As I purchased Mockingjay a week after its release, I was anxious to read the conclusion to Suzanne Collins’s successful series of books. After two intense, action-packed, and gripping novels, this last book should be no exception. However, after four hours of sitting on the couch with my eyes glued to the paper, I finished the book and found myself slightly confused. I still don’t know if I can fully appreciate this conclusion to the trilogy which has become so popular.
The third and final installment of the Hunger Games series—Mockingjay, written by Suzanne Collins—was released August 24, 2010. It was preceded by the Hunger Games and Catching Fire, which followed a protagonist named Katniss Everdeen who lives in a futuristic world. Katniss was forced to compete in an annual game (The Hunger Games) where there can only be one survivor. Katniss defied the capital by allowing one other survivor; this act of defiance changes not only her life, but the rest of her world as she knows it (which is shown in Catching Fire).
Catching Fire left two major cliffhangers (spoiler alert!). First, Peeta, Katniss’ love interest, and a main character were taken hostage by the capital; and secondly, Katniss’ home, District 12, was destroyed. Now, at the end of this book I was extremely distraught by these cliffhangers. I was forced to wait a complete year until the conclusion (which is frustrating yet also one of the reasons why the trilogy is so enjoyable), and the outcomes of these events could be discovered. In Mockingjay, one of these cliffhangers is immediately addressed. As the book progresses, issues are resolved, and only a few were created (one of the main differences between this book and the other two in the trilogy). Personally, I enjoyed the conclusion of the conflicts because they weren’t extremely happy; in fact, most of them were quite depressing, making for a refreshing change in the world of modern novels.
My favorite part of this trilogy, besides the melancholy ending, was that there was plenty of room for personal thoughts and opinions. The author did not give all of the information away in the book which is always a positive in the world of literature. As this novel is science fiction and set in a futuristic world, there was plenty of room for me to infer and make conclusions along the way. Although it wasn’t a challenging read, I felt there were underlying meanings that are lacking in other teen books.
I regrettably admit that this trilogy is becoming an annoying teenager fad. I can only hope that it does not retrogress to that of the level of Twilight. This would be a shame, as the trilogy deserves more respect and honor than the Twilight series. This series is not only written well but tells an intriguing story and has depth to it that should not be degraded by teenagers making “I love Peeta shirts” (crossing my fingers that this should not happen).
My parting words to this series are that it truly encased me in its story. Through these three years, I never knew what would occur next and always looked forward to the next chapter in the book. I was challenged by underlying meanings and was pleased with the not-so-happy ending in Mockingjay. Although I had a couple of issues with the conclusion and some vital questions that weren’t addressed, the final book met my standards that were set according to the phenomenal first two books in the series. After three books, hundreds of pages, and one captivating story, Suzanne Collins had me enthralled in her world forever.