REVIEW: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

***Spoiler free***

Mockingjay is the final installment in the much-loved Hunger Games trilogy. Does much more need to be said in the way of an introduction?

I hate when things end. I have never read The Last Battle, the last Narnia book by CS Lewis, because if I don't then the end will never happen. Even the title makes me sad, being so final and all. There's the sadness of things being finally over, but dear readers, endings also scare me. Because they can so often be a let down and you're left with this awful taste in your mouth. Endings are hard. Endings are risky. Sometimes it's easier just to avoid rather than risk disappointment. I still have not finished the last disk of the audio version of Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta. It's been MONTHS. And I was loving it. I think my tredipation comes from endings that are predictable. Endings that are rushed. Endings that you see coming a mile off, when it's all about wrapping things up rather than doing the characters justice.

There are a lot of things that I loved about Mockingjay. I thought Peeta was handled beautifully. Brilliantly even. I have never been Team Peeta or Team Gale. Because The Hunger Games isn't primarily a romance. I have read swooning posts about Gale tearing my hair out thinking WHY WHY WHY?? Why do we care so much about a character that has 2.5 lines in books one and two combined?

Collins can think up some wonderfully creative violence. And she got the rebels versus the Capitol down to a tee: I loved questioning whether replacing Snow with Coin would be merely a name change, not a regime change. Parts of it was very exciting. As a narrative about the consequences of war and the nature of power and propaganda, I thought it did very well.

There were a lot of things that annoyed me about Mockingjay. It was predictable. Certain parts were rushed. We were left out of key scenes. I have never cared a jot about who Katniss would choose to spend the rest of her life with as she never expressed ONE, not ONE, sweet squishy feeling towards either Gale or Peeta. Anxious, needy, rejecting, confused feelings, but not one word or gesture that made me think she even WANTED A PARTNER. Comfort, yes, human contact, yes, but romance? No. Not once. SO WHY SHOULD I CARE. KATNISS DOESN'T.

Unfortunately, if you don't care who Katniss chooses, a lot of Mockingjay will leave you cold. Because the outcome of rebellion was rather predictable. And the bits that weren't? Hasty. Rushed. Truncated. I have been left with a bad taste in my mouth.

The best book so far this year

So it was actually released last year, but we got it quite late in Australia, I believe, and it's only just now appearing in paperback.

I'm talking, of course, about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

When Katniss's younger sister gets chosen by ballot to represent District Twelve in the Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place. Competing means almost certain death: twenty-four teenagers are pitted against each other and must fight to the death. There can only be one winner. It's a world where reality TV has taken a menacing turn and is used by the government to remind those who rebelled just who is in charge.

I love a good dystopian adventure, and I love a bit of romance along the way. Katniss is a strong and likeable character, and charmingly naive when it comes to boys. The build-up is very effective--the games don't start until halfway through the book, and by then the reader is thoroughly invested in Katniss. Collins doesn't pull any punches when it comes to violence. Teenagers get killed, often in highly unpleasant ways. She really knows how to set a scene. I can see this book in my head like a film.

Many of the scenes are quite harrowing even when not a lot is actually happening. Katniss standing alone waiting to be thrust into the games arena brought tears to my eyes and anger at a government that would exploit its youth in such a way.

Another book I read recently in which teenagers as a demographic are victimised was Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

Again, it was a very thought-provoking and moving (and downright horrific towards the end) book. But, maybe because I'm not a teenager and no longer feel like the whole world is against me, I found myself asking, why this age group? Why not adults in their twenties, or eleven-year-olds? The main reason is, of course, because the books are aimed at teenagers, and teenagers like to read about kids their own age. But I had hoped for a little more reason than this, from both books.

AND BEWARE! Nowhere on the cover of The Hunger Games is it mentioned that this is the first book in a series. I raced towards the end anticipating a huge pay-off, but was left high and dry by the four little words, 'End of Book One'. I was SO FRUSTRATED and wanted to smack the blurbing editor around the head with my hard copy edition.

That aside, The Hunger Games is definitely one to file under Books I Wish I Had Written. I can't wait for Catching Fire.