Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

*somewhat spoilish if you haven’t read this book or the previous two books in this series. 

I’ve been putting off talking about this book for a few weeks now. Partly because, what can I possibly say about this book that hasn’t already been said? (So I'm going to keep this short). But mostly because, sometimes I think timing is everything when reading a book. I started Mockingjay at night, before I went to bed, and I was tired. (Worst time to start a book FYI). I continued to pick up this book at night, already tired and therefore only getting through a chapter or two at a time. This is my least favourite way to get into a book. It makes the reading experience disjointed, and it’s hard to recall what you read the night before. Instead of worrying about how I wouldn’t get any reading done in a few days span unless I tiredly read a chapter each night, I should have just stopped and picked up Mockingjay when I had a good hour to get into it. 

I found the first half of the book slow, confusing and a little boring. I felt like all I was reading was Katniss roaming the halls in a drug-induced fog. I couldn’t figure out where this book was going to go. I didn’t like how Katniss would pass-out and wake up days, even weeks later, only then to find out what had happened in her absence. I felt like so much of the story line was told from the aftermath viewpoint instead of from the present. This was disappointing because Collins is so good at telling the story from the front-lines (like when the games are going on). 

Hunger Games was definitely my favourite of the trilogy. But I AM SO GLAD that Collins tied up the loose ends in the story. I needed to know who Katniss would end up with, whether they had children, where they would live, etc. And Collins gave me that. It might not have been the ending I envisioned or thought I wanted, but it made sense. I could accept it. My heart swelled when I read the last few pages and tears brimmed in my eyes. I didn’t want to say good-bye to Gale, Prim, Katniss, Peeta or Haymitch, but at least I never have to think “oh my god, but THEN what happened?!” 

So after, when he whispers, “You love me. Real or not real?”

I tell him, “Real.”

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

It seems silly to “review” a book that I’m pretty sure I’m one of the last to have read. Plus, chances are, if you read The Hunger Games, you don’t need much convincing to read the second book in this trilogy. But if you haven’t started this series yet, you may want to skip this post as it contains a few spoilers, and go read The Hunger Games. Right now!

We tell everyone at the bookstore who comes in to purchase The Hunger Games, that we’d bet money on them coming right back when they’re done to purchase the 2^nd book. After I read HG, I didn’t feel this overwhelming urge to run upstairs, grab Catching Fire and jump right in. I think I loved The Hunger Games so much because it could have been a powerful book all on its own, without the need for a sequel. Sure, I was interested to find out what happened after the games were over, but there definitely was not this huge cliff hanger at the end of HG like there is in Catching Fire. 

Catching Fire, while it moves a bit slowly in the first half of the book, definitely picks up pace and intensity in the second half. Just when I didn’t think the Capitol could get more evil, I was proven wrong. I was horrified by some of the awful things that happened to some of my favourite characters - Gale, Cinna - but found myself in awe of how well Collins described some of the gruesome wounds, especially Gales. The pain and torture, both physical and emotional, inflicted throughout this book was palpable. 

The few things that bugged me about this book were:

1) The author’s need to interject plot points from the first book (do people really read series not in order?) 

2) Several times, Katniss and her mom make reference to how they are running short on medical supplies and medicine. Is Katniss not allowed to purchase said supplies with the mass quantities of money she receives each month from the Capitol?

3) Near the end of the games, when Johanna has instructed Katniss to “stay down”, Enobaria and Brutus run over to Katniss, declare she is as “good as dead” just by looking at her and move on. Don’t all the tributes know that the sound of the cannon goes off as soon as someone is dead? These tributes are victors - they should definitely know this!  

But I digress. This was still an amazing book in what I already know is going to be an amazing trilogy. There’s a part of me that wants to hold off reading the 3^rd instalment, Mockingjay, just so it doesn’t end and I don’t have to say good-bye to Katniss, Gale and Peeta. Plus, seriously, I NEED to find out who Katniss chooses: Gale or Peeta? (Team Gale!) And I need to know that Cinna is okay. There - I’ve just convinced myself to go finish the last few pages of my current book and start Mockingjay!

Tell me: are you Team Peeta, or Team Gale? I won’t judge. 

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Why am I so stubborn??! When a book or book series gets overly popular, I have this tendency to refuse to read it. I don’t really know why I do this. I guess I just like to be the last one to jump on the bandwagon. (Confession: I still haven’t read the entire Harry Potter series!) Usually, as soon as I get wind that a movie adaptation of a book I do actually plan to read one day is coming out, I make a conscious effort to finally read that book. (Confession #2: When at all possible, I will always read the book before seeing the movie. Confession #3: I haven’t seen any of the Harry Potter movies either.) 

It’s probably also important to note that working in a bookstore and having not read The Hunger Games made me feel a little left out amongst my co-workers. It’s also really hard to convince someone to buy the book just because you’ve heard it’s “really, really good.” So I finally did it; I read The Hunger Games. In less than a day. It truly was that captivating. 

The Hunger Games is a set in a post apocalyptic North America. The world as we know it today is no longer, all that remains is the nation of Panem, a wealthy Capitol, surrounded by twelve outlying districts. In order for the Capitol to keep the districts in line and discourage rebellions, each year, every boy and every girl ages 12-18 are entered into a lottery known as The Reaping. One boy and one girl are randomly chosen from each district to compete in the annual Hunger Games, a nationally televised event. Here, 24 contestants fight to the death. There can only be one survivor, one winner.  Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen’s 12 year old sister’s name is drawn for the 74^th Hunger Games. Without missing a beat, Kat volunteers herself in her sister’s place. From the moment Prim’s name was called, my heart was racing and I still get goose bumps when I think about it.

I was immediately pulled in from chapter one of this book. I was enraptured by this dystopian world and found the preparation of the tributes leading up to the actual games fascinating and intense. And it was such a pleasure to read a young adult novel that had a strong and resilient female as the main character. I am so glad I waited until I had a day off where I could read the entire book in one sitting.

I am so pumped, albeit quite nervous, to see this book come alive in the theatre!