? Even the epilogue is disappointing. It doesn't feel like Katniss is in love with Peeta - it feels like she settled for him and that's probably the main reason why I hate the outcome of the triangle so much. She actually seems more like a robot than a person at the end and I don't feel any emotional connection from her to any of her family. The whole thing was just disappointing & I wish I hadn't bothered to read Mockingjay at all. I read this in anticipation of going to see part 1 of the movie next week but now I'm not even sure if I want to bother. What's the point of watching another 2 films when I know I'm going to hate the ending?

Source: Purchased

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Review: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol -- a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before... and surprising readers at every turn.

Hunger Games Trilogy:
Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay

Visit Suzanne Collins' website for more information.

Review:
Katniss and Peeta may have both survived the hunger games but that doesn't mean they are safe from danger. Katniss made some powerful enemies in the Capitol when she tricked them into letting both her and Peeta live and they aren't going to stop until they've taken her down. Especially since she has become something of a hero to the districts and has inadvertently caused some of them to start planning a rebellion. Katniss is facing her toughest challenge yet and she risks losing the people she cares about most if she doesn't do some very fast thinking.

I still like I'm very much behind the rest of the world when it comes to this series, I read Hunger Games just before the movie came out and had fully intended to carry on reading the series straight away but other books captured my attention and over a year had passed without me picking up Catching Fire. Since the second film is out now I thought it really was time I read the book and I have to say I enjoyed it just as much as the first one. Again I was able to guess some of the major twists before they actually happened but that didn't stop me enjoying the journey.

I still really love Katniss, she is so fiercely loyal to those she cares about and will always put her life and her happiness below protecting the people she loves. Sometimes I desperately want her to make the selfish choice and run but I wouldn't like her half as much if she actually did. She is in so much trouble in this book, President Snow is a powerful enemy who is determined to make her pay for her actions during the hunger games. He wants to take her down and he wants to do it publicly to quash the rebellion that is threatening to rise in the districts. It was great to learn a bit more about how Panem is run but I do still have a lot of questions about how the districts were created in the first place that I'm hoping will be answered in the final book of the trilogy.

I don't want to say too much about the plot but I will say that we are introduced to some fabulous new characters along with getting the chance to catch up with old favourites. I still wish we'd spent more time with Gale but have high hopes he'll have a much larger role in the next book. I was firmly on his team in the first book, although I liked Peeta I just didn't feel he was the right guy for Katniss. Peeta needed her to look after him while Gale would be an equal partner. I have to admit that while I still want her to end up with Gale I did start to see more of a connection between Katniss and Peeta in this book, he shows several times how much she means to him and he definitely seems to have matured and come into his own a bit more. I'm kind of torn now but I don't think I'll be too upset whoever she ends up with. The last few chapters of Catching Fire were intense and they have left me desperate to know how the series concludes. There are things I know I'd like to see happen but I'm not sure if they will or not and I don't think I'll be able to wait long before I read Mockingjay to find out!

Source: Purchased

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Review: Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Winning will make you famous.
Losing means certain death.

In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

Hunger Games Trilogy:
Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay

Visit Suzanne Collins' website for more information.

Review:
In this futuristic world the country Panem (the area once known as North America) has been divided into 12 Districts, all under control of the main city called Capitol. People in the Districts live in poverty and under constant fear of punishment from the wealthy citizens of Capitol. After a rebellion in the past caused the destruction of a thirteenth district the Capitol created the Hunger Games as a way to control the population. Every year each District must supply two children (one male and one female) between the ages of 12 and 18 to take part in the televised games. 24 children go into the games but only one will be alive at the end, they must kill or be killed in the ultimate fight for survival.

I feel like I must be one of the last people on the planet to actually start reading the Hunger Games series. I've had so many recommendations for the series over the last few years but for some reason never found the time to read it. Having seen the film trailers and desperately wanting to watch it I decided I really should read the book before it comes out in March. Well at least I can now understand what all the hype is about, I was completely hooked on the story and can't wait to read the next two books.

The story is told from the point of view of 16 year old Katniss who has been looking after her mother and sister ever since the death of her father five years ago. Her mother was completely unable to cope with her loss and it was up to Katniss to learn to hunt and gather food to keep them from starving. Katniss would do anything to protect her sister so when Prim is selected as one of the District 12 Tributes she immediately steps forward to take her place. She knows she has hardly any chance of surviving the games but she can't let them take her sister. It was easy to like Katniss, she is loyal to her family and friends, courageous enough to stand up for what she believes in and at times a bit of a rebel even in a society where rebellion can be the death of you. She is also intelligent enough to realise that she has to play the game and give the viewers what they want if she has any hope of making it through the games in one piece.

There were times when I felt the story was a little on the predictable side, some things were obviously going to happen and although I didn't always know how you would get from point A to point B I did know what point B would be. Having said that I still thoroughly enjoyed the journey and found it difficult to put the book down once I'd started reading. I was rooting for Katniss to find a way to beat the system, I wanted to see her come out on top and thoroughly enjoyed watching her beat the odds. The story line moves at a good pace and makes for an addictive read.

I'm looking forward to finding out more about the side characters in Catching Fire. While Peeta was a nice character I have to admit I'm a lot more interested in Gale so I'm hoping we get to see much more of him in the next book. I'm very curious about how the series will play out and am even more excited about watching the film than I was before. If you're like I was and nervous that Hunger Games won't live up to the hype then stop worrying and grab your copy today - I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Source: Purchased

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