Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins Review

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Series:　The Hunger Games Trilogy Book 3
Publish Date: August 24th, 2010
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 390

Summary (from Goodreads)

My name is Katniss Everdeen.
Why am I not dead?
I should be dead.

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans--except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost. 


Read  my review of the first two books in this trilogy here and here. 

  Review may contain spoilers.

Review: 

          What a spectacular end to The Hunger Games trilogy. It makes me sad to know that the series is over and Katniss' revolution against the Capitol is over too. Although I cannot reveal all the craziness that concluded this phenomenal journey (no matter how much I want to), I can say that it ended with much tragedy and a new beginning for Panem. I am still coping with the ending after 3 days of reading it.

            Honestly I loved it and disliked it at the same time. It was a great way to end the series because it was a somewhat happy ending that i think everyone could agree with. Unfortunately, to get to that happy ending many tear jerking scenes had to occur. Fighting in a rebellion in no way guarantees everyone’s survival yes, I knew that, but that small information doesn’t make the deaths of some of my favorite characters hurt any less. When they faced their inevitable ends I immediately closed the book and had to take a break for fifteen minutes so that I could cope with what just happened. Thinking about it now still makes me upset. Although their deaths made this book all the more addicting and I needed to know whether or not Katniss would be able to avenge their deaths.

           The build up to the invasion of the Capitol was long but necessary. Katniss had to recover and prepare to get back into battle after suffering severe injuries from the Quarter Quell. It definitely wasn’t the most interesting beginning because everyone was just underground for a long period of time but we get to know a lot about how District 13 survived and their ways of life. It was interesting and almost humorous the amount of times Katniss was in the hospital. She seemed to be there more times than she has been anywhere else. I think one half of the book takes place inside the hospital.

            Finally the rebellion begins halfway through the book. It started off slow paced and began building up momentum into a thrilling climax. However, what seemed to be a great resolution to the rebellion was replaced with something that fell a little flat. What I anticipated most in this story was interrupted by Katniss waking up in the hospital (surprise surprise). We are told what happened to the Capitol through a brief story by one of District 13's important members. Nothing exciting and amazing there.

             I enjoyed the love triangle in this book more than others because it was subtle and did not compete with the main plot. Katniss was not conflicted with the knowledge that Gale and Peeta are in love with her because they did not push her to make a decision. I really loved that the author wrote Katniss as such a strong, independent character. The male leads in this story knew very well Katniss doesn’t rely on a man to help her. They knew very well they needed Katniss more than she needed them. In the end I’m glad that Katniss knew who she truly loved and I was happy with her decision. The author wrote of their romance briefly yet it effectively captured me. I smiled with happiness knowing that all will be okay with Katniss.  She found the little happiness she needed to give her reason to move on from all the tragedy she’s faced during the rebellion. She slowly picks herself up again after thinking she could never be happy. I’m glad the story concluded with a happy ending for  Katniss.
Overall this book has crushed me but I'm satisfied. It was a great conclusion to The Hunger Games trilogy. It's because of Suzanne Collin's amazing stories that I fell in love with the dystopian genre. I must now say goodbye to Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire, but her memory will live on for a long time.

Rating: 4/5  

Stacking the Shelves (2)

It was Boxing Day in Canada today so I definitely had to splurge on my shopping trip. Although I didn't go all out on book buying, I did pick up a couple of titles from the bookstore. What really made my night was my friend gave me a whole box of books because she had no more use for them. I happily accepted them like any book lover would. I love giving books a new home!

Titles BOUGHT

Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Titles Given to Me:

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Flawless (Pretty Little Liars #2) by Sara Shepard

Wicked (Pretty Little Liars #5) by Sara Shepard

The Awakening (The Vampire Diaries #1) by L.J Smith

 The Struggle (The Vampire Diaries #2) by L.J Smith

 The Fury and Dark Reunion (The Vampire Diaries #3-4) by L.J Smith

The above titles were novels I were particularly excited to receive but there are tons more titles to include in this Stacking My Bookshelf

Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro

Open Secrets by Alice Munro

Family Affairs (Secrets of My Hollywood Life #3) by Jen Calonita

Poseur (Poseur #1) by Rachel Maude

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

Sand Dollar Summer by Kimberly K. Jones

Rebel by Willo Davis Roberts

So B. It by Sarah Weeks

The Last Straw (Diary of A Wimpy Kid #3) by Jeff Kinney

The Boy Who Couldn't Die by William Sleator

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Report Card by Andrew Clements

Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban 

The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen

Tunnels (Tunnels #1) by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams

The Power of Three (Charmed #1) by Eliza Willard

Kiss of Darkness (Charmed #2) by Brandon Alexander

The Crimson Spell (Charmed #3) by F. Goldsborough

Whispers From the Past (Charmed #4) by Rosalind Noonan

Phew. That was quite a lot to share with you guys but I'm definitely very thankful that I have a friend who doesn't want her books anymore :)

I would love to know what you got during this time in the comments!

The Locket by Stacey Jay Review

  The Locket by Stacey Jay

 Publish date: February 3, 2011
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 288

Summary: (from Goodreads)

On her seventeenth birthday, Katie discovers a locket and decides to wear it for good luck. But when her boyfriend Isaac finds out she cheated on him - with their mutual best friend Mitch, no less - he dumps her, leaving her devastated.

And then a miracle happens. The locket burns on Katie's chest and she feels herself going back two weeks in time, to the night she cheated with Mitch. At first, Kate is delighted to be a better girlfriend to Isaac this time around. But as other aspects of her life become inexplicably altered, she realizes that changing the past may have had a dangerous effect on her present.

Can she make things right before the locket destroys everything - and everyone - she loves?

Review: 

Before I read The Locket Ｉ was expecting a quick contemporary that I would enjoy. However this book was dark with shocking turn of events that I was completely not expecting. I loved the events in this book that I didn't see coming because it prevented it from being typical. Dangerous and frightening twists left me going WTF?! and I could not stop myself from turning the pages quickly to see what would happen next.

The book starts off a little on the meh side. It wasn't entirely engaging but nonetheless was interesting enough that I wanted to find out more. It's where you reach the climax where things start to get weird. Katie's new present after using the locket isn't entirely the same. She's gone back in time but the events of her new "present" has changed. Door signs aren't the same color as before... The drink her friend orders isn't the same... She's sick when she was fine before... These little details make Katie frightened and she starts to worry that maybe using the locket wouldn't be a good idea after all. Whiles these little changes are happening in the book I kept predicting what they might mean and if they would contribute to the plot in any way.

Katie wasn't my favorite character. She lacked personality and confidence because she's so insecure about herself dating the hottest boy in school. About three quarters of the book was about her trying to please her boyfriend and worrying whether or not Isaac would be happy about this or mad about that. Along with the events that unraveled in the book, Katie started to change. I was happy that Katie gradually matured and started becoming the heroine she never realized she could be. 

I loved the romance that was included to prevent this book from being too dark. There were light and happy moments that complemented this book beautifully. Although major events that occurred were in the extremes, it really makes you realize that anything could happen in life.  I'm glad Katie found herself at the end of the book, and she finally realized who it was that could make her happy and truly be herself.

Rating: 3/5