Unlike my usual reviews, I won't include a summary of the plot because, unlike me regular reviews, this isn't a review but simply a wrap-up in order to give you my views on the third and final book in The Hunger Games series. That being said, I am turning off reader comments on this post because I don't want anything being said that will lead to spoiling a person who comes on here to view the spoiler free review.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mockingjay. Fans of the series, you know that in both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Katniss was faced with similar events. Not so true for Mockingjay which is what I loved the most. Characters only mentioned in the other books had a chance to grow and develop into the roles Suzanne Collins determined for them, which was great to see.
This is not to say there won't be laughter, tears, gasps, and cries (there will), but that is to be expected from a book of this nature. Readers of the Harry Potter series will remember their reactions to the final book in that series and can relate it to their reactions to this simply because it is the final book and reading the words THE END on the final page of a series you enjoy is always bittersweet.
Shockingly, the twists in Mockingjay didn't surprise me as much as the twists in the other books, but perhaps this was because I have grown used to the writing style. It may also be that I was reading too quickly for anything to sink in, but I truly and completely enjoyed this.
Those little paragraphs are all I can say about the novel without spoiling it for anyone. After reading, I know how important it is that no one knows what happens until they read it for themselves. The power the novel has is decreased in learning what happens and I hope everyone else will respect other's choice not to be spoiled.
In other news, for those of you who don't know, I attended a midnight release for Mockingjay at Magic Tree bookstore in Oak Park, IL, which was a lot of fun. You can view their reports (also spoiler free) from the night or view my personal pictures from the event if you would like to see the man costumes and lots of fun we had. I walked away with quite a few prizes including a Mockingjay bookmark, a couple fake tattoos, and a very cool key chain featuring the mockingjay, a lump of coal, and Peeta's pearl.
In further news, Suzanne Collins will be attending a book event at this bookstore in October, which I will also be attending and will write a full post on after the event. Until then, I offer this simple phrase to those who have read Mockingjay.
Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be, if
we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.
