Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins

Publishers:  Scholastic

Pages: 448

Main Characters:

Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark

Mockingjay is the final book in Suzanne Collins’ epic The Hunger Games trilogy. The book sees Katniss take the fight to the Capitol as she becomes the Mockingjay, the symbol of the rebellion against the iron grip the Capitol has over the Districts. It picks up after Katniss’ flight from the arena and her escape to the safety of District 13, the District the Capitol supposedly wiped out. There she learns of the plan hatched between Haymitch, District 13 and some of the other tributes such as Finnick, Johanna and Beetee to remove her from the arena and start the rebellion. However the plan did not go as smoothly as the rebels were hoping. Unfortunately Peeta was captured by the Capitol and held as its prisoner. Katniss has to overcome her emotions and help fight the Capitol without Peeta.

Further on in the book, a rescue attempt is made and Peeta is brought to the safety of District 13. However the Capitol has tortured Peeta both physically and mentally, altering Peeta’s memory by using Tracker Jack venom to turn him against Katniss. This makes Katniss move away from Peeta and towards Gale, who she believes she likes the most. However the relationship is strained as Gale becomes a major leader within the army and drifts apart from Katniss as she is left in the depths of District 13 and he is fighting against the Capitol. Eventually Katniss is allowed to become a member of the rebel army as her uses as the Mockingjay have ended. Taken into the Capitol itself, Katniss and her team have to fight their way through each street against countless ‘pods’ to get to President Snow’s mansion to capture the President and end the war.

This was another good book and a great ending to the series. It was possibly my least favourite book in the series because the other two were so full of action. Much of it was spent in the tunnels of District 13 as the rebels were plotting how they were going to overthrow the Capitol. I also thought the Katniss seemed to be in hospital most of the book. However the completion of the series was very good and the ending to the book is brilliant and quite shocking. The series as a total was amazing. I know at the minute reading The Hunger Games is the ‘in thing’ because it’s been made into a film. But (and I’m not trying to be big headed) I have read quite a few books that have been made into films. Some of those books have been excellent and others quite bad, which I only read because they were made into a film. This was not one of those books, this series was brilliant. Don’t put off reading it because its cliché to read a book that has been made into a film. I read at the suggestion of a friend and I’m glad I did. The series was brilliant and has become one of my favourite books series ever, well up there with Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and The Game of Thrones.

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