Mockingjay: The Final Book of The Hunger Games

As to be expected whenever a book that you have grown to enjoy comes to an end, you get a bitter sweet feeling. It gets worse when the book ends in a way that you don't really perceive it...

The book was narrated well enough; I think it was done far better in this book more due to the fact that the mental state of the characters in this book suited the narrator's strong area. The narrator does tortured/confused very well... you'll get what I mean when/if you listen to the book.

The book was bitter-sweet at the best. I feel sorry for how scarred and broken most of the characters ended up IMHO and the end of the book seemed somewhat rushed to me. It was good... but not great, definitely not up to the standard of the previous 2 books, but it was good enough. Not horrible to the point where it is unreadable of course, just bitter-sweet overall...

Ah... I think after the strong ending in "catching fire" that mockingjay might become more action oriented.

What I didn't bargain on was the book becoming so dark and for so long. I guess Hunger Games and Catching Fire had element of colourful naive adventure in them. Mockingjay is not colourless but dark, confronting and causes a ruckus of emotion in the listener.

I can understand people not liking the book - because it isn't what they had signed up for. They had signed up for light YA games. This is the mature adult reality of life. Suzanne Collins causes the readers to grow up to these issues quite quickly. They need to realise that the book is still beautifully written and narrated. There is still a story and a message.

I think the ending gives closure but not the warm pleasant feeling of a happy ending. Everyone must wish that certain bloody events didn't occur.

Definite worth listening but be warned - don't expect everyone to come unscathed and DO keep tissues handy.

I found this to be a wonderful ending to this epic trilogy. It went on so many twists and turns that I had no idea where it would end up. I would guess what would happen next, and though I was right, the book would amp up what just happened to levels I wasn't expecting. It is quite violent, but that's the nature of the series, and I applaud it for being so gritty. All in all, this is a series that should be read. Dark? Yes, but also quite moving.

As for the narration, I found it to be excellent. Carolyn McCormick did an excellent job of mixing up her voice for the various characters without being silly. Some of the voices, basically those of Capitol characters, might have seemed a bit silly, but that actually fit the characters best. All in all, she did a superb job!

What do we expect of war? Why does every book have to have a happy ending? Because life does not. I can only imagine how people who have seen the starving, dieing and murdered end up living their lives. Loosing everyone they love, watching them die. Killing people they do not know.

Though I would have hoped for a more happy ending, a better love story between the characters, we have enough romance novels out there to read to make up for this ending. This book is true to war. True to how people are used for a cause that can cause them to go mad.

I am sure if they make a movie it will have a happier ending... Hollywood does that, rewrites the story. But this book though depressing, makes you think about life around you and how you might be one of the citizens in today. Which district do you live in? The Capital, never starving, always clothed and warm? How does this book help you see the world around you.

The way things are portrayed via news and real life. What people see and how it's twisted and used for their own political purposes. How the Media easily manipulates the mind of the citizens and has for thousands of years in human history.

The constant struggle between being in charge of your own mind, opinions or are we manipulated for entertainment?

It just keeps you thinking....

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.

This trilogy has to be one of my favorite book series, and this book is a fantastic end to a fantastic trilogy, with a twisted ending. As with all the books it is a quick read, and I think the target audience really is for both adults and teens, but not any younger.

The characters all have major faults and change throughout the book in what I would call a realistic way. One major point to remember is that Katniss is NOT the heroine of the story, but rather a pawn of politics, if you are expecting her to be the great hero in the story you will be sadly disappointed. This book has a different feel than the two other books which are based around the actual Hunger Games, this one's setting is the battlefield between the Districts and the Capitol. This book is very much a tragedy and does not have the type of happy ending ending I was hoping for, although it does tie up the loose ends and I think tried to make the best of the situation and had a very natural and realistic end.

After reading some of the other reviews I was not sure how much I would like this last book. However I knew I had to read it so I would know how the story ended. I am so glad I put the opinion of others aside and read with an open mind to decide for myself if it was a worthy read.
I don't think the book could have ended any other way. This is not a story about sunshine and roses (no pun intended). It is about children forced to pay for the sins of their ancestors. The whole subject of the series is dark and disturbing and if you go into it knowing it is not going to be a feel good story your appreciation of the ending is greatly enhanced.
Katniss is not a super hero she is a teenager who has been physically, emotionally, and mentally abused. She has been put upon a pedestal against her will and expected to know all the answers, when in fact she is just a child trying to make her way in a harsh cruel world.
I like the fact that she doesn't have all the answers, that she breaks down and not always does what is expected. This makes her a much more believable character, much more human. If you pay attention to the personalities of the characters in the story they are all flawed, so it would not fit if she always knew and did the right thing.
This is a story about real people with all their faults, not super heroes, which is what makes the story a much better read.
The story line is dark and tragic and if you are not able to read about bad things happening to children this is not the series you want to read. It is not a feel good story, but it is very thought provoking. It will make you have second thoughts about the state of our world as we know it today.

I was completely in love after reading Hunger Games. I anxiously waited for Catching Fire and likewise counted the months, then days for the release of Mockingjay. I finished the book, and was just sitting, staring. My husband asked me if I was okay. I wasn't sure. The book was jarring and left me depressed.

The author is a wonderful writer and narrator was great, but the story was grossly disappointing. It always seems that the last chapter of trilogy books are a fast forward, tying up loose ends but there is no depth, just a few words of resolution for the reader. Mockingjay feel into that trap. I adored the first, less so the second because of its abrupt ending, but I was very disappointed in the final installment.

Mockingjay was my favorite out of the series. All three books were wonderful and had their own strengths but Mockingjay was my favorite. This series is funny at times, heartbreaking at times, and infuriating the rest of the time. I do not want to give anything away so all I will say is that if you have read the first two books and think you have seen the worst of it you are wrong some of the things that happen in this book were enough to drive the listener crazy with why’s and how’s. This was a great end to a wonderful series. I now need to take a break and relisten to something to give my mind time to get away from The Hunger Games Series (I can still hear The Hanging Tree, it’s haunting). As with the first two books I would recommend Catching Fire to any adult and leave it up to the parents of children since these books are very violent.

I have read many poor reviews for this final book in the Mockingjay series - to the extent I almost did not read it. Thank goodness I decided to put those aside and form my own opinions. I don't leave this series full of disappointment , frustration or angst. I depart feeling saddened but encouraged - knowing a long due resolution and sense of completeness and hope was provided to the much abused characters.

I was worried I would regret investing in the main characters, but the opposite is true. The author provided both a compelling storyline and a fulfilling resolution to the many difficulties faced throughout this series.

As to those who lament the darkness of the story, the destruction of life, or the poor development of characters - I say they must be idealistically naive souls who have yet to face the realities of this life. There was no indescriminate destruction of life, but a sorrowful depiction of what so often occurs during those horrible situations so commonly arising during war. As to character development, how would you imagine a teenager thrown into horror movie scenarios in an attempt to protect her little sister's life, only to lose so much to the very people she thought were on her side in the end would be affected? To have all illusions shattered at such a critical and tumultuous age would be mind-numbing and life altering at best. Most people would never recover to the point they could live normal lives following such torturous abuse. These strong characters manage to give others hope by not only surviving, but in choosing to LIVE. If you were to lose all that mattered most to you, be physically tortured and mentally attacked brutally and repeatedly, would you be strong enough to face your fears and choose to continue? To be part of a new and hopefully better world? I commend the author for her depth of commitment to an honest depiction and her strength imbued to characters enabling them to embrace the hope needed to survive.