~REVIEW of Suzanne Collins' MOCKINGJAY~

~REAL OR NOT REAL? After some fumbling a worthy completion to a great series~

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)

Opening Line:"I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ashsettles on the worn leather."

Real or not real; I finally finished Mockingjay? Thankfully real, because this just didn’t hold my attention like the fantastic and innovative THE HUNGER GAMES or leave me gasping as CATCHING FIRE did. In the end though I still loved Suzanne Collins violent, bloody and utterly defeated conclusion to this series, it just took a bit lot of effort to get through to it. We aren’t left hanging where the love triangle is concerned though, with Collins giving us a realistic and satisfactory glimpse twenty years into Katniss’s future and who she finds herself there with.

All told Mockingjay is a brutal and despairing ride as Katniss, Peeta, Gale and just about every other character we’ve met so far wages war on the Capital and its President Snow. Yes a lot of people die here and I’ll be honest at times Mockingjay lost me. In fact I actually put it down more than once with no real ambition to pick it up again, as it just seemed to drag with endless battles, hospital visits and politics and if it hadn’t been for my curiosity about who Katniss ends up with I probably wouldn’t have bothered finishing it at all.

This is due in no small part to the fact that our heroine spends most of the book either waking up in hospital after being injured or recovering in a drug induced haze from one thing or another. This became monotonous, stalling the story. And while I appreciated Katniss’s battered state of body and mind -especially in the closing chapters I also found it overkill and wondered where that strong, take control girl from previous books had gone. On the other hand after what she’d been through its a wonder she didn’t just keep hiding in the closet, taking 'morphling' and shutting out a world gone mad where no one is who they seem anymore.

 I was also very let down by the final climactic battle which for the most part we are told not shown because Katniss is again unconscious, even Snow became rather a non-issue here. And one if my biggest personal disappointments would have to be that we didn’t get to see Gale’s character fleshed out more. I had really been hoping that this would be his book, his time to shine and show us why Katniss loves him. Instead he remained frustratingly vague.

I believe Suzanne Collins probably had the outcome to this series in her mind from the very first page of Hunger Games, unfortunately with this book she just wasn’t sure how to get us there and fumbled along with her conclusion. The ending chapters and epilogue are amazing though and almost make up for the bumpy, tiring ride that is Mockingjay, almost. And after all was said and done it was Buttercup the cat that had me crying and I'm not even a cat person.

~REVIEW of Suzanne Collins' CATCHING FIRE~

~EXCELLENT FOLLOW UP~

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)

Opening Line:"I clasp the flask between my hands even though the warmth from the tea has long since leached into the frozen air."

At the conclusion of CATCHING FIRE two words entered my head “Wow” and “Really!?” Then I caught my breath, checked my heart and read the final chapter again because I’d been so engrossed in finding out how Suzanne Collins was going to end this unpredictable ride that I’d really only scanned the words the first time through. Not many books have the ability to leave me breathless and on that note not many books surprise me anymore either. Catching Fire managed to do both and what a fantastic time I had.

Starting soon after Katniss’s victory in the Hunger Games we re-join her back in district 12. Now a reluctant celebrity of sorts Katniss no longer has to worry about money or feeding her family however things are far from perfect. At odds with both Gale and Peeta there is unrest and change brewing in Panem, old rules are being reinforced amid rampant rumours of a rebellion against the capital. A revolt Katniss and Peeta may have unwittingly started but are certainly being accredited for. As the pair make plans for the upcoming Victory Tour and the 75th anniversary of the Hunger Games a visit from President Snow contains a grave warning, forcing Katniss to publicly reaffirm her love for Peeta as well as trying to find a way to stop the desired but deadly and growing civil unrest.

Of course this is just the first half of the book (and the boring half too) Once the President decides on his form of revenge you simply won’t believe what happens and then you won’t be able to put the book down. I wondered how Collins was going to be able to trump the excitement of THE HUNGER GAMES well she does ten-fold and I never knew what was going to happen next. Full of surprises, innovative themes and fantastical creatures, we also get violence, heartbreak, page tearing suspense and a healthy dose of politics. The pace never lets up, making up for the weak and wandering part 1 where I felt like Collins was never really sure of where to take her story, giving us one possible direction before heading off in another. Silly me this was undoubtedly her intention all along letting me think I knew where she was going before she finally gives us…Wow.

Events have now been set up brilliantly for the third and final instalment; MOCKINGJAY and I can’t wait. Cheers

~REVIEW of Suzanne Collins' THE HUNGER GAMES~

~SO THIS IS WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT~  

Opening Line: "When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold."

THE HUNGER GAMES is a fantastic, breathless and somewhat brutal read that once you start you simply can’t put down again. Initially I had no idea what this book was about or what to expect in terms of YA writing, it had just been recommended to me by so many people and had such a buzz surrounding it that I had to find out for myself why. Well let me say I was not disappointed and have now joined the legions of Suzanne Collins fans in awaiting her next instalment.

Written along the lines of Stephen King’s THE LONG WALK or Orwell’s 1984 (I may be aging myself here) this story still feels very original and sucked me in completely with its modern day Survivor-esque retelling. The Hunger Games is the ultimate in reality TV, suspense, scripted realism, romance and survival that you should not miss.

                  

 Set in a post apocalyptic future (although we frustratingly never learn the why's, how’s or even when of this future.) This new communist-type America known as Panem has been divided into a Capital and its 12 districts. We follow 16 year old Katniss as she struggles to keep her starving family alive, hunting and gathering with her best friend Gale. Unbeknownst to her these are valuable skills as the annual hunger games are about to begin.

Each year these games require two children from each district who are chosen based on a lottery system for compulsory participation. These televised games are then broadcast throughout Panem (with mandatory viewing) as the 24 contestants fight each other to the death, leaving just one victor at its violent conclusion. It’s kind of like Survivor but instead of being voted off the island you have to kill your competitors. When Katniss’s younger sister is chosen as the female contestant from their district Katniss volunteers to take her place. Then together with Peeta the other lottery winner they travel to the capital and begin preparations for the opening ceremonies and ultimately their death in The Hunger Games.

Oddly this has been written without paragraph breaks and I have to admit the first part of it dragged for me, as Katniss is groomed, clothed, and schooled by her entourage within the capital. However as soon as the games begin, lookout! By this point in the story you have become attached to several key characters and its then that you realize things can’t end well as there will be only one winner. Over a period of about 2 weeks and against overwhelming odds we watch 24 victims dwindle as they struggle to survive. Simultaneously avoiding and hunting each other they form alliances, face hunger and mind numbing thirst, mutant animal attacks, friendship, love and ultimately a distrust of everyone as Big Brother raises the stakes to keep the audience interested.

This is an exciting book that will keep you up late into the night and resonate with you long after you’ve finished. Cheers.