I’ve just finished my first reading of “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins. I’m going to share my initial impressions, but you’re going to have to wait until I’ve reread it at least one more time before I can give you a truly accurate view.
So, in brief: It was totally, utterly shocking. I mean, I read the reviews before hand, warning me that this book was entirely different from its predecessors. Still, though, I was blown away. I really thought that “The Hunger Games” and “Catching Fire” were serious and intense. I was wrong. “Mockingjay” is all about war and the resulting trauma. It’s about knowing which side is the right one, and realizing that even the “right” side can be corrupt. But mostly, it’s about love. How can you love and be loved when your every decision can cause those dearest to you infinite pain and suffering?
I really don’t want to give away the plot, so I’ll leave my summary until I’ve read the book again. But it raised a lot of questions. It also breaks your heart. Peeta and Katniss are pushed to their breaking point over and over again. And after they are broken, the process begins all over again.
You want to tell yourself that the whole idea of the Hunger Games Trilogy, with its corrupt government and cruel “justice”, could never apply to us. Read your history!!!! It could just as easily happen today as it did in the past. And in a way, that’s more of a tragedy than anything written by Suzanne Collins.
If I'm Juliet... 