I have no words. For a writer/blogger, that's got to say something. OK, maybe I'm over exaggerating. I do have words. I'd just prefer to keep this blog PG. This is the fifth draft of a review post I've tried to write in the last couple of days. Yes, I know that sounds crazily obsessive but to be fair the word obsession is in the name of my blog so I feel I can take some liberties. In the end, I decided I couldn't do it. This is not a review. It is merely a list of things I think/FEEL after finishing Mockingjay (CLICK AWAY NOW if you haven't finished reading the series):
1. Suzanne Collins is, if nothing else, an author who knows to to make her readers question everything.
2. I cannot stand the thing Katniss has become.
3. F-bomb to Finnick, Boggs, Prim and everyone elses pointless death.
4. Gale is neither cold nor heartless and I have stockpiled dozens of quotes to prove it, but I think I'd be walking the path into dangerous crazy territory if I open that trapdoor.
I will however allow myself this one concession:
'I wonder how she'll make up her mind.'
'Oh, that I do know.' I can just catch Gale's last words through the layer of fur. 'Katniss will pick whoever she thinks she can't survive without.'Yes, Katniss certainly did make her choice based on survival. I don't mind that she ended up with Peeta. I really like Peeta. If anything, I think Peeta is too good for her. What burns me is Gale's character assassination when all he has ever been is supportive of her. I wish she would have taken the purple pill. ARGH! Massive case of the the biggest pot in the world calling the kettle black.
I am now going to go and blog stalk Forever Young Adult because they seem to be the only salve I can find to soothe my outrage.
I take it you didn't like it, then? :) I was really disappointed with it! I agree I hated all the pointless deaths, especially (SPOILER) Prim - it felt like the WHOLE SERIES and all the death and pain that had come before had been for nothing. Katniss volunteered to save Prim, Prim died anyway. It made me so angry. I hated the way Katniss and Gale both seemed to change in this one, too, and I really didn't like the bleak ending.
ReplyDeleteIt's still a great series, but doesn't end as strongly as it starts I feel.
Oh! In my rage I completely forgot to mention that! Yes, I did like the book in general. Still great storytelling and breakneck action. I just felt Katniss and Gale slipping away and didn't understand why it needed to be done. If anything I think Katniss' character regressed in this book. Sigh, I wonder if there is a HG Trilogy therapy group?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Belle about Prim, that was the one moment I felt unforgivable. The rest I didn't mind so much. I agree that Peeta was too good for her, and his character confused me on occasion. I couldn't really figure out why he was obsessed with her. Gale on the other hand I got, and I never blamed one bit.
ReplyDeleteI wanted a happy ending, so was a little disappointed, but they are still great books! ^_^
Beth! "Gale on the other hand I got, and I never blamed one bit." This line has just made my day. I'm so glad there's someone else out there who doesn't think Gale is a horrible person. I didn't necessarily want a happy ending, I just didn't really believe the one we got. I still love the series though. I'll just try and forget how it ends.
ReplyDeleteIn Gale's mind, I thought he wanted to fight to end oppression for his people. I get that Katniss saw a different side, but he didn't. I love discussing The Hunger Games. ^_^
ReplyDeleteHaha I basically ranted about Mockingjay in my review. I really didn't like the last book ... which was really disappointing because I loved the first one!
ReplyDeleteBeth: I love discussing Hunger Games too! I guess I'm so cut up about Gale because given the same situation I can see myself doing exactly as he did. The Capitol needed to be brought down and there wasn't much of a choice. It's not like he just killed people indiscriminately or enjoyed it. I hated that Katniss judged him so much when she wasn't exactly a saint. It just irkes me when people say he 'changed' or turned bad in Mockingjay. To me he was still the same guy. He saved Katniss and Prim (AGAIN!) he risked his life to save Peeta (AGAIN!) and he wouldn't leave Katniss' side the whole time. I don't know how much more he could have showed that he loved her. No he wasn't painting her pretty pictures but so what? ARGH!!!! I've thought about this too much.
ReplyDeleteJinny: I'll have a read of your review when I get home from work. I'm not so much disappointed at the book, more at some reactions to it.
Chiming in on the Gale debate - Lan, that was my problem with Gale, not that he was fighting etc, but that he DID leave Katniss' side, twice, when she really need him.
ReplyDeleteBelle: I had to skip read a bit at the end otherwise I wouldn't have been able to go on, but the only times I can remember Gale not being there was after Katniss told him she would never be able to look at him again without thinking of Prims death and by that stage she had treated him so horribly that I didn't care anymore. I'm prob a bit hard line about it but after being strung along for ages I don't blame Gale for deciding to leave. One minute she was saying she was glad he was gone and the next she was screaming for his help and blaming him for not bring there. And that's prob my biggest issue, Katniss just went nuts. It's all too speculative. We should try and round up Suzanne Collins for a please explain session!
ReplyDeleteGood point, Katniss didn't feel like Katniss by the end of it. She lost all her fight, and it was horrible. Yeah Collins has got some 'splaining to do ;)
ReplyDeleteI've had reactions like that....where I just had no words for the review so wound up not reviewing it. At least you were able to list what did and didn't work for you! Am I the last person in the world who hasn't read this series??? *L*
ReplyDeleteAlexia: I only wrote this post because I want to go on a long winded rant :) Don't let my annoyance stop you from reading this series please. I love it much more than my current hatred for the ending!
ReplyDeleteEveryone: Thanks for typing it out with me guys. I am now in a more placid place. You guys rock!
I was very emotional about Mockingjay, too. I don't mind Gale's character development so much - I understand why he does the things that he does. I just hate the way Katniss talks about him at the end, saying she doesn't see him anymore. He was her best friend all her life! She lost so many people she can't get back; it is pointless to cut Gale off.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Peeta and Katniss' life together seemed horrible and they were only 17/18. Did they really spend the rest of their lives sitting in the garden during the day and having terrors at night? I wish Katniss had gotten involved in the new government and worked on improving the world. It was harsh to see a strong role model end up broken like that. I guess that was the point, though - that war destroys everything.
TG: I cannot agree with you more. Gale's character development is nothing but understandable. Katniss' wasn't. After reading the epilogue again, to make myself feel better, I am going to chose to believe that even though Gale isn't mentioned it doesn't mean that Katniss doesn't see him anymore. I mean, it's been 20 years and Panem is a small place. they can't avoid each other forever...
ReplyDeleteLan: That's a good thought about Katniss and Gale; I'll choose to believe that, too.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! (How did I miss this post? My bad!)
ReplyDeleteI actually liked the way the series ended. It seemed to me that after all the struggles and agonies Katniss faced, a "happily ever after" wouldn't have fit. In fact, if the ending had wrapped everything up neat and tidy and happy (*cough* Breaking Dawn *cough*) I'd have probably hated it.
The way I see it, it would have been impossible for Katniss to survive what happened to Prim without serious scars. Equally impossible for her to ever be with Gale again, given his role in it - fair or not, he played a part in hurting her, and she's not the lovey-dovey forgiving sort.
Ultimately, the theme of the novels is survival - and survivors are changed people. You don't go through what Katniss did and come out the other side happy, whole, and undamaged.
(I admit, though, that I bawled like a baby. Just because I thought the ending was good, doesn't mean it made me feel good!)
BJ: I don't have any issues with the way the book ended and I agree that surviving war changes people. Overall I didn't mind the ending. I just don't think it was very fair to Gale the way Katniss treated him. Similarly, I had no issue with Katniss picking Peeta if that's who she wanted. Just don't make out that Gale was some kind of monster :(
ReplyDeleteHehe. I love it
ReplyDeleteOooh, Lan, I SO understand EVERYTHING you've mentioned here. All your anger and frustrations... I felt them too. And yeah... it's almost like Gale was villainised to make the choice the easier...
ReplyDeleteBut as much as I didn't like who Katniss became, and I was so upset with certain parts of the book, and the unneccessary deaths... I kind of can't imagine it happening any other way? The series was always unflinching and uncompromising, and ALWAYS tinged with ugliness... I think a happy ending would have been... I don't know, WRONG somehow for the series? It was SO upsetting, but with everything that happened to Katniss over the course of the series, I can't imagine her having become anyone else other than she did...
Was SO sad... and so... yeah.
It's kind of like.. I admired the book, though I didn't necessarily ENJOY it, if you know what I mean?