My Overall Rating:
3.7/5

Age Recommendation:
This book steps up the violence and gore a bit more than Catching Fire did. It is a lot more brutal of a tale and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has read the other books already. If you are a young reader, I would say that you most definitely cannot have a light stomach to handling violence and gore. Your strong reading abilities will not help you there. This books takes emotional turns that were not even attempted in the other two.

Cover Art:
My usual statement for this series remains. Simple. Clean. Elegant. Eye catching. Doesn't give away a thing. These covers continue to capture my eye and draw me to them whenever I see them. It is now a symbol with immense meaning that can be incorporated into our own lives in today's world.

Summary:
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

My Thoughts:
With how impressed and in love I am with the first two novels in the trilogy, my hopes were set incredibly high for the epic conclusion. Collins, however, had other ideas. It seems as though she was trying to please every single reader with outcomes rather than creating a single, solid, and undeniable ending. For the most part, a lot of things were left up in the air and I had questions. So many questions. If I can get a hold of her, I would absolutely love to do an interview with Suzanne to talk about why she did what she did in the finale of her amazing series.

This final chapter of the trilogy tests a lot of factors in the character's lives. This book is mentally and emotionally trying, which is quite impressive since Collins' writing style is so simple. So much happens in this book that at times I think that it could have been split into two separate novels creating a saga which would have given more time for her to expand on the story and not leave readers with so many unanswered questions. But so much of it is necessary to happen all in one book to create the continuous flow of events that Suzanne has spun for us.

This book took me on a roller coaster of adventure, pain, love, and joy. While a lot of this book did not sit well with me, I could not put it down at all. Just like her other books, this was an absolute page turner. So much happens to Katniss that it's almost unfathomable how one person could have so much bad luck in life.

The entire series is incredibly re-readable and you definitely cannot borrow these books. You definitely have to own them in some way, shape, or form. It is an amazing series that you will be drawn to again and again.

Mockingjayby Suzanne Collins
Pages: 400
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: August 24, 2010
Purchased from store