Mockingjay--Suzanne Collins

October 17, 2010

In the third and final installment of The Hunger Games Trilogy, we see the violent showdown between Kaitness and President Snow as the rebels rally together in an uprising against the Capital.

Kaitness, having become the reluctant symbol of the uprising, focuses on her personal vendetta against President Snow, Having twice become responsible for pressing her into the harrowing Hunger Games and for the deaths of so many people she knew and cared about, Snow becomes the reason Kaitness chooses to accept her role as rebel leader. Along the way, she must decide who she can trust going into a battle where she once again risks losing those she loves. By her side are Gale and Peeta, each fighting their own battles as well as they face some of the most dangerous and deadly traps ever seen. Fighting their way into the Capital to face President Snow will be as difficult as anything they faced in The Hunger Games, but now the lives of all the citizens are at stake.

Mockingjay is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy, with a satisfying ending after the crescendo of the quest to reach their villain. There are shocks and surprises, layers peeled back one layer at a time to keep the reader intrigued and guessing. If I have one complaint it might be that the ending is a bit too quiet and sedate after the high-tension action of most of the rest of the book, and a bit too quick as well. It's almost as if the author wasn't quite sure how to effectively say goodbye to the characters she had become so close to throughout her journey as a their creator. The epilogue, however, leaves the door open to the possibility that we haven't seen the last of them. If that were the case, I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one anxiously awaiting a reunion.

--Donna