Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In the third and final installment of THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy - MOCKINGJAY - Suzanne Collins delivers yet another poignant - albeit much darker - storyline.
The book opens with Katniss now a member of society in District 13 - a district once believed to have been obliterated by the Capitol.
Life in her new district becomes a series of robotic movements, as everyone is required to adhere to a strict schedule, which is imposed to help mandate all resources. President Coin is in charge of the District and with her firm hand, persuades Katniss to become the Mockingjay - the iconic symbol needed to band all district rebels together, to fight back against the Capitol.
Armed with Gale at her side, a list of requirements in order to become the Mockingjay - which includes immunity for all prior Hunger Game tributes, amongst a host of other needs - Katniss accepts the position of her new role as the Mockingjay...and yet again, is thrown into the spot light - constantly being televised to spread encouragement across Panem and trigger the rise of the Rebels to fight back against President Snow and his army of PeaceKeepers.
And in order for President Snow to retaliate against all that the Mockingjay represents, he uses Peeta - who was captured at the end of the last Hunger Games, when Katniss was rescued - against her, controlling everything about him, from what he says, to how he acts. However, a small part of Peeta still exists, as he manages to get out a warning to District 13, about an impending attack - saving the lives of all those in the District.
The story continues with a successful rescue of Peeta, as well as several other captive Tributes - only to find that Peeta has been the victim of being "hijacked"...a process in which the Capitol inflicts severe torture along with chemical enhancements, in order to turn him against Katniss. It now appears that the once loving and admiring Peeta, is gone for good.
Coming to grips with a new Peeta that has so much anger and hate towards Katniss, she opts to leave District 13 and hit the front lines of the Rebel attack in the Capitol.
Facing a constant uphill battle, Collins' flings every assault imaginable, our heroine's way...making it almost impossible to believe that anyone will be left standing. By the last few pages, I found myself upset many times over, at the ease in which she'd killed off those that Katniss loved - however, I will admit, survival of all involved, was never something Collins' promised.
Collins' tale - while sometimes extreme - unfolded a realistic story of what one could expect during war...the bitterness Katniss experiences, along with the harsh reality of how life changes. And all of this kept diligently to the overall theme that she set up from page one of THE HUNGER GAMES.
MOCKINGJAY was beautiful in all it's anger and masterfully written - and I know my stalling to read it, was only because I didn't want it to end. Overall, all three books in this trilogy, have made it into my top 10 of all time. And all three are a definite MUST read, without a doubt.