We travel to Panem one final time for the last instalment in The Hunger Games trilogy – Mockingjay. Here, I’m looking for Suzanne Collins to wrap up the series with a high – and she did not disappoint. While I thought book was a strong start and set-up the world well. The first half of the second book was a bit of a disappointment, but the final half came back strong. I found the final instalment to be the biggest page turner of them all.
All out rebellion and war has erupted throughout Panem, the districts are falling and the fighting is moving to the Capitol’s doorstep. Katniss and Peeta have been split up for the first time since their first Games, with Katniss being rescued by the rebels while Peeta has been kidnapped by the Capitol. With Katniss’ questions about District 13 from the second book being provided with answers, she finds herself the figurehead of a fight that she wasn’t even aware was happening.
Now I’ve read the whole series I can finally provide an answer to the one opinion I kept changing my mind on between my last two reviews – do I like Katniss Everdeen? And the short answer is, mostly. The first half of the series I believed her to be a very cold-hearted and selfish individual, but as she was thrown into her second Hunger Games, and throughout the last book, she has really grown on me. As she adjusts to life in the incredibly regimented and militaresque life in District 13, Katniss’ selfish tendencies are dealt with head on. The absence of Peeta plays heavy on Katniss’ mind and her interactions with Finnick throughout provide her with the opportunity to display a more caring side to her personality - one that she previously only displayed when interacting with Prim. This book presents a Katniss that isn’t simply a hunter or a killer, but rather a regular human being – these efforts are further supported by her actions when she is portraying herself as the rebel's Mockingjay, which I won’t delve into for fear of spoiling the plot.
My regular favourite character of the series, Peeta, has rather been demoted to a secondary level character in the final instalment. Whilst he isn’t given a lot of time within this book, his absence is heavily felt throughout. I’d even go as far to say that the lack of Peeta proves his importance to not only Katniss, but the whole rebel movement. While Katniss is so clearly the embodiment of the Mockingjay, I believe Peeta is just as much a part of this symbol as well. Without him there to counteract Katniss’ weaknesses, the Mockingjay is not as strong as it once was – as it takes Katniss twice as long to go about her duties than it normally would. Peeta’s undying love for Katniss is proved time and time again throughout the journey of this book – I adore his character.
A quick note on our alleged third main character, Gale, I dislike him. I’ve always disliked him, and I always will. On a more professional note, I simply find his character underdeveloped and underutilised. President Snow was also a disappointment in this book, he was the series main villain and I found myself underwhelmed by his performance in the end. Of course, there is more than one villain in every story, but I will not reveal any further details – but that twist really paid off and I enjoyed it.
The last three characters I’ll discuss are: Prim, Haymitch and Finnick. While Prim is a secondary character throughout the series, the last book serves as a coming-of-age moment for Prim which is both heart-warming to witness (as she was marked for certain death in the first book) but also sad as she has aged beyond her years. It can be argued that, perhaps, Haymitch’s character arc ended in the second book, his questionable decisions at the end of Catching Fire still have to be answered for. I also enjoy the heart-warming scenes where Haymitch hints towards his love for Peeta and Katniss. And, finally, we have Finnick who quickly became a series favourite for me in the second book. While we meet a very different Finnick in Mockingjay compared to the previous book, it provides him with a character arc that was slightly lacking in Catching Fire – although he was a new character, so I don’t think that was a negative of the second book. His relationship development with Katniss are some of my favourite moments in Mockingjay, as well as the time we take to discover more about his background from before the Quarter Quell.
As I said before, the pacing in this book is definitely the best out of the three and provides an easy page-turner for the reader. Mockingjay also provides time to learn and imagine the unknown world of District 13, which is not discussed a lot in the first two books. I felt the rush and the nervousness of the characters as they went out to war and the book does not shy away from the cruel and disturbing scenes that come along with such a topic. Of course, there are many casualties whilst one is at war, and Panem isn’t any different. I, obviously, will not be discussing these character deaths with you – but the second major one definitely hit harder and tugged at your emotions more than the first, which is slightly disappointing in relation to the first one.
It made me laugh. It made me cry. And it most definitely provided a satisfying ending to a much-loved series.
Thanks for reading,
Rhi.
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