Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a fine conclusion to the Hunger Games series. The readability remains high and the pace, breakneck.
The Hunger Games still stands as one of the few genuinely thrilling books I've ever read. So much so that I delayed reading the sequels for like 2 years because I didn't want to subject myself to that kind of emotional toil. Now that I've finished the entire series, I'm very glad I finally returned to it, even though neither of the last two books carried the same punch.
For one thing, the scenery is starting show some holes. Like for example, why the capitol would be filled with death traps. I know it makes for a more exciting climax, and ties everything in with the hunger games theme, but....really? a city full of death traps? I'm not buying it. Likewise, even the underlying tension level suffers a little bit. For the vast majority of this book, the major source of tension in this book is Peeta's safety. This works great for the first half of the book, when he's a captive of the capitol and we keep seeing glimpses of him on TV, and great for the last third of the book where he's damaged and unstable and trapped against his will in a war zone. But for the middle 6th when he's safe and sound in District 13? It kind of kills the momentum which in these books is the greatest of sins.
As for the ending, I had to think about it for a while, but I ultimately decided that I liked it very much*. It's sad, messy, and unsettling, and diminishes the characters, but, of course, this is what happens when you fight a war, even one that desperately needs fighting.
Bottom line? The Hunger Games books are excellent! Well worth your time and their universal praise and popularity.
*I'm not talking about the team gale/peeta discussion. I think it's been fairly clear that Katniss was going to end up with Peeta (assuming he and Katniss were both to survive) from about half way through the first book.
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