Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian Science Fiction
First Publication: 2010
Language: English
Major Characters: Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Primrose Everdeen, Gale Hawthorne, Haymitch Abernathy, Finnick Odair, Johanna Mason, President Coriolanus Snow, President Coin
Theme: Revolution and Its Problems; The Power and Danger of Symbols; Role-Playing, Authenticity, Television, and the Self; Compassion, Callousness, and Revenge; Trauma and Love
Setting: Fictional District 13, District 12, Capitol, Panem (United States)
Narrator: First person, Katniss’s perspective
Book Summary: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games #3)
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe.
The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest?
Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12.
Book Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games #3)
After the events of Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen, her mother, her sister Primrose Everdeen, mentor Haymitch Abernathy, and her friends Finnick Odair and Gale Hawthorne, along with the survivors from District 12, adjust to life in the underground District 13, headquarters of the rebellion in Panem. Katniss reluctantly agrees to act as “the Mockingjay”–the symbol of the rebellion–for rebel propaganda, on the condition that District 13 President Alma Coin grant immunity to all surviving Hunger Games tributes, including Katniss’ friend Peeta Mellark and Finnick’s lover Annie Cresta.
Alma Coin, however, insists on flipping for Katniss’s other demand: the right to personally execute Panem President Coriolanus Snow. Peeta is tortured by the Capitol to demoralize Katniss. A rescue team extracts Peeta along with the other captured victors, but discover that he has been brainwashed to fear and despise Katniss. He attempts to kill her, and is restrained under heavy guard while medics seek a cure.
“It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.”
Finnick and Annie marry in a propaganda effort. Katniss and Gale are sent to persuade District 2 to join the rebellion. Gale’s controversial strategy results in a decisive victory over District 2, enabling a final assault against the Capitol itself. Katniss is assigned to a squad and sent with a film crew to shoot propaganda. President Coin also sends Peeta, still dangerous and unpredictable; Katniss suspects Coin wants her dead for her lack of support and growing influence. While filming in a supposedly safe Capitol neighborhood, the team’s commander Boggs is fatally wounded; before dying, he gives Katniss the team’s command.
“But collective thinking is usually short-lived. We’re fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction.”
In Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, final installment of The Hunger Games, the most deadly and costly games are launched as the district rebels and the Capitol fight to the bloody finish for power over Panem. Katniss Everdeen continues to be the pawn, but as the games unravel, it’s never quite clear what side she should be playing for and who she should trust. Gale, her lifetime friend, continually makes moves that in the end cost Katniss dearly. Peeta, the person that put his life on the line for her time and time again, becomes a weapon in the games putting her at risk as she fights to survive this deadly powerplay.
Overall, the Hunger Games trilogy treats a number of complex subjects around faith in oneself, following orders blindly, the value of freedom, the difference between justice and revenge, and the weight of fame in a manner that is both education and exciting for kids.
