Mockingjay Book Review

Major Spoilers are included in this book review. Please read with caution.

On July 27, 2020, I started reading the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy—Mockingjay—and finished on July 30, 2020. This was my second time experiencing the series, and I’m grateful to have read them not only to prepare for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, but also to have fictional context on what’s been happening in the world lately due to the coronavirus pandemic, Black Lives Matter Movement 2020, the police brutality currently happening in Portland and other parts of the United States, in addition to the chaos of the 2020 Presidential Election that will determine our fate for the next four years. Finding the strength—and time—to read anything has been a struggle.

Unlike my reading experiences with The Hunger Games or Catching Fire, I didn’t have the best time reading Mockingjay due to high expectations. This was the case when I read the novel back in high school, and that opinion hadn’t really changed during this second readthrough. While the previous two books dealt with Katniss’ need for survival in the Games, this novel dealt with more political issues and a growing war that pressured Katniss more mentally than physically. As a result, the action-survival narrative present in those novels weren’t present in Mockingjay. Instead, the novel was more focused on war and how it affected the innocents caught in the crossfire in addition to the soldiers—on both sides—like Katniss and Peeta.

Mockingjay starts with Katniss Everdeen dealing with physical and mental trauma following the tragic events of Catching Fire. However, she wasn’t given sufficient time to fully recover since the Rebellion against the Capitol had gone full swing into action. She must step up as the Mockingjay—the living symbol of District 13’s Rebellion—to keep the flames alive. Although most of District 12 was destroyed by the Capitol, the survivors were able to take refuge in District 13’s underground bunker.

District 13—a district thought destroyed seventy or so years ago—only allowed the survivors into their home though for more gene pool potential due to their numbers dwindling and their need for Katniss to become their Mockingjay. District 13’s reasoning tells a lot about them as a society and how it may not be all that different from how the Capitol runs things. Everyone at District 13’s dietary consumption is micromanaged down to the last calorie, and the residents—including District 12 refugees—are tattooed with daily schedules every morning. While the Capitol robs the world of their freedom using fear and oppression, I wouldn’t call the life District 13 is living exactly freedom either.

While I did enjoy these aspects of the novel on some level, I missed the survival elements shown in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. The ending to the trilogy seemed like the ideal way to go, but it felt rushed and slow at the same time reaching that conclusion to The Hunger Games Saga. Objectively, I think Suzanne Collins succeeded on what she wanted to do regarding plot points and themes, but it wasn’t the type of story I found particularly interesting or profound.

Would I still recommend the entire trilogy?

Honestly, I would still recommend the series as a whole. It’s a good book series to read and educate yourself—through fictional lenses—about oppressive governments, military occupations, and the need to survive their Games. Thanks for reading my book review, everyone! Let’s keep it reading with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes next, the prequel to The Hunger Games! I’ve fully prepared myself to dive into President Snow’s past!