Mockingjay review (no spoilers)

(Reposted from my blog on deviantArt)

So I picked up and finished Mockingjay yesterday (Hunger Games 3 for those who don't know .... and again, why don't you know!!!! Even Obama's daughters are reading this series!). Let me just say that it did NOT disappoint.

As a whole I was absolutely thrilled with the way Collins tied everything together and wrapped it up. It's extremely dark, easily the darkest of the three, and probably the darkest book I've read in a very long time. This book has a very strong anti-war message. And if anyone thought that the love triangle in Hunger Games was somehow the main plot/conflict of the trilogy, you are sorely mistaken! Collins makes it very clear that the main issues we should be grappling with are not who ends up with whom, but just how devastating war can be and how much of your humanity you're willing to sacrifice in order to achieve victory. That's the theme of the books. Love in a very different light.

One of my favorite things about Mockingjay was the intense character development happening throughout the book. Dude. I have not seen such deep character dev in a long, long time! There are some painfully eloquent "monologues" where Katniss ponders the dark issues of war and morality, and both Gale and Peeta's characters are explored thoroughly. Even many of the minor characters are very fully fleshed out. This is one of Collins's greatest strengths and most enviable talents, I think, and what makes her series so popular. She is dynamite at character development. They go beyond 3-dimensional. This is one of the few series I've read where the love triangle's angsty romance isn't there just for the sake of being emo and angsty, but is angsty for very very good reasons. The relationships are real. The angst is justified. It makes all other love triangles look like trivial and frivolous walks in the park.

And finally, the last line of the book in the epilogue gave me goosebumps. Rest assured that when you close the book, you will feel pretty satisfied. Thank you, Suzanne Collins! Seriously, she is one of the greatest YA writers ever. I hope to one day have even a smidge of her talents. <3