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A review by leonalikesliterature
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Ugh, I am so disappointed by the ending of these books. Although I think all the major plot points were good writing decisions, the process to get there was so tedious and the pacing of this last book is so strange. So much of Mockingjay is just jumping from minor arc to minor arc but without Katniss having any major focus or drive.
What I loved about Katniss’s character in book 1 is how powerful and clever she is in her own unique way, but as the series continued, it felt like she lost her spark. Katniss had so little autonomy in book 2 and 3. All the characters surrounding her have strong motivations, yet Katniss is written to be so powerless, unsure of herself and passive. I can’t even count the amount of times she was just randomly sedated to move onto the next scene! And the way that her choice to kill Coin at the end of the book was dismissed as a political move and instead pacified by her being considered “insane” was an… interesting writing decision. Like she’s the mockingjay!? And I understand she’s a traumatized teenager, but the fact that her and Peeta have like no say in making the world a better place when they were THE MOST IMPORTANT ICONS in the revolution like??? Katniss just becomes like a mom basically in the longterm??? Disappointing to say the least.
There is so much build-up to this final battle with Snow that never happens, and then the ending feels so ridiculous and every event is so abrupt that it didn’t even feel believable. Prim’s death felt so shoehorned in, like Collins so obviously just wanted to kill her off. It was just forced and came out of no where! Then Katniss blacks out and misses the entire end of the uprising? What!? It was such a let down. There didn’t necessarily need to be a HUGE ending battle with Snow, but there was this continuous building tension in the last 1/3 of the book where like 8 characters die that doesn’t go anywhere! I was so frustrated and let down!
I’m glad Katniss and Peeta ended up together without Gale getting killed off, but they reconciled without the reader seeing any of it! Even though the last lines of the book were cute, I wanted so much more. I felt like this last book had so much potential to say something beautiful and uplifting about what it means to rebuild a society and community, but the ending lacked an overall message even in regards to Katniss and Peeta. It fell so short for me.
What I loved about Katniss’s character in book 1 is how powerful and clever she is in her own unique way, but as the series continued, it felt like she lost her spark. Katniss had so little autonomy in book 2 and 3. All the characters surrounding her have strong motivations, yet Katniss is written to be so powerless, unsure of herself and passive. I can’t even count the amount of times she was just randomly sedated to move onto the next scene!
There is so much build-up to this final battle with Snow that never happens, and then the ending feels so ridiculous and every event is so abrupt that it didn’t even feel believable.
I’m glad Katniss and Peeta ended up together without Gale getting killed off, but they reconciled without the reader seeing any of it! Even though the last lines of the book were cute, I wanted so much more. I felt like this last book had so much potential to say something beautiful and uplifting about what it means to rebuild a society and community, but the ending lacked an overall message even in regards to Katniss and Peeta. It fell so short for me.