Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

41 reviews

leeyongjin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, and Slavery

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Death, Gore, Vomit, and Gaslighting

loveisabird's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i’m old enough to have been in the target audience when mockingjay was released, and my main memories of the book are everyone seeming disappointed in the conclusion and after finally getting handed off a copy of the book from a friend feeling maybe not that negatively but at best neutral about it.

now to be fair, while 14-year-olds were ostensibly the target audience, how many 14-year-olds were really equipped to deal with the themes and questions put forward by mockingjay? how were 14-year-olds supposed to understand what was going on with president coin, or why katniss didn’t make her romantic choice until the last paragraph in the most undramatic manner?

so i stand by my belief that the hunger games should not have been YA books. mockingjay does tell a good story, even with all its tragedies, which is evident when you’re 27. but that good story is ridiculously rushed. so my new the hot take is that mockingjay should have been two books. i think both more things needed to happen plot-wise in the revolution, and we needed more time spent on some of the things that did happen. (admittedly an argument that could be made for any of these books).

conveniently taking this stance means the controversial stance that it was correct to have two mockingjay movies is further validated. it SHOULD have been two movies because it should have been two BOOKS!!!!!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Self harm, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

masucolmusings's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

“I think that Peeta was onto something about us destroying one another and letting some decent species take over. Because something is significantly wrong with a creature that sacrifices its children’s lives to settle its differences. You can spin it anyway you like. Snow thought the Hunger Games were an efficient means of control. Coin thought the parachutes would expedite the war. But in the end, who does it benefit? No one. The truth is, it benefits no one to live in a world where these things happen.”

real or not real? i rest my case. still the best dystopian novel i’ve ever read in my life 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Vomit, and Alcohol

lucyford's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I mostly enjoyed this book… until the last hundred pages or so, which was painful to get through and not even very enjoyable just because it’s so depressing… but otherwise, it wasn’t bad! I really liked all the politics of it and how complex all the characters were. Be warned before you read it, it’s not “fun” except for like 2 scenes maybe, but plot-wise I think it was a great end to the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Moderate: Self harm, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

emilywemily6's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Reading this series as an adult is so much more meaningful than when I was a kid. My only complaint about this book is the pacing; a lot of the book felt a bit slow while certain parts in the Capital were breezed over too quickly. But the author does an amazing job at capturing the aftereffects of trauma in these characters. This book is the culmination of a series with themes like: media’s impact on public opinion, authoritative governance, the lasting effects of trauma, being used as a pawn in the plans of others, etc. I’m less satisfied with the ending now as an adult because the internal scars of Katniss, Peeta, and others are more clear to me than when I first read this book and was just happy Katniss and Peeta end up together- but war doesn’t satisfy anyone. It feels so realistic and penetrating that while there were moments of tears while reading, I am reeling in the aftermath and will probably sob as I dwell on the trauma, what it meant for the characters, and what it means in real life. Everyone should read this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Police brutality, Medical content, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Pregnancy

jadeilona_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Abandonment and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Torture, and Death of parent

paigeinabook's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

saskiajva's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Reading this series growing up, I really hated Mockingjay and thought it ruined the whole series. As an adult, knowing who dies and where the story goes, having experienced trauma of my own, i was able to appreciate it for how masterful it is. She describes trauma and PTSD so incredibly accurately, the types of decisions that are made and the person Katniss becomes show so many nuanced and incredibly profound experiences. Honestly, i kind of hated it a bit because of how real the trauma felt. But it’s also what makes this book incredible. This is a series you can reread 100 times and always find new meaning and understanding in.

Tatiana Maslaney is an INCREDIBLE narrator

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

marthadude's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I feel like I vibed with this one less than the other two but still a worthy entry. The last line goes so hard. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

capalluisce's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

There's no much to add from the previous books, to be honest. 

It lost me at some point, when the Holo was introduced. But I reconnected with it after it, I even shed tears alongside Katniss. Felt her losses. 

Would have loved to live a little more in their new world, but that wouldn't feel much like an ending, would it. 

Anyways, I absolutely loved this series. I love Peeta, and I love Katniss, and I want them to live as happy as they can be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism