Mockingjay (The Hunger Games) - Hardcover

Suzanne Collins

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0439023513 ISBN 13: 9780439023511

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2010

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

Suzanne Collins is the inter­nationally bestselling author of the Hunger Games series, which also includes the novels The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Together, the books have sold over 100 million copies and were the basis for five popular films. Her other books include the acclaimed Underland Chronicles series, which begins with Gregor the Overlander, and the picture book Year of the Jungle, illustrated by James Proimos. To date, her books have been published in fifty-three languages around the world.

Reviews

Grade 7 Up Following her subversive second victory in the Games, this one composed of winners from past years, Katniss has been adopted by rebel factions as their symbol for freedom and becomes the rallying point for the districts in a desperate bid to take down the Capitol and remove President Snow from power. But being the Mockingjay comes with a price as Katniss must come to terms with how much of her own humanity and sanity she can willingly sacrifice for the cause, her friends, and her family. Collins is absolutely ruthless in her depictions of war in all its cruelty, violence, and loss, leaving readers, in turn, repulsed, shocked, grieving and, finally, hopeful for the characters they've grown to empathize with and love. Mockingjay is a fitting end of the series that began with The Hunger Games (2008) and Catching Fire (2009) and will have the same lasting resonance as William Golding's Lord of the Flies and Stephen King's The Stand. However, the book is not a stand-alone; readers do need to be familiar with the first two titles in order to appreciate the events and characters in this one. Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK (c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

As might be expected for the last volume of a series whose popularity is just below that of Twilight and Harry Potter, much of the ink spent on Mockingjay recreates the great anticipation for the final volume and assures readers it is worth it. Many critics were unwilling to reveal any details of the plot, but those who did argued that what really makes Mockinjay entirely gripping is how it continues to successfully explore the violence and moral ambiguity raised by the first two books. Reviewers were also happy to add Katniss to the list of endearingly kick-ass young female action heroes. "This dystopic-fantasy series," noted the Washington Post, "has had such tremendous crossover appeal that teens and parents may discover themselves vying for--and talking about--the family copy of Mockingjay."

*Starred Review* The highly anticipated conclusion to the Hunger Games trilogy does not disappoint. If anything, it may give readers more than they bargained for: in action, in love, and in grief. When the book opens, Katniss has survived her ordeal at the Quarter Quell, and she and her family are safe in District 13. Gale is there as well, but Peeta is being held at the Capitol as President Snow’s very special prisoner. Events move quickly, but realization unfolds slowly as Katniss learns that she has been a pawn in more ways than she ever supposed and that her role as the face of the revolution is one with unanticipated consequences, including a climbing death toll for which she holds herself personally responsible. Collins does several things brilliantly, not the least of which is to provide heart-stopping chapter endings that turn events on their heads and then twist them once more. But more ambitious is the way she brings readers to questions and conclusions about war throughout the story. There’s nothing didactic here, and the rush of the narrative sometimes obscures what message there is. Yet readers will instinctively understand what Katniss knows in her soul, that war mixes all the slogans and justifications, the deceptions and plans, the causes and ideals into an unsavory stew whose taste brings madness. That there is still a human spirit yearning for good is the book’s primrose of hope. Grades 6-12. --Ilene Cooper

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0439023513
• ISBN 13: 9780439023511
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 391