Mockingjay // Suzanne Collins {Audiobook}

Why I'm reading
Duh.

Where I got the book
Greeeeeeenwich.

Expectations
Finally getting to this whole rebellion thing.

So how was it?

After being rescued in Catching Fire, and bumming around with what is probably several layers of PTSD, Katniss ends up the Mockingjay: the rebellion's figurehead. There’s lots of arguing about everything, a new flavor of makeover, and actual rebellion-fighting action! Then she sets off with a small elite squad and the real action actually starts. Also, Peeta’s all sorts of messed up.

This vastly exceeded my expectations. Not so much in terms of plot, but in terms of how Collins handles the emotional aspects of war. There's a brief afterword at the end (read by the author in the audiobook) explaining how she came up with the idea: she was flipping through channels, and saw  young reality TV stars juxtaposed against young soldiers in Iraq. I'm so glad I stuck around for the afterword (I usually don't read them) because it explains how this book had such an impact; the plot and the characters are your typical dystopian thriller, but there's a strong undercurrent of -- I don't know what to call it, but it reminds me of M*A*S*H.

The afterword also explained why I was constantly thinking jeez, I really hope they filmed this shot-for-shot, the scenes are set up perfectly for film -- Collins worked in TV!

Recommendation
Well, if you’ve made it this far…

Feels
Like everyone’s dying and you don’t have time to care. Seriously, just assume everyone dies. Not everyone does, but at least then you'll be -- let's not say pleasantly surprised, but at least not totally crushed.

Favorites
Continues to be Finnick and Haymitch, although Haymitch plays a smaller role this time. The shenanigans with the camera crew. Katniss’ last arrow.

Least favorites
The whole thing with Peeta was a little silly initially, but I guess it served its purpose. I also wasn't a fan of the way she wrote the fire... thing at the very end.

So what did I really think?

Click "read more"... massive spoilers ahead!

I was pleasantly surprised that District 13 wasn’t a panacea. It's the sleek grey right-brain socialism to the Capitol’s colorful left-brain feudalism -- not inherently evil, but its motives were extremely questionable.

President Coin starts off by using Katniss exactly the way the Capitol did: ordering a makeover, setting her up as a powerless figurehead, threatening her family, and ultimately attempting to institute a new Hunger Games. She hasn’t been trying to change the system; she only wants to put herself at the top. The ending was brilliant because it was so simple -- because everyone who was real, all the tributes and presumably the actual district rebels, understand what’s about to happen and take action to break the cycle. 

I love Finnick Odair, just because I love that kind of character -- depth and strength hidden under a flirty, trashy, careless veneer. But Haymitch continues to be my favorite, just because he’s this cranky asshole who has everyone all figured out. Strangely enough, I knew Finnick would die, and never worried about Haymitch.

Peeta wins out in the end! And I like Gail even less! While the romance always felt a little forced (can’t have YA without a love triangle!) I was super crazy impressed with how it resolved. It was almost political, or maybe ethical? It was never about either of them “proving” his love the best. Gail was a good guy, and clearly loved her, but ultimately he was a little too okay with straight up killing people for the cause -- just like Snow and Coin. Whether he designed the actual bomb that killed Prim doesn’t matter; he’s the kind of person who can have an idea like that, and think it’s okay. Not cool. Peeta would never step over that line, and that made all the difference. Her decision wasn't based on what they felt about her, but what kind of person they were.

As for Prim… wow. Things are broken in war that can never be fixed. Katniss went through all of this just to save Prim -- two Hunger Games, a sham relationship, the pressure from President Crazypants, and a whole war -- only to lose her anyway. The ending was… making the best of a bad situation, which is exactly what it should be.