
This book was previously reviewed by me as well as my old book club. So here is both:
My Review
By the time Mockingjay opens, Peeta was captured by the Capital, District 12 was blown up and District 13 wants Katniss to be the face of the rebellion.
This final book does a nice job closing the loop on character's storyline, which is what you want in a conclusion. For starters, you get to see more of Gale in this book. With the previous ones, it was all about Katniss and Peeta, even though Gale was a choice she had to make. In this book, you saw more of him as well as Katniss with him. Seeing him allowed readers to understanding the ending and why Katniss made the choice she made. It was also the choice I wanted her to make.
Collins also reworked Peeta. Peeta was tortured by the capital causing him to turn on Katniss. He was down right cruel sometimes and totally out of character for him. She really tried to make the reader hate him and in some cases I'm sure it worked. I never doubted him though.
The most surprising part was the ending, a true Shakespeare paradox. The one thing that causes Katniss to board this rollercoster ride of the Hunger Games is the one thing she couldn't stop from happening in the end. The fate or destiny of it all.
My Book Club
It's no surprise, Mockingjay was a hit. Overall, we loved it. We couldn't stop talking about it. I think we could have gone all night if there was time. There were a few downsides. Some of us thought it was the lesser of the three. The first two had more adventure, better written, etc. Others thought scenes with Katniss were a cop-out. The first two books had her in the thick of things. She was front row and center for all the action and drama. In this book, she missed the important moments, like the final attack on the capital. What was that all about?
We liked the closing. Felt it was true to the story and true to the characters. Speaking of characters, we had our favorites: Haymitch, of course. He was a favorite to most of us and we laughed at his shenanigans. Some of us liked Boggs. He was a new character introduced in this third book but he was a good character and a good man. We also did the who Peeta vs. Gale debate. We felt she was better suited with Peeta in the end. Gale was hot headed just like Katniss. Katniss needed a calmer influence and Peeta was perfect.
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