Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - YA book review

Mockingjay
Author:  Suzanne Collins
Published:  2010
Publisher:  Scholastic
pages: 390, including an epilogue
Genre:  YA dystopian fiction
Source:  I bought it
ISBN 9780439023511

My name is Katniss Everdeen.  Why am I not dead?  I should be dead.

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped.  Katniss' family is safe.  Peeta has been captured by the Capitol.  District 13 really does exist.  There are rebels.  There are new leaders.  A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it.  District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol.  Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans -- except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss' willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem.  To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust.  She must become the rebels' Mockingjay -- no matter what the personal cost.  (from the cover)

Mockingjay is the third and final volume in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.  With the movie, The Hunger Games, coming out here March 23, 2012, the urge to read the series beforehand was strong.  I really enjoyed The Hunger Games, book 1.  It was full of action and adventure and a love triangle.  Book 2, Catching Fire, was less action filled but it continued to build upon the story of the districts and the manipulation and control the Capitol exercised freely over the people of Panem.  It was a necessary build up to the climax, Mockingjay.

I was forewarned I may not like the ending...may not be happy with whom Katniss finds she cannot survive without...may not like the violent nature of the concluding chapters.  Ok, I was forewarned.  Yes, it was violent but not gory.  War is violent; there is just no way around it.  The scenes were edge of your seat reading and, guess what .... I was happy with whom Katniss chose.  I shed tears while reading this book, was angered over the senseless deaths of two of the characters, thrilled to see Katniss evolve and come into her own, as she has done a bit through each novel in the series.  Growth in a fictional character should be equivalent to real life persons and experiences.  If she hadn't grown, despite her circumstances, she wouldn't be a heroine.  She wouldn't have the trust and respect of her fellow characters or the readers.  In fact, it amazes me just how strong she is here. Suzanne Collins shares with the reader Katniss' thought processes, her self-doubt, her qualms, and yet, Katniss rises above it all, being the true leader the people need, despite discovering she was being played as a pawn.  This is admirable and a good read.  I was 257 pages into Mockingjay when I just knew I had to buy the entire series.  I had originally borrowed each book in turn but by book 2, I knew it was a buyer!  I didn't finish reading the original borrowed copy, but rather returned it and bought the set for myself and finished reading from my own copy.  I know my daughter will like it too!

Mockingjay is a roller coaster ride of events, danger, joy, sadness, thrills, edge of your seat reading.  In conclusion, Mockingjay sings!