BRT: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Title: Mockingjay

Author: Suzanne Collins

Number of Pages: 390

Rating: 3/5 stars

Date Published: August 24, 2010

SUMMARY

My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead.

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 plains--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. [Goodreads]

REVIEW [SPOILERS]

Mockingjay was a book with an indefinitely different feel to it than the first books had. Mockingjay felt dark and gloomy from the start, and understandably so—but there was one thing about this book that really irked me from page 1. Katniss is no longer the girl on fire... she’s the girl that fizzled out.

All of her earlier bravery seems to be malfunctioning, she’s more selfish than she is caring, and it’s even stated that she’s gone a bit...shall we say...loony? I can understand it. The Hunger Games alone are enough to drive someone insane—but it just didn’t sit well with me when Katniss’ thoughts didn’t feel fully coherent at times. Not to mention the love triangle—Katniss’ flip-flopping got irritating. Fast. This wasn’t good for my interest in the book.

There were also a bunch of characters just suddenly thrown in, and it’s not hard to guess who’s okay and who’s a corrupt jerk. Katniss doesn’t even mind even when it’s hinted she knows what’s going to happen at the end—she just goes with everything. Instead of taking charge like she did in the past two books, she did whatever she was told like a good little Mockingjay in this one. This was what the people in 13 wanted, but I highly doubt any readers did.

The deaths were all pointless—we got attached to these characters and then they were ripped away within a split second. Sure, realistic, but not something that people want to read. Suzanne Collins is commendable for her writing skill, but there is a line in which you have to be careful not to cross—the line between meaningful death and pointless death. She crossed that line far too many times in this story.

Honestly, I found Finnick’s death more traumatizing than Prim’s. Prim just felt like a placeholder in the story, a reason for Katniss to go even darker than she had been for the rest of the story. An excuse for her to finally go off the deep end. I didn’t like it. Finnick’s WAS meaningful, but at the same time, pointless. I can’t really put into words what went through me here.

I enjoyed reading about the war efforts. Watching Katniss journey with everyone else into the cities and districts in order to seize control was fun for me. I kind of got lost on how the streets near the Capitol resembled the Games but oh well. Watching the battles held a lot of interest, but at the same time, the pointless death from earlier.

I think that’s all I have to say. This book is a must-read for Hunger Games fans, but you shouldn’t spend your money on it. I’d borrow it from someone. Like I did. :3 It doesn’t seem like there was much I liked about this book, but there was a lot to like—good writing, good pacing. Katniss just messed some of it up.

BRT: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Title: Catching Fire

Author: Suzanne Collins

Number of Pages: 391

Rating: 4.5/5

Date Published: September 1, 2009

QUOTE

The smell of blood...it was on his breath. — Katniss

SUMMARY

Sparks are igniting, flames are spreading and the Capitol wants revenge.
Against all odds, Katniss 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 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. (Goodreads)

REVIEW

FFFFFFFFFFF. I LOVED this book. LOVED it. BUT. There were a few issues. I’ll resolve those quickly before I get onto the good aspects of this book. This was another book I read a while back that had the potential to make me go “OH MY GOD WHAT?!” (In other words, it surprised me.)

1.       Katniss...you are meant to be a STRONG PROTAGONIST. Not a girl who’s constantly asking the reader “Which guy should I pick!?”

2.       The first part of the book was ridiculously boring. It took me around a month to get through it. After that I got more interested, but the first part made me seriously consider stopping.

3.       Too many characters mentioned in too short of a time (particularly the first part) and then two “important” characters who are only met once before they disappear forever.

4.       Back to number 1 on this one. Katniss, MAKE UP YOUR MIND. Stop flip-flopping between guys. You’re using them and it’s not very nice.

Okay, up until that point, I was severely disappointed in the book. Then Part 2 started up and I was like, “OMG, EPIC, EPIC!” And then we met SUPER-cool characters like Finnick ( <3 ) and Katniss/Peeta have more epicosity and they totally own at the interviews and just amazingness.

I make up a lot of words.

Anyway, one of my favorite parts of the book was at the interview. When Katniss is wearing her wedding dress and she talks about how it was so beautiful, and she twirls, and I shall withhold spoilers at that point. That was one of my favorite parts of the book.

After that, the tension is on. I can’t describe how hyper I felt when Katniss and the others reached the arena. And the puzzle of the arena (“tick, tock” — Wiress) just AMAZED me. BEAUTIFUL! Beautiful plotting, so cunning. Ahhhh words can’t describe it.

The final showdown confused me a little due to how fast it progressed; it was hard for me to tell who did what. Then Katniss fires that final arrow of fate, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve imagined the actors playing that part out. I CANNOT WAIT to see that part in the film. (Unless they ruin it, which they probably will.)

You get it. Catching Fire was written just as awesome as the first book...AFTER you get through Part 1. Part 1 is the reason this book only garnered 4/5 stars, due to how drawling it was, how unlikeable the characters were at that point, etc. Except Peeta and Haymitch because they’re always fun.

Hmm, anything else? I don’t think so...except the fact both male leads had a much smaller part. It seemed like they were only there for the convenience of Katniss having a hard time to choose between them. Peeta felt essential in book 1, but not so much in book 2. I’ve never felt like Gale was very...important, either.

Anyway, those are all the thoughts I have to share on this piece of the trilogy. (;