Book Review: Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay
Suzanne Collins

The last installment of the Hunger Games series finds Kat broken and shattered and seemingly beyond repair. In fact, there are a number of characters who seem behond repair. It's a dismal outlook for many of our friends as the world, Hunger Games style, goes to war against the Capital.

I can't say that I liked this book as well as the others. Yes, it was finely written. Yes, the story stayed true to form and yes, barreled along to a riveting, and sometimes heart-breaking, conclusion.

But, while in real life a girl who'd been through the trauma that our dear Kat had been through would indeed be a shell of herself, catatonic even, for an achingly long time until she got her head squared, in book-time it was an excruciatingly long time. I wanted the story to get on, I wanted Kat to snap out of it, I wanted her to get up and kick the shit out of the Capital.

Kat got there, but for me, it took too long to get there.

Okay, I'm not heartless. I felt for Kat. Truly, I did, but if anything significant happened during her down-time, I don't recall it. I don't know what it was supposed to add to the story. I don't recall the significance of the length of down-time as it related to the story, other than showing the Kat was mentally out for the count.

But we would have been silly to count Kat out.

Anyway, with that being said, I loved how the series ended. The last half of the novel kicked ass. And while Kat didn't end up with who I *wanted* her to end up with, she ended up with who she should have ended with. It was right. And some of the players died. Was I happy with some of those deaths? No, I was not. But that heart-wrenching reality is what makes a story good, makes it real, makes it a not-so-happy-ending for everyone...just like life.

Spot on, Suzanne!