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.

Pre-order excitement

I just pre-ordered my copy of Catching Fire! I don't like the Australian edition at all. I want the hardback with the gorgeous red cover so have just paid a small fortune to have it shipped over from the US with the a hardcover copy of The Hunger Games. Plus I don't trust an online store to pack it properly--I've received too many bent books through the post recently so bookshop prices it is. I don't care that it's a quarter of a week's pay, IT'S WORTH IT.

Six weeks to go. (The Australian release date is September 7, not 1, so I guess my shipped edition will arrive about the time the soft-covers hit the stores.)

Dystopia Challenge Review #8: The Hunger Games

As you read this I will be trotting around our nation's capital, Canberra, a.k.a. The 'Bra. It's the home of our illustrious politicians, the only land-locked state or territory in Australia, and the most boring place to travel to. I'm going for work.

Yesterday in class I gave a presentation on The Hunger Games. Part of our mark consists of an oral presentation but I would have been happy either way to stand up and blather about this fabulous book for ten minutes.

What shocked me was that none of them had read it, and I believe no one had even heard of it! Including the teacher. And the name of the subject? Writing for Young Adults. Gasp! To be fair most of them aren't fans of paranormal, fantasy and dystopian (*sob*), but they should have at least heard of it. I had to set them straight.

This is what I told them.

"The Hunger Games is by Suzanne Collins, author of a series of middle-grade fantasy books. This is her first YA novel, and the first in a trilogy. I did not know it was a trilogy when I first picked it up, and subsequently when I got to the last page and saw End of Book One I had a hissy-fit and hurled the damned thing across the room. You have been warned.

"Sometime in the not-too-distant future, North America has become Panem, ruled by a totalitarian government who have set up the Hunger Games in order to show everyone just who's boss. The country is split into twelve military districts, 1 being the poorest and 12 being the richest. Every year by ballot, two names are drawn from a barrel in each district, one girl and one boy between the ages of 12 and 18. These children must then compete in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death, where there is only one winner.

"The story follows Katniss, a teenaged girl who nominates herself for the Hunger Games after her twelve-year-old sisters name is drawn. The first half of the book is Katniss's preparations for the games, and to me this part contained some of the most harrowing moments. I became so angry at a government who could treat its own people in such a way. It was the social structure and Katniss's character that I found most interesting. The fighting itself is gripping and Katniss is deliciously clever. To make things palatable, Collins eases the reader in with a few anonymous deaths. Later, she casts the other competitors as villains, allowing the reader to feel glad for their deaths rather than sorrowed.

While clever with a bow and arrow, Katniss is profoundly stupid when it comes to boys. I found the love triangle to be less than satisfactory. But then again, I am eagerly awaiting Catching Fire, out this September, so it must have done something for me..."

During question time, one of my classmates asked me how America became Panem, and I had to tell him I didn't know. I don't believe Collins goes into details. Another girl asked me, when I mentioned The Hunger Games was being made into a movie, if I thought there was a spate of YA movies coming out--and I had to say yes. Thanks to "The Big T", we're being graced with The Hunger Games, Tomorrow, When the War Began, and If I Stay. And probably more that I'm forgetting. Not to mention the TV series The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl. And I bet you a twenty that Evernight is gonna appear on our screens at some point.

So I know it's difficult to add anything new to a review of The Hunger Games. It's probably the last year's most blogged about book, at least in my circles. But I hope you enjoyed.

Waiting On Wednesday

I'm quite excited about my very first Waiting on Wednesday. This meme was started by The Story Siren.

My Waiting On Wednesday includes books I'm waiting to afford!!

First up is Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. If you've read my previous posts you'll know I loved The Hunger Games. There's still no cover for this yet, but I'm hoping it will be as good as the cover of book one--the hardback edition at any rate. The paperback here has a ghastly "fold your own" cover that shows either Katniss or Peeta, and the colours are dreadful.

Then there's Skarlet by Thomas Emson. I think this one might be more adult than YA as it involves clubbers and recreational drugs that turn people in vampires, but what a plot!

Next is Swoon by Nina Malkin. From fishpond: "Torn from her native New York City and dumped in the land of cookie-cutter preps, Candice is resigned to accept her posh, dull fate. Nothing ever happens in Swoon, Connecticut--until Dice's perfect, privileged cousin Penelope nearly dies in a fall from an old tree, and her spirit intertwines with that of a ghost." What a name and what a cover! This is a May release so not long to wait now.

Now, an Australian book! Arrival (Strangers of Paragor, Book One) is by Charlotte McConaghy and out under Black Dog Books. It was released in March and McConaghy is so young! Apparently she started writing this book when she was in her teens.

From the Black Dog Books website: “There will come a time when greatness is needed. Strength, passion… goodness. For in the land of Paragor an oppressor travels closer. Four is the sacred number, and it is only by looking beyond ourselves that we will find salvation, and only through love that we will defeat the darkness that threatens to consume us forever…”


E-e-pic.

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.