Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Sci-fi/ Dystopian
ISBN: 978-0439023511

Premise: Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy will keep young hearts pounding.

Sadly, the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy was not as great as I had expected, given the excellence of the first two installments. Don't get me wrong, it was just as intense and captivating as the other two, but the actual ending seemed to be hurried and left a lot of unanswered questions. I was even confused after I finished the book, as I felt that at least one chapter had been removed from my copy, because there was no way Suzanne Collins would have left her book unfinished. But after talking with others who read it, it seems that all the copies were missing this chapter. Before this book, I was amazed at Collins' ability to do what needed to be done to her characters, but in this novel, I felt that she took it a little too far, disposing of characters in ways that didn't necessarily add to the story. One fatality in particular stood out to me as being entirely unnecessary. The ending of the love triangle doesn't seem like Katniss actually made a choice, but that it was made for her, of which I do not approve. Ultimately, I was just disappointed that it didn't seem as well done as the first two. That's not to say I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Though it had problems, it is still the only available conclusion for an overall wonderful series, and I think that the series as a whole is great enough to merit this book be read. 
 
 

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Sci-fi/ Dystopian
ISBN: 978-0439023498

Premise: The second book in The Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire resumes the story of Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. All the old characters reappear in this continuation, such as Effie, Haymitch, Prim, and Cinna. Katniss and Peeta won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol.

 Can I just say wow? The first book in this series was amazing, but knowing that sequels are almost never as good as the original, I was afraid this book wouldn't keep up with the greatness of the first, but happily, I was wrong. I might even go as far as saying this book was better than the first. All my favorite characters come back and are just as well-developed as ever. What makes this book better? The intensity. My god, my heart was literally racing through the entire novel. I finished this one in one day also because it was so captivating, I couldn't think of anything else. I didn't even want to pause to eat because I was so entrenched. I didn't think it was possible for the story to get any more piercing and engaging, but it did. Each chapter left me screaming literally out loud because I was so overcome with such a wide variety of emotions. Something else that made this story wonderful is the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale gets oh so much more interesting. And the ending! I felt that I was about to have a heart-attack when I finished the book. Talk about cliffhanger! I've never been so excited to buy the next book in the series as I was with this. I would recommend this book to anyone, lover of sci-fi or not, because it is simply just that good.

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Sci-fi/ Dystopian
ISBN: 978-0439023528

Premise: In the distant future, what remains of North America has been divided into a captial and twelve surrounding districts. In the past, the districts tried to rebel against the capital and failed. To punish the districts, the capital invented The Hunger Games, a televised battle royale between twenty-four tributes. One boy and one girl from each district between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen to go into the arena, and fight to the death.


Let me start off by saying this is one of the best Young Adult novels I have read in a very, very long time. Not only is the setting crafted expertly, but the characters are amazing, and the plot is riveting. My favorite aspect of the novel was definitely the characters. Suzanne Collins' ability to weave utterly believable characters is astounding. Each character had their own discernible personality, crafted through description, dialogue and their actions. Their motives for any action actually make sense, something many YA authors seem to struggle with. The connection between reader and character is incredible, especially considering the book is less than four-hundred pages. The plot is also just amazing. I was literally on the edge of my seat while reading the novel, and finished it in under one day because it was so captivating. An expertly written dystopian novel that is probably the best Young Adult novel since Harry Potter, I would recommend this to any lover of science-fiction.