I finished Suzanne Collins’s last book in her trilogy “Mockingjay” in time for the upcoming movie adaptation. I’m geared and ready, but think it was a mistake for them to cut the final book into two movies. How greedy is that? Time magazine says this movie is little more than a “placeholder” for the finale “Mockingjay Part 2,” which is expected to hit theaters on Nov. 25, 2015. It’s too bad they didn’t keep it as one movie because I think it would’ve given the movie better pacing and action — these are my thoughts even before seeing it.
As for the book, it’s quite good like the others. You might recall from the end of the last Hunger Games, Katniss is taken by the resistance to District 13, an underground place whose people are unifying the districts of Panem to overthrow the tyrannical Capitol. There, she’s reunited with her mother and sister Prim, and goaded into becoming the symbol for the rebellion, the Mockingjay. But the Capitol is running lethal bombing raids and has kidnapped Katniss’s boy wonder Peeta, turning him into a weapon to hurt her and the rebellion. It’s a dicey situation and one that eventually leads to all out war.
“Mockingjay” doesn’t include a Hunger Games competition like the other two books, but its war games make the latter half of the novel pretty tense and compelling. Ultimately Katniss is left in a precarious situation, leading a rebel group, which includes her love interests Gale and Peeta, on an invasion of the Capitol — her mission being to assassinate President Snow. It’s an action-packed, mostly underground journey full of mines, wild creatures, and Capitol troops at their heels. The odds aren’t exactly in their favor one might say. You have to wonder if Katniss and the rebel group will get to Snow and overthrow the Capitol, and if they survive, if she will pick Gale or Peeta to be her man.
The ending has a few fatalities and surprises that skew what you might be expecting. It’s clear in this trilogy that no one really gets out unscathed. It’s a sci-fi post apocalyptic world that’s super violent and where loyalty and trust are hard to come by. The trilogy’s message seems to be one of warning and anti-war. I liked the young-adult series and think Collins on the whole did a good job putting it together. It’s a daunting militaristic world — we could face in the future — with little resources and full of damaged and hardened characters.
What about you — have you read “Mockingjay” and what did you think about it? Do you plan to see the movie?
I liked the series but really didn’t like the ending, as I might have mentioned here before. I was on the wrong team. Out of the books, I liked the first one the best, maybe because of the novelty of it. I agree with you on splitting the movie into two is unnecessary. Even worse, in my opinion, is The Hobbit, one book split into three movies.
Which side were you on? The novelty of the first one was pretty good.
I saw the first Hunger Games movie with my granddaughter…it was okay, but I have no urge to see any of the others….LOL.
Haven’t read the books…even though I sometimes go outside my comfort zone on books and movies, I might only see the movies because of the actors. They might pull me in. I am a fan of Julianne Moore and Jennifer Lawrence.
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Yeah I wonder if I will see this third movie. I have no huge urging either. But I did like the books; I just might not need the movies.
I posited after I finished the series the first time that I believe Mockingjay to be the strongest of all three books, and the ending is absolute perfection for the whole story. I love that readers could finally see that it was never a love story or even a love triangle. That small glimmer of hope after everything Katniss and Peeta face…love, love, love. Will I see the movie? I confess I haven’t even seen the second movie yet. I loved the first movie so much, and the second and third books really hit me hard every time I read them. I don’t want to lose that intense emotion I feel for the story, so I keep waiting and waiting to watch it. I own a copy of it, so one of these days I’ll bite the bullet and start it. I’ll probably wait until Part II is out in theaters before I watch the third movie though.
Yeah I’m on the fence about the seeing the rest of the HG movies too. I enjoyed the third book Mockingjay but I’m not totally sure which book was my favorite of the trilogy. They each had something I liked.
Well, you directed me here with your comment on my blog. I have read all three books and I know there was some negativity about splitting the last book in two. We can’t control Hollywood. I have read all the books and seen Mockingjay Part One. I think it is all good, especially for the teens who are fans. See my review: http://www.keepthewisdom.blogspot.com/2016/03/mockingjay.html