Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

Published by Scholastic Children's Books: London, 2011 (2010).
Book Three in the 'Hunger Games' series: 'The Hunger Games'; 'Catching Fire'; 'Mockingjay'.

It should be immediately noted that this is a darker book than the other two in the series. No more actual Hunger Games take place, very little in the way of the glitz and glamour of the Capitol. Right from the beginning, Katniss is a refugee in District 13, most of her home District has been destroyed, and she must decide whether to let the rebels use her as a figurehead for their movement.

Death always featured in the Hunger Games series as a whole, but now it is on a much larger scale. This is war, and it isn't pretty. Much of the debate in the book is on the morality of war, with Katniss far more reluctant to engage with it than some of the other characters we know - Gale is busy designing traps to be used against the Capitol, for one. The cost of war is also apparent - there are dead bodies strewn all over the remains of District 12, various war crimes are committed throughout the story, at at the start of the book Peeta is being held by the Capitol and apparently is being tortured. 

We are also introduced to President Coin, leader of District 13, who brings an added level of complexity to the proceedings by not being all that much of a 'good guy'. Would she actually be an improvement over President Snow? And if not, is she worth following into battle?

There are some heavy moments in this book, if it wasn't already apparent. Some characters that we like do not make it out alive. Others are severely damaged physically, mentally, or both. Difficult moral choices are made. 

And, on the whole, the book resolves the trilogy well. The ending makes sense based on everything that has come before. 

Out of all three books, The Hunger Games itself is the best. But the trilogy is still worth reading.

Completed 30 November 2021.

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