"Not what I expected, but . . ."
My first reaction to the conclusion was that the book lacked a certain sense of triumph. I wanted good things to happen to characters who I'd come to love. However, I have listened to the book twice, read it once and re-read the last few chapters a number of times. I think Collins point was to make the book as war-like as possible. There is loss. There are many, many things that the survivors will never recover from, yet they live. I thought Collins conveyed the sacrifice of change very well. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.