Nyxen's Review of Mockingjay (Spoiler-Free)

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
400 Pages
Scholastic Press 2010

MY NAME IS KATNISS EVERDEEN.
WHY AM I NOT DEAD?
I SHOULD BE DEAD.

Katniss Everdeen, the 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 responsibilty for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feeligs of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay - no matter what the personal cost.



This might be a rather long, spoiler-free review, so please bear with me.
Even though this review is spoiler free it only contains one spoiler. Don't worry. It is hidden and must be highlighted.

Let's start with the cover.
I think the cover of Mockingjay is absolutely gorgeous. The background is awesome (and not just because I love blue) and I think the white mockingjay is stunning. I think it is the best cover of all three books. I just think it really goes with the theme/concept of the story-obviously.

I really loved the characters. Katniss, well, I just felt sorry for Katniss most of the time. After all she been through, they would not give her a break. At times, though, I thought she went a little overboard. Sometimes she went from an amazing female protagonist to a whiny one. But I still enjoyed reading about her thoughts. Gale was a character I absolutely loved! And that's saying something because I despised him in the first two novels. We got to see more of Gale and his personality and you could really see how much alike Gale and Katniss were. And so I think the reason why I loved Gale so much was because he reminded so much of the old Katniss. The one I loved. Peeta, Peeta, Peera. Oh my God, Peeta! In this book, he almost gave me a heart attack. All I have to say is don't don't read this book during your math class because you will gasp in shock and surprise causing weird looks from classmates. Peeta is one of the reasons why I almost changed to Team Gale. I could really see what the Capitol can do to you. I realy felt for Peeta and he was, well, OH MY GOSH! SPOILERS: He almost killed Katniss! How could he almost kill Katniss?! I was shocked when that happened and I knew that he ha changed. I don't think he'll ever be the same. I just did not like Peeta most of time in this book. Finnick!! I think everyone can agree that one of their most favorite characters was Finnick. I mean, what's there not to love about. He handsome and very witty. If I didn't live Peeta as much then Finnick would be my kind of guy. He's just charming and very swoon worthy. I'm going to stop talking about characters because I'm afraid I'll start posting spoilers.

I think Suzanne Collins really stepped it up with Mockingjay. There was toms for action and dramatic events that kept my eues glued to the page the whole time. The only thing is I don't think it was as good as the first two books. At times I felt that is was going way too slow and that certain scenes weren't necessary. But once you pass those scenes you were going to be on the ride of you life. Collins's pacing was really well done, besides certain scenes. And everyone was anticipating the ending. They all wanted to know who Katniss was going to end up with and how every character's future will play out.

I, for one, thought the ending was bittersweet. I wouldn't say I loved it because after turnin that page I felt sort of depressed. I didn't react the way I thought I would. I literally closed the book and sat in silence. I don't know if it was just me or other people felt that way but I guess I wasn't satisfied. One word that came to my head, though, after finishing I was WOW. I did enjoy this book and the voice and setence structure and writing in general was outstanding.

I rate this book Five Stars