ISBN-13: 9780439023511
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Published: August 2010
390 pgs
Source: Personal Library


With much success to the first two instalments, it is no surprise that there would be a lot of hype and speculations surrounding Mockingjay, the final instalment of the Hunger Games trilogy, which I think is expected and well-deserved since I enjoyed Hunger Games and Catching Fire so much. However when there are much anticipation, naturally there comes with high expectations in which explains the mixed reviews I have seen around the blogosphere lately. That said, please note that the following are simply my thoughts of the book and that it contains spoilers (because it is hard not to do so).

I have to confess that I did not know what to think after reading the book. The plot has totally blown me away. The characters I thought I knew before were not what I expected from this instalment, because most of the time they were either being hijacked or drugged. I have to admit I was Team Katniss since the beginning of the trilogy; she has totally wowed me with her determination and her fighting spirit and not to mention her sense of responsibility she had for her family. Then again, she is also simply a girl who wanted nothing but to safeguard her family members from any danger. Nevertheless, I was disappointed that she did not take on an active role in this instalment in spite of her drugged condition, and that she was part of a game of President Coin’s plan; it was as if her fighting spirit has been drained out of her here and that saddened me.

And then, there is the issue of her relationship between Gale and Peeta. I can understand how hard it is for Katniss to choose between them, after all one is her best friend whom she knew from childhood, while the other she had battled hand in hand with during the Hunger Games. I liked Gale and Peeta during the last two instalments; I think each of them has their own qualities. Honestly speaking, I thought Gale would understand more of Katniss since he was her childhood friend, but in this instalment I was disappointed to say I have knew nothing about him at all. It was as if he was a changed person. And what happened to Peeta? I was saddened to see him being tortured and brainwashed until he couldn’t recognise Katniss anymore. It was as if all the characteristics of these characters have been wiped off and replaced with another personality. There was a moment where I wondered if he would ever recover.

As much as I had anticipated that there might be a death of a major character(s), I did not expect it would be Prim. I was prepared to accept that Gale or Peeta might not survived in this instalment, but to have Prim taken away seemed somewhat out of the situation to me. How ironic it is that Prim’s life was lost when she is the reason why Katniss was in the Hunger Games from the beginning. But that is the sad reality of life isn’t it, since one could not predict what would happen next. Still, I could not grasp the total turn of event of this one, and I have to admit it totally boggles my mind why Prim was at the scene when the bombing happened. How could this happen to her?

All in all, I enjoyed my reading journey with Suzanne Collin’s Hunger Games trilogy. Although Mockingjay is not my favourite among the three instalments (Hunger Games is), I am still sad to see this trilogy ends.

Note: I welcome your opinions and comments but please make a note if it contains spoilers as I do not want to ruin the enjoyment of other readers who have not read the book. Thank you.