Wednesday 27 October 2010

A Short Mockingjay Review (no spoilers)

Mockingjay is the third book in the series of The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Check it out here.

I said I would write a review on here ages ago now and I feel like now is the time to keep my promise. Mockingjay is overall a powerful, unique and tragic book, without being depressing to read. I'm definitely not saying that the book hasn't affected me, it has immensely. It is a incredibly sad story, just written in a optimistic way. This is mainly due to the fact that the characters do not dwell in their misery, therefore neither do we, as readers.

I'm not going to give away any of the plot in this post, as I was initially planning to, because I find that I mainly read reviews of books I'm planning to read, not ones I already have. So to be concise, here is a list of the main reasons that I love The Hunger Games series and you will too;

1. The characters are gutsy, vivid and unforgettable
2. It is a unique storyline which stays with you forever
3. It has tension, excitement, action, romance, politics, war, science fiction and even an interesting food aspect

In an interview, Suzanne Collins was asked this Question: What do you hope young readers take away from your books?


And she answered:
 One of the reasons it’s important for me to write about war is I really think that the concept of war, the specifics of war, the nature of war, the ethical ambiguities of war are introduced too late to children. I think they can hear them, understand them, know about them, at a much younger age without being scared to death by the stories. It’s not comfortable for us to talk about, so we generally don’t talk about these issues with our kids. But I feel that if the whole concept of war were introduced to kids at an earlier age, we would have better dialogues going on about it, and we would have a fuller understanding.


I really like her response to this question and I agree with what she says. It is a spectacular book for these reasons and more.

So, in conclusion,  if you're looking for an action packed, thought provoking, unforgettable read then delve in to the dark, compelling world of The Hunger Games and I promise you that you won't regret it!

P.S. Check out my video review/response to Mockingjay which DOES contain spoilers!!

4 comments:

  1. To be honest i think the series just went downhill. Like the unger games was amazing! couldn't put it down. then catching fire was good yeah, pretty suspensy and all but not as good. then mockinjay was also good, but not as good as cathing fire, it was pretty depressing and like the ending was so bad, i hated it! it was so like ugh . . .

    but overall i loved the series :) very good:D

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  2. Well, I have to say there was a lot about the first two that I prefered to Mockingjay but I still found that when I was reading Mockingjay that I couldn't put it down. The ending was incredibly tragic and sad but it seemed inevitable, due to the build up of the rebellion and war. I guess Suzanne Collins wanted to send out a very, very harsh message about war and society in this final book.

    I also love the series so much!

    Thanks for commenting :)

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  3. I was a little upset with the ending of mockingjay, but after some more thought, really the ending tied everything together. I'd explain more, but then i might spoil it.. don't want to do that.

    Greatly enjoyed the series, the emotion, the depths, and it delivers a powerful message without ever really feeling preachy.

    War is hell.

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  4. Yeah, I was really stunned when I first finished it and it took a few days to sink in. You're right, it portrays many important ideas in very subtle ways. Thanks for commenting :)

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