Book Review: MOCKING JAY

Title: Mocking Jay, the third book in The Hunger Games series

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, sci-fi, action and adventure

Author: Suzanne Collins

Plot: In the final chapter of the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen is at her lowest low. Her home, District 12 has been completely destroyed by the Capital, resulting in many lost lives. Though her family and her best friend made it out alive, she is devastated. On top of blaming herself for its destruction, her friend and fellow tribute, Peeta, has been captured by her enemy, President Snow. After being rescued by a group of rebels, who have made their fortress in District 13, they want her to be the Mocking Jay. It is the symbol of rebellion that shall unite the Districts against the capital.

When she accepts the offer, she goes to difficult districts to make peace and help the wounded. She is caught off guard when she finds out that President Snow is hurting Peeta because of her. They rescue him, but it doesn't make things any better. Peeta has been 'hijacked' which means that they took memories of Katniss and made them scary. He used to love her more than anything, but now he wants to kill her. She must balance her life as the Mocking Jay and decide what she must do with Peeta.

What I liked:
The emotion of this book was... amazing. In my heart, I was crying along with Katniss through her struggles. Though the plot twists made me sad, they kept me turning pages. The author has a way of making the unlikable characters likable. Also, it showed the ups and downs of love. Instead of completely bringing it down, it showed a couple getting married.  At first, Katniss hates Peeta, but in the end, her anger softens and she learns to love him, even when he hurt her. Multiples times the characters sacrifice themselves for each other. Gale, Katniss' best friend, volunteers to go with the people who save Peeta, even though it is a life threatening mission.

Okay, no one can deny that this book is very sad. However, in the end, it shows that there is hope in tragedy. There are mixed feelings about the ending from Hunger Games fans, but personally, I loved the ending.

What could've been better:
Throughout the entire series, there have been quite a few deaths. Most of the deaths weren't too upsetting and had to happen, but in this book, two important characters died and it brought down the story. Character  deaths are sad, but sometimes they work out for good. A death earlier in series inspired Katniss to win the Hunger Games. Unlike that, the character deaths in this book didn't seem to have a point, other than to throw Katniss off her game and ultimately, off the edge. It shows sacrifice, but the death at the very end didn't have a good purpose.

Katniss did do a little life saving, but it was influenced by her hatred for President Snow. My point? My favorite scene was when Katniss saved ____'s life.  From the outside, it was really sweet. Underneath the surface though, instead of being influenced by love, she was influenced by anger and hatred. Mercilessly, Gale kills, unlike Katniss, who is haunted when she murders someone. As a result, some killing could have been avoided.

Content: Of course, violence is a thing in thestory. Once when someone is dying, she describes it as 'flesh melting off like candle wax.' Similar things happen, but not the point of being explicit. Katniss kisses Gale and Peeta once. A male character talks about being forced to be sexual with women by the cruel president.

Conclusion: I am a die hard Hunger Game fan and I was satisfied with the ending. Mocking Jay was very powerful. It enticed me and didn't disinterest me for a minute. Katniss comes across as an unlikable character to me, but I ended up rooting for her. Since I've adored Peeta, it was difficult for me to read those parts, but it worked out happily in the end.

Apart from that, it was sad. Through it all, I wish it could have more happy parts. Making up for it, the book sends a message. Unfair violence and cruelty never benefits anyone. But... there is hope even when it seems so far away.

Because of the violence, I'll have to rate this 4 stars. I really liked this book, but you have to be a certain age before you read it. There has been some controversy about it, but overall, it is amazing book. The series is thrilling and totally worth reading. In the end, it does make up for the tragic deaths.