Book Review: Mockingjay

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3)

by Suzanne Collins

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Sci-fi, Fantasy

Publication: August 2010

Format: Paperback, 398 pages

I was really eager to read Mockingjay after the second book. I just have to know what happened to Katniss and the other characters. How will they survive?

In the Mockingjay, I think, many of the characters changed after what they have been through – with the destruction of district 12. Gale grew cold and bloodthirsty. Prim becomes more independent. Katniss, who readers wanted to grow strong, showed the opposite side where she went mental and vulnerable. She felt that she was responsible of what happened – of the death of many people. And it all sparks with the act she pulled in book one. It’s like that in life. When something so drastic happen into our life, we will be force to either grow up or go weak. 

Suzanne Collins' characterization and portrayal in this book is amazing! She portrayed of what will happen in a war. That death and sacrifices will makes you either go strong or frail. Some grow strong for the sake of the people that they love. Some grow strong for the sake of revenge. Some go weak because they couldn’t face the loss of their loved one. 

I found myself thinking over the book once I’ve finished them. I couldn’t believe what had happened to the characters and how Suzanne Collins ended the games. There was so much death of characters that I loved. Although I didn’t like how Suzanne Collins ended some of the characters life, I couldn’t deny that this is indeed a good book (and series).  It's the kind of book that makes you really think.

Book Cover’s Description

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's 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 plains--except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's 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.

Book Review: Catching Fire

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2)

by Suzanne Collins

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction 

Publication: 2010

Format: Paperback, 391 pages

I was really looking forward to read the second book of The Hunger Games series after the first one. I couldn’t help but to wonder what would possibly happen after Katniss and Peeta were crowned as victors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games. And I wonder what the capitol (or President Snow) planning.

Catching Fire is amazing! There were quite a number of times where I sat up straight with my jaw dropped because I was too shock Σ(゜ロ゜;)!! to learn what had happened. I was left gasping with each surprise and twist. In Catching Fire, Katniss found out that the capitol (or President Snow) wasn’t too please with her act of picking up berries in the last game might have ignited a revolution. Now the capitol is planning something to stop the uprisings in some district and ensure that things went back to how it was before.

I like how Suzanne Collins she described things, events and how she played with Katniss emotions. I like how I can see how Katniss grew throughout the book—where Collins showed her weaknesses and strengths. It makes her characters much more realistic. I love how Katniss and Peeta both wants to protect each other. I like Gale much more when I first watch the movie (because in my opinion, Liam Hemsworth is hotter than Josh Hutcherson), although Peeta sounds a lot more hotter in the book. Haha. I'm glad that Gale made a lot more appearance in this book.

Catching Fire is certainly an engrossing read. I was captured by Suzanne Collins’s writing style that I read every sentence and word carefully because I didn’t want to miss anything—her portrayal details. 

I definitely enjoyed the Catching Fire more than The Hunger Games. But that was probably because I have seen the movie first before I read the book. I look forward to read the next installment to the series: Mockingjay, as Suzanne Collins left me with cliffhanger!

Book Cover’s Description

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won in defiance of the Capitol and its harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry -- and now it wants revenge. Full of plot twists, this riveting sequel to the New York Times bestseller is guaranteed to keep young readers on the edge of their seats!

Book Review: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publication: 2009

Rating: 4/5

Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun...

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, the shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before--and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love - Goodreads

Borrowed the book from a friend of my sister. Lucky!

I admit that the book is even better than the movie. I love the details on the book. Most of all, I love how the writer engaged me with the main character. Good book. Great plot. I like it a lot. Although I wasn’t crazy about it. But I’d like to read the continuation of the book. I have the feeling that the story is going to be much more interesting.