Mockingjay
ISBN: 9781407109374
Description
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge...
Reviewed on 5th July 2012
The final book in the Hunger Games trilogy surprised me by being the weakest of the three. I had thought that it would surpass the second book, Catching Fire, at least. Katniss is forced to become the face of a rebellion against the Capitol, and spends an inordinate amount of time acting confused and emotional.
Gone is the strong character of the previous two novels, and in her place is a weak and snivelling character who gets caught up in events rather than setting out with any real intent. The ideas are all there - the set up for the story is great, but the execution leaves much to be desired.
The entire plot feels rushed. Whereas the previous novel dragged out its first half, this one races through big important scenes leaving the reader lost. Four or five times I wondered whether I'd skipped a page of explanation as new concepts appeared, but on double checking I found that the exposition was just absent.
I felt let down by this book. I was looking forward to an epic final battle and got a rushed tale about a dripping girl who was barely recognisable as the strong (albeit reluctant) heroine from earlier in the series. Yes, there should be room for her emotions and character development, but it still needs to make for an entertaining novel.
The first book is the best in the series, and although I'm glad I've read the remainder, I wouldn't criticise anyone for stopping there.