Review: The Hunger Games Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Warning: may contain spoilers
Katniss Everdeen returns in the explosive Hunger Games finale, Mockingjay. It contains all of the thrills and drama we've come to expect from the series, with a lot of surprises along the way. In fact, my boyfriend kept poking fun at all of the different facial expressions I kept making while engrossed in this book. I'm sure I expressed a wide collection of emotions! 
Picking up from Catching Fire, Katniss learns that her hometown, District 12, has been destroyed by the Capitol. She is thrust into the world of District 13 and the secret rebels who plan to overthrow President Snow and end The Hunger Games forever.
Katniss is chosen as the 'mockingjay', thanks to her iconic badge, the face of the revolution. Mockingjay has a very different feel than the previous two books (which I loved! You can check out the review here and here). The war rages on, and although we see a lot of strength from various characters, we see a more vulnerable Katniss. Some readers were disappointed by this, expecting her to be the strong and fearless girl she was in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, however, I think Mockingjay brought a more realistic element to the "girl on fire".
When put into context, Katniss had survived two arenas, watched countless people die, saw her friends tortured and saw her hometown burned to the ground. But she still managed to come out of the other side. In doesn't matter if her fire isn't as strong, the fact that she still has some left is remarkable! 
I really enjoyed Mockingjay as it gave you a perspective as to what happened after the games and what the real motives were. There's a real power struggle between President Snow and President Coin of District 13, who Katniss doesn't know if she can trust. This element was a great edition to the series.
The only thing that got slightly tedious was the love triangle between Katniss, Gale and Peeta. And although I loved reading about her complicated and deep history with both boys (I'm team Peeta, in case you were wondering), I felt like shouting "come on, there's more important things to think about! Like the war!"
Overall, a great book and a brilliant end to a great series. I can't wait to see the second instalment of the film in November!

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