Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins Review - No spoilers

As the movie is only a few months away I decided now it's the best time to write a review of the book. "Mockingjay" is the third novel in "The Hunger Games" series and it's the conclusion of it.

The book is the definitely the darkest one in the series. In it you get to study even deeper the effects of the games over Katniss a.k.a. PTSD and paranoia. She is still the tough girl we met a while back but only more careful and mature. She tries to take after her friends and family like never before and yet she is not capable to fully protect them from The Capitol. She suffers and tortures herself from the fact she hadn't been able to keep Peeta safe.

She becomes a symbol for the rebels and tries her best not to fall apart in front of everyone that counts on her. Due to the 1st person point of view we're able to find out what she really feels and get to relate to her. This POV though, feels kind of limited. It would have been better if it were written in 3rd person's view or in a dual one. I just felt like I needed to see what really happens in the Capitol and see what's going on with Peeta. Fortunately, in the movie we will see what's been going on in the Capitol.

Honestly, I don't think I loved the book. I am not saying it was bad, by all means. It was a really good novel just love is not the right word. This book was the most severe one of the three. It had much more emotional depth and it was harder to read. It was a really fast-paced book and a few times I needed to stop reading and reconcile what had happened.

The author puts a few questions to wonder upon like if you should show mercy to those who haven't shown one to you or where would you draw the line and how far are you willing to go to save the ones you love.

This is not an anti-war book as some might think. At least I wouldn't say it is. Actually it tries to make us ask ourselves what justifies war and where we should draw the line. Not for us not to fight but to know exactly what's worth fighting for.

                                 “Fire is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us!”

Several main characters die. It hurt me while I was reading the scenes but I felt they were necessary. The last, several pages were the thing that made up for the entire intensity and heaviness worth it. I am not sure which is the right word for that but maybe bittersweet. It has this sort of message that lives still goes on even though we can't really imagine how it would.

Despite the fact many people think the ending was disappointing it wasn't to me. Actually, it is the thought that it's the end that does. I felt as if I had lost something after I read the last word. I am glad it ended the way it did because, honestly I can't think of a better way it could have been written.

“My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am seventeen years old. My home is District 12. I was in the Hunger Games. I escaped. The Capitol hates me. Why am I not dead? I should be dead.”
Overall, I felt this book was good but not as good as "Catching Fire" but still managed to be the epic conclusion I was expecting. It was an emotional ride that just ripped my heart out and was so fast-paced I barely got a chance to catch my breath.

The third movie hits theaters in November worldwide.

                                      My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

                           

CINDER BY MARISSA MEYER REVIEW (SPOILER-FREE)

           

 Cinder is a sci-fi, dystopian novel, which is written by Marissa Meyer. When I started reading the book, I couldn’t put it down.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

It is loosely based on the classic fairytale “Cinderella”. Everything takes place in New Beijing 100+ years after the 5^th World War. Cinder is gifted mechanic and a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction.

The book is fast-paced and written extremely well. It is told from 3^rd person’s POV which was a good choice. There is a lot of foreshadowing in it. I am not quite sure if I like that because you find out many things before the characters themselves and everything leads to these huge reveals and turns.

The characters are relatable and very well build. Especially the evil stepmother cliché. God, I wanted to punch that woman.  Same goes for Queen Levana.

Cinder was not your typical girl character. She was strong and seeked for information herself. As I said I could relate to her with ease.  She was very believable and wasn’t irritating. This can be said about Kai too, excluding the fact that he is naïve.

I was impressed the plot. It was original and had very few plot holes, which I barely noticed. That ending, though. I knew partly what was about to happen from the foreshadowing but I did not suspect everything that happened. There were twists. Everything was leading up to it. That’s all I can say without giving away any spoilers.

In short, Cinder was a riveting read, which is a rollercoaster of emotions through the characters experiences and it’s just fascinating. Marissa Meyer has done a very good job at writing this story with believable characters.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The sequels “Scarlet” and “Cress” are on sale now.

I have no rights over the photos.