Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

     Hello y'all!! So I am in the process of rereading the Hunger Games Series. I am almost done with Mockingjay! And I have got to say it is almost MORE sad the second time than it was the first time! Mostly because you know what is going to happen but there is NOTHING you can do to stop it!!! :( Sometimes I feel like if I just will a book to change... it will! Then I go off in my own little world and think about all that could happen if it did. But alas... It never does! :( 
     So for those of you that have not read Mockingjay or Catchingfire OR Hunger Games (watching ONLY the movies does NOT count!!) then you might want to stop reading this... and go read them before you finish this blog! :( Because I guarantee you there will most likely be spoilers... because well I've never been real good at not giving SOME things away when describing a book or movie... So let us begin!
     So in Catchingfire, Peeta and Katniss get engaged (forceably by President Snow) and go on their Victory Tour, which all Hunger Games Victors must go on through the Districts of Panem. When they get back from the tour they find out that they are going to be in the 75th Hunger Games. While in the arena this time though they are the ones that team up with others. Amongst the few they group up with is a man named Finnick Odair, who you come to realize isn't always what he seems and who you just keep finding new layers to. Finnick ends up saving Katniss and Peeta on numerous occassions. Once they all discover the secrets of the arena and the numbers dwindle to single digits, Katniss, with the help of a new ally they make in the arena called Beetee, blows up the arena force field allowing them to escape. Unfortunately their original plan, which wasn't known to Katniss or Peeta, didn't go as planned and the two get separated. You find out at the beginning of Mockingjay that the rebel forces, that have been growing and headquartered in the apparently "obliterated" District 13, have rescued Katniss, Finnick and Beetee, but that Peeta was left behind in the arena and captured by the Capitol. You also find out that because of Katniss's actions in the arena District 12 has been punished by being blown up, which only about 10% of the population escaped from. Throughout the book Katniss takes up her role as Mockingjay to help bring the districts together to overthrow the Capitol. All the while she is scared of what the Capitol is doing to Peeta. Periodically President Snow has Peeta give a short interview which is broadcast over all of Panem. On the last of these interviews Peeta warns the people of District 13 that they are going to be bombed, which leads to his beating, and what you later find out to be tortured and "hijacked". When Peeta is rescued shortly afterwards he has been altered so much so that when he first reunites with Katniss he tries to kill her. Slowly they try to help rehabilitate him, and slowly make small steps. Then they all, Katniss, Peeta, Gale and Finnick all end up going to the Capitol to take it over. 
     This is the part that I am at. And it has been quite interesting rereading it because I've rediscovered small things... and after I've thought over the theme of the books, new things come up all together. I've also had a few discussions as of late as to the motives of characters and themes of the books as a whole. The part that is getting to me is that the parts that are the most painful and sad to read, since I've read it before, are almost worse than the first time!! :( It is probably worse because I know it is going to happen and I try my hardest to will it differently but it just doesn't change. As I said in my first paragraph. :) But in general I think this is the book that encompasses and portrays all the underlying themes that have come up minorly in the two previous books. It all weaves together into a full picture, which gives the read the whole sense of what the books are meaning. I love it!
     There is one aspect of the books that burns my biscuits, and it actually has very little to do with the books and more to do with the readers of the books! Ever since Twilight, readers of similar books feel the need to divide up love triangles, real or imagined, into teams. In Twilight you had Team Jacob vs. Team Edward and now we have Team Peeta vs. Team Gale. The book does have a romance, yes, but it is a minor thing in the book. Not necessarily that it isn't in the book often, but it is symbolic and isn't just about the romance. It is about different choices, how different people bring out different things in us, so many different things. And people have taken the idea and symbolism behind that and turned it into something that isn't as important as some of the real ideas of the book. You have themes like humanity, keeping our principles in tough situations, standing up for those that can't defend themselves, and not choosing entertainment over our moral standards. But by all means lets ONLY take the romance out of the book. I've read a review or two about how the romance seems forced, which at TIMES it does, but it is a nice add to the book, it draws in more people, it makes it more relateable to modern day times, and it gives more suspense to the book. I mean in the first book it is forced at times, but you see it really blossom into a mature relationship instead of a means of survival. It just makes me sad that so many people are picking up ONLY the romance and not the really important messages that the author was trying to convey. 
     If you haven't read the books because you haven't gotten to it or because you think it conveys a bad message because the first book is about kids killing kids, I respect you for not budging on your moral standards. But I want to let people know that there is more to it than just violence and gore, it is about standing up for what you believe, which is why I MUST commend your steadfastness to your principles. 
     All-in-all I would say I like this book better the second time around. The first time I thought it was too doom and gloom, but now that I have come back around to it in the circle of books, I can see how all the themes and morals and ideas of the book come together and become really prominent in this one book. And I will change my last review (star-wise) from four stars out of five, to five out of five.

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