Collins, Suzanne. 2010. MOCKINGJAY. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0439023513
The third and final installment of the Hunger Games trilogy finds our heroine, Katniss Everdeen, recovering from her Quarter Quell rescue in the District 13. Katniss learns that she has long since been a pawn in a greater game, a revolution against the Capitol, forged by the thought-to-be- destroyed District 13 and its supporters throughout the other districts. Disheartened by the destruction of district twelve and the capture of her fiancé and fellow victor Peeta, Katniss agrees to become the Mockingjay- the face of the rebellion.
Armed with a state-of-the-art costume, her trademark bow and arrows, and a deep desire to thwart President Snow’s plans for Peeta and the rest of Panem, Katniss morphs into her role as the catalyst for a revolution. With help from her family, Gale and the other rebels, she works to overthrow the current government and secure a future for all of Panem; but freedom comes at a dangerous price.
In this thrilling finale to the trilogy, author Suzanne Collins does it again, managing to evoke both the most pure and the most sinister emotions through the thoughts and actions of our heroine, Katniss Everdeen. Mockingjay finds her at the end of her journey- scarred physically, mentally and emotionally by the chain of events set in motion by the Capitol. Out of her desperation to find Peeta and her hatred for President Snow, Katniss’s metamorphosis is inevitable from the first pages of this third and final novel in the series. Finally understanding her role in a world torn apart by war and a struggle for power, she embraces who she has become while shedding the worries of her past. By the end of Mockingjay, Katniss has finally finished her quest for freedom and finds peace in the small comforts of her past.
The backdrop for this story is war and as such the themes of destruction, propaganda, strategy, and loss come into play for the reading audience. The setting and theme described in Mockingjay may warrant a rich and controversial discussion amongst students and offers up many opportunities to compare and contrast wars of the past and present and the toll they take on human life and physical space. Readers will also come to terms with Katniss’s final decision of the heart- will it be Gale or Peeta and will the ends justify the means when it comes to love…
Reviews:
From School Library Journal-
“Following her subversive second victory in the Games, this one composed of winners from past years, Katniss has been adopted by rebel factions as their symbol for freedom and becomes the rallying point for the districts in a desperate bid to take down the Capitol and remove President Snow from power. But being the Mockingjay comes with a price as Katniss must come to terms with how much of her own humanity and sanity she can willingly sacrifice for the cause, her friends, and her family. Collins is absolutely ruthless in her depictions of war in all its cruelty, violence, and loss, leaving readers, in turn, repulsed, shocked, grieving and, finally, hopeful for the characters they've grown to empathize with and love.”
From Booklist-
“Collins does several things brilliantly, not the least of which is to provide heart-stopping chapter endings that turn events on their heads and then twist them once more. But more ambitious is the way she brings readers to questions and conclusions about war throughout the story. There’s nothing didactic here, and the rush of the narrative sometimes obscures what message there is. Yet readers will instinctively understand what Katniss knows in her soul, that war mixes all the slogans and justifications, the deceptions and plans, the causes and ideals into an unsavory stew whose taste brings madness. That there is still a human spirit yearning for good is the book’s primrose of hope.”
Praise for Mockingjay:
#1 New York Times Bestseller
#1 Publishers Weekly Bestseller
A New York Times Notable Children's Book of 2010
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
A 2010 Booklist Editors' Choice
A 2010 Kirkus Best Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2010
#1 USA Today Bestseller
#1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller
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