Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

           Packed with many violent actions, the novel, Mockingjay, is the final book of Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, The Hunger Games. The story continues from the previous book, Catching Fire, when Katniss Everdeen escapes the Quarter Quell with the help of the rebels from District 13, who wants her to be the face of the rebellion against the Capitol. In fighting on the rebels' side, Katniss finds herself trapped in an even more terrible version of the Hunger Games.

            A specific incident that occurred in this book is when Peeta is captured by the Capitol after the Quarter Quell. He is hijacked to believe that Katniss is evil, and now, his memories of her are very frightening and threatening. He thinks that she almost killed him and is responsible for the destruction of District 12 as well as the lives of the residents, including his family, when the Capitol bombed their district. While Peeta is held by the Capitol, he is tortured and brutally beaten. Yet, the Capitol keeps him alive to use him to break Katniss. Fortunately, the rebels are able rescue Peeta from the Capitol, but now, his relationiship with Katniss is not like anything before. When he sees her for the first time after the Quarter Quell, Katniss expects him to hug her, but instead, he strangles her. Later, Katniss finds out what the Capitol has done to him, but as you cans see, Peeta is not his old self anymore; while he used to be loving and caring, now, he just shows hatred towards Katniss. As the doctors of District 13 treat Peeta, he slowly improves although he seems confused at times and tries to figure out what is true and what is not.

There are several themes in this particular book. One of them is sacrifice. Since Katniss is the symbol of resistance and a leader of the rebellion, many people have to sacrifice for her in order to keep her alive. When Katniss and Squad 451, a special unit of rebels, go to the Capitol to kill President Snow, they face series of attacks, and Finnick, Leeg 1, Messalla, Jackson, Castor and Homes all die as a result, sacrificing their lives so that Katniss can go on with the mission. In the novel, her internal thoughts can be seen, and she feels very painful that people are giving up on their lives because of her.

             I am satisfied with this finale overall. There were many unpredictable scenes that I was not expecting, and I enjoyed it a lot. I do not think age matters when it comes to reading this book; I think anyone can enjoy it, and I truly recommend The Hunger Games series in general.