Monday, March 14, 2011

Book Review - Mocking Jay - Suzanne Collins




Title: Mocking Jay

Review: Katniss is now free, but where is Peeta? He was left in the games when she was zapped out and now they are having a hard time finding him. Gale is trying, but I have a feeling he’s not trying that hard. Katniss is with her family again, but in a place that is not home. Her home is gone according to reports.

She is the Mocking Jay and is asked to lead the people against the capital. She wants the games stopped and her life to get back to normal, but she needs to find Peeta. Gale knows her and does find him. But, when they get him back, he is not the Peeta she knew. He is changed. This part broke my heart, the capital was taking everything from her, and they were destroying her bit by bit. Every death was someone she loved, someone she cared for and needed and yet she was there to watch it happen.

Near the end I was shocked, I couldn’t believe that she was agreeing to…you have to read it to believe it. The ending was bittersweet. The lives of everyone would never be the same and Katniss would be scared forever. She would survive, but would she be happy? I’m not really sure, the author wasn’t really clear. I had a feeling that Katniss was content, but is that enough?

I looked forward to this book and bought it the day it came out. I loved the first two and I knew this would be the last and therefore not my favorite. The life of the people needed to be straightened out and it was going to take lots of heartbreak and pain to get the job done. Read this series, it is amazing and thought provoking. Are we headed this way?

Publisher: August 24th 2010 by Scholastic Press

ISBN: 0439023513

Copyright: 2010

Pages: 390

Quick Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Why I Read It: I read the Hunger Games and Catching Fire and couldn’t get this one fast enough.

Where I Obtained the Book: I ordered this from Amazon.

Synopsis: Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy will keep young hearts pounding.

Author Biography: Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been busy writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the critically acclaimed Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days.

While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children’s author James Proimos, who talked her into giving children’s books a try.

Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you’re much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you’re not going to find a tea party. What you might find...? Well, that’s the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part series, The Underland Chronicles.

Suzanne also has a rhyming picture book illustrated by Mike Lester entitled When Charlie McButton Lost Power.

She currently lives in Connecticut with her family and a pair of feral kittens they adopted from their backyard.

The books she is most successful for in teenage eyes are the Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. These books have won several awards, including the GA Peach Award

Other Review:

4 comments:

  1. ***SPOILER ALERT***

    I have to say that I was sorely disappointed by this last book. It seemed to me that just when the book was getting good, Collins decided to throw in the good old wake up in the hospital scenario to find out what happened. Then, she tied up all the loose ends with a convenient ending rather than a good one. Oh Gale is gone? OK, I'll just stay with Peeta; whatever.

    I'm fine with a sad/depressing ending with a broken character after all that she has been through, just didn't like the way Collins got there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I didn't like the book as well as the others. I wish she could have come up with some other ending. I did think she should be with Peeta, I liked him the best. It was sad that she had no connection to her kids except for boy and girl. I don't really know what would have made it better. I wish she had come up with something else, but it was the end of the world as they all knew it. Maybe that is as good as it gets for Katniss. I do think the author should add another book to her Gregor series and start it a few years after the last.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good reviews! I'm now following you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, I found your blog via the book blogs ning, wanted to let you know I'm now following you :) I admit I didn't read your review of Mockingjay because I haven't read any of the books in the series yet and I'm scared to death of seeing a spoiler! (In fact I see one on the sidebar - that's thankfully listed as a spoiler and I'm having trouble not reading it LOL)

    I'm following you both on Google Friend connect AND networked blogs, both of which I have too :)

    I'd love for you to drop by my site for a visit :)

    April @ my shelf confessions

    ReplyDelete

Disclaimer for all reviews sent by the publisher, publicist or author for review.

THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) ISSUED NEW RULES THAT WENT INTO EFFECT ON DECEMBER 1, 2009. THESE RULES STATE THAT PRODUCT REVIEWERS ON BLOGS MUST DISCLOSE WHETHER THEY RECEIVED REVIEW PRODUCTS FOR FREE OR RECEIVED MONETARY PAYMENT FOR SUCH REVIEWS. PAYMENT IS NEVER ACCEPTED IN EXCHANGE FOR A REVIEW OR BOOK MENTION UNLESS NOTED IN THE POST. THE RECEIPT OF ARCS OR FREE REVIEW COPIES IN NO WAY INFLUENCES OR HAS AN IMPACT ON THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THE BOOK REVIEWS POSTED ON THIS SITE.