Mockingjay Review
So I finished Mockingjay last night, and wrote majority of this review then, even though I’m posting it now. I’m still reeling, so I’m trying to figure out the best way to do this review. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly just won’t cut it this time around. But we’ll figure something out.
The things I predicted correctly
-No more Games
-Cinna was already dead (The public execution idea was saved for Portia, how nice)
-Peeta’s family was dead
-The rebellion would win
-Haymitch would survive
-Unfortunately, that Finnick or Johanna would die. Turned out to be harder than I expected.
Things I was dead wrong about
-Madge having a big role to play and being a rebellion leader. Nope, she’s just dead.
-The Avox girl (Lavinia! That was her name) having a story to tell. Nope, she’s just dead.
-Chaff having a huge job in the Quarter Quell, necessitating his separation from Katniss and Company. Nope, he’s just dead.
-Katniss winding up without either boy and childless. Nope, she caved.
Things I could never have seen coming
-Prim’s death
-Peeta’s hijacking
-The prep team’s torture
-Me hating President Snow any more than I already did
-President Coin being such an evil bitch herself
-Katniss agreeing to another Hunger Games (WTF?!)
Moments when I cried
1.When Katniss got Cinna’s Mockingjay uniform.
2.When Katniss and Finnick were discussing Peeta and Annie and Finnick said when he realized Katniss loved Peeta and then gave her his rope.
3.When Finnick told his story about what President Snow put him through.
4.When Finnick… escaped into a totally different part of the Capitol completely unscathed and went to hang out with Fred Weasley and Wash until everything died down. (This one came complete with screams and sobs that scared the crap out of my mother)
5. When Katniss yelled at Buttercup and threw things at him and he was so desperate to see Prim again.
Okay you probably saw a trend there. Let me go ahead and state this for the record right now:
Finnick Odair is quite possibly (with the exception of Angel from Rent) my favorite character in the history of fiction. Okay, maybe not THAT big. But he’s way up there. Definitely makes Top 10. I remember emailing Rachel when I first read Catching Fire going “I know I shouldn’t be getting attached to these guys, but I’m really loving Finnick right now”. Actually my exact words were (and I went and looked up the email): “I'm about 40 pages from the end. Tell me I'm not going to lose Finnick. I have been SOOOO careful not to get attached to these characters. Rue was a toughie, but I stuck it out through her, Thresh, Mags, and the crazy one who figured out the clock. If I lose Finnick I will not be able to stand it. Please tell me there's a way around it! I don't want to lose Finnick!”
I should have been able to call it right there. Then I read through Catching Fire right before getting Mockingjay and I really noticed just what a great character Finnick is. How strong he is, how layered, and how broken. I was convinced that his story was probably sadder than Katniss’. I started writing the Quarter Quell reaping from his perspective, watching the woman he loves get selected, then the woman who mentored him volunteer, then for him to be called in as well, all in a supposedly Career district. How from the age of 14 his life just completely and utterly changed. Who knew how right I was?
Seeing Finnick so broken at the start of Mockingjay broke my heart. I wanted to just hold him and rock him and help him with his knots. When little bits of the old Finnick came back, I cheered. I was so happy about his underwear bit that it invaded my dream that night. He and Katniss developed the perfect brother/sister relationship I wanted for them, even though, not gonna lie, I saw it a little like Gale did and started going “You know I wonder if…” and Gale said it best that sometimes you just get desperate. Then Finnick told his story (which I sort of called, I had a feeling that his rendezvous’ were not entirely of his own volition but I figured it was just to keep in good graces with the Captiol, not because President Snow is the scum of the earth who should be killed by a mutt) and he crossed completely into Woobie status for me and I just wanted to hold him forever. And put him in the water and see him smile. But through all of it he was still so strong. He was still holding it together. The boy had levels of strength I couldn’t even hope to grasp, with such impossible odds he was facing. Then he got Annie back. And he was happy. And I was happy. And I was like “You know what, end the book here, because I really don’t care at this point about Katniss and Peeta, as long as Finnick is happy I feel that the proper ending has been given.” And then they got married.
And I should have fucking known.
I honestly cannot go on because I will start to cry again. Every. Single. Time. I read his name I started to cry. Every time I think about him I start to cry. And yep, starting to cry, right now. And then she had to go and twist the knife and give us Baby Teddy Lupin Finnick because apparently a woman’s fertility increases exponentially when the man’s about to die. Why do I always love these men? Lupin, Finnick, Kyle Reese. It’s pathetic. But I digress. Because honestly? I thought that was a dumb addition that was better suited to be left out.
The only other thing that really bothered me (aside from Katniss agreeing to another Hunger Games because WTF Katniss?!) was her having children by the end. Especially the way she phrased it. “It took ten, fifteen years for me to agree. But Peeta wanted them so badly.” Sweetie, if you don’t want children, DON’T HAVE THEM. Peeta knew what he was getting himself into, and since he lurrves everything about you (real or not real?) he’ll fucking deal with it. I was just upset that she caved. I understood that she needed someone there to hold her together because she was so utterly broken that she would have just wasted away alone, but it didn’t have to be Peeta. It could have been Gale. It could have even been Finnick, or Prim, or Haymitch if he’d stepped it up a bit. Just someone she knew and loved that could help her keep it together. But she didn’t need children. I know the whole point of this story was to create a world where children wouldn’t have to live in fear of reapings, but we got that with Baby Teddy Lupin Finnick, so Katniss really didn’t need it.
So let’s talk about good things.
Gale Hawthorne.
I fucking LOVED him in this book. I found him to be so very mature. And unfortunately, mature in a way he shouldn’t have had to be. The war really turned him from that boy in the woods to a soldier. Do I think it was his bomb that killed Prim? Not necessarily. Do I think his discussions with Beetee, overheard by a Coin spy, resulted in Prim’s death? Probably. But I don’t blame him for Prim’s death any more than I blame Beetee. Gale would never have dropped those weapons on innocent children. That’s not who he is. He became much more ruthless yes, and he’s not The Big Stinking Noble Heart that Peeta is, but he would never kill children. Although honestly, after Prim there was no way in hell Katniss could have ever ended up with Gale. She would always wonder if it was his bomb that killed her. I don't think they could have maintained a friendship after that, let alone a love or marriage. At that point it had to be Peeta. But I digress. I'm discussing Gale's character.
I loved the way he handled Katniss. That was a maturity I appreciated. He could have easily, for lack of a better term and it really is the wrong term, taken advantage of her weakness and her sadness. But he didn’t. He recognized it, and got her to recognize it, even if it was counterproductive to what he wanted. He had resigned himself to not getting her, and was very mature and honest about it. (Though I really could have done without the half-asleep Katniss hearing Gale and Peeta discussing her. Save that for Eclipse). And while at first I was annoyed at the complete LACK of wrap up concerning the romantic third wheel, I think Gale gave Katniss exactly what she needed: she didn’t have to choose. He knew what she wanted, what she would have chosen, and spared her the pain of having to do it by gracefully bowing out. Was he kissing new girls in District 2 by then? Fuck no. He would have mourned for losing his best friend for a long time. Which is the other thing I loved about him and ultimately what made me Team Gale over Team Peeta (this and the reasons listed in my previous post): his reason for falling in love with her made sense. As I said to Rachel: Being best friends with someone for years and then suddenly realizing you mind when someone else could possibly have a thing for her? Common, relatable, and sweet. Falling hopelessly in love at the age of 5 with a girl you've never met, never spoken to, and will never speak to for the next 11 years all because she sang a song and because your father fell in love with the girl's mother? Creepy and a bit unhealthy. Just saying.
Gale is honest, upfront, and clues Katniss in on her unintentional string-alongery. Like when he told Katniss “The only time you want me is when I’m hurt”, it was so true. And she needed to hear that. And the fact that he was aware of it, and didn’t exploit it? Very mature. When she’s trying to kiss him and get rid of her neediness all over him and he tells her to open her eyes and essentially really realize who she’s doing this with? Very mature.
I really like Gale, in case you couldn’t tell. Great character there.
I also really liked Katniss. I mean yes, she had breakdowns galore, and at times I wanted her to put her big girl pants on, but unlike some other book series *coughTwilightcough* she fucking earned a reason to be depressed. I yelled at Bella because the guy she’d known for 2 months left her and she completely fell apart. Katniss lost her whole world and people still kept finding things to dangle in front of her and taunt her with, and she kept losing those too. She’s entitled to be a wreck. And she’s a 17 year old girl. Her inner strength was fantastic, and incredibly believable. And I felt so bad for her because like Finnick, her life was changed the second her sister’s name was called from the ball. She never had a chance to go back, whether she won or not. None of them did. Like I said to Rachel: But jeez, after hearing all the victors’ stories (Haymitch, Johanna, Finnick), how bad is it of me to think that Rue got off easy? What her life could have been like if she had won, what would have been at stake for her siblings. If your name gets pulled from that reaping ball, your life is officially fucked no matter what.
Johanna Mason is just amazing. But to see her broken like that? I can’t even imagine. And yes, I think I ship Johanna/Gale at this point. I think once she puts herself back together a bit they could find something in each other. I saw it from their one little interaction.
Haymitch didn’t really get enough to do, and I felt that he was bounced back and forth in characterization. His comforting Katniss when she realized what was going to happen to Peeta? That was the Haymitch that naturally progressed from Book 2. Even the Haymitch who took her home to 12 to stay there with her, despite all the awful memories, because Mom wasn’t strong enough. But there were moments when he was too harsh, too much. And he really just kind of left, once they got to 12. I mean yes, they made the book together, and you could tell he was still a part of her life, but the last thing they officially say to each other in text is “See you tomorrow” “Probably not,” as Katniss plans her umpteenth suicide. Not really the ending I’d have hoped for for him.
Boggs was really the only new character introduced who I just loved to pieces. Ironic, no? No, I’m not going to get sad. I’m not. Happy things.
And the irony that the entire book series was entirely worthless because it began as a reason to save Prim’s life and she wound up dying anyway? Nice point. Mean and cruel, but nice.
Finally, I think Plutarch sums up the entirety of the series with his quote: "We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction."
But despite that incredibly bleak quote, I think this book series was amazing. And when I heal a bit, I’ll be rereading it over and over and over.
But for now, happy things, happy things. I’m going to go play with my rope and eat sugar cubes now. Peace out.
The things I predicted correctly
-No more Games
-Cinna was already dead (The public execution idea was saved for Portia, how nice)
-Peeta’s family was dead
-The rebellion would win
-Haymitch would survive
-Unfortunately, that Finnick or Johanna would die. Turned out to be harder than I expected.
Things I was dead wrong about
-Madge having a big role to play and being a rebellion leader. Nope, she’s just dead.
-The Avox girl (Lavinia! That was her name) having a story to tell. Nope, she’s just dead.
-Chaff having a huge job in the Quarter Quell, necessitating his separation from Katniss and Company. Nope, he’s just dead.
-Katniss winding up without either boy and childless. Nope, she caved.
Things I could never have seen coming
-Prim’s death
-Peeta’s hijacking
-The prep team’s torture
-Me hating President Snow any more than I already did
-President Coin being such an evil bitch herself
-Katniss agreeing to another Hunger Games (WTF?!)
Moments when I cried
1.When Katniss got Cinna’s Mockingjay uniform.
2.When Katniss and Finnick were discussing Peeta and Annie and Finnick said when he realized Katniss loved Peeta and then gave her his rope.
3.When Finnick told his story about what President Snow put him through.
4.When Finnick… escaped into a totally different part of the Capitol completely unscathed and went to hang out with Fred Weasley and Wash until everything died down. (This one came complete with screams and sobs that scared the crap out of my mother)
5. When Katniss yelled at Buttercup and threw things at him and he was so desperate to see Prim again.
Okay you probably saw a trend there. Let me go ahead and state this for the record right now:
Finnick Odair is quite possibly (with the exception of Angel from Rent) my favorite character in the history of fiction. Okay, maybe not THAT big. But he’s way up there. Definitely makes Top 10. I remember emailing Rachel when I first read Catching Fire going “I know I shouldn’t be getting attached to these guys, but I’m really loving Finnick right now”. Actually my exact words were (and I went and looked up the email): “I'm about 40 pages from the end. Tell me I'm not going to lose Finnick. I have been SOOOO careful not to get attached to these characters. Rue was a toughie, but I stuck it out through her, Thresh, Mags, and the crazy one who figured out the clock. If I lose Finnick I will not be able to stand it. Please tell me there's a way around it! I don't want to lose Finnick!”
I should have been able to call it right there. Then I read through Catching Fire right before getting Mockingjay and I really noticed just what a great character Finnick is. How strong he is, how layered, and how broken. I was convinced that his story was probably sadder than Katniss’. I started writing the Quarter Quell reaping from his perspective, watching the woman he loves get selected, then the woman who mentored him volunteer, then for him to be called in as well, all in a supposedly Career district. How from the age of 14 his life just completely and utterly changed. Who knew how right I was?
Seeing Finnick so broken at the start of Mockingjay broke my heart. I wanted to just hold him and rock him and help him with his knots. When little bits of the old Finnick came back, I cheered. I was so happy about his underwear bit that it invaded my dream that night. He and Katniss developed the perfect brother/sister relationship I wanted for them, even though, not gonna lie, I saw it a little like Gale did and started going “You know I wonder if…” and Gale said it best that sometimes you just get desperate. Then Finnick told his story (which I sort of called, I had a feeling that his rendezvous’ were not entirely of his own volition but I figured it was just to keep in good graces with the Captiol, not because President Snow is the scum of the earth who should be killed by a mutt) and he crossed completely into Woobie status for me and I just wanted to hold him forever. And put him in the water and see him smile. But through all of it he was still so strong. He was still holding it together. The boy had levels of strength I couldn’t even hope to grasp, with such impossible odds he was facing. Then he got Annie back. And he was happy. And I was happy. And I was like “You know what, end the book here, because I really don’t care at this point about Katniss and Peeta, as long as Finnick is happy I feel that the proper ending has been given.” And then they got married.
And I should have fucking known.
I honestly cannot go on because I will start to cry again. Every. Single. Time. I read his name I started to cry. Every time I think about him I start to cry. And yep, starting to cry, right now. And then she had to go and twist the knife and give us Baby Teddy Lupin Finnick because apparently a woman’s fertility increases exponentially when the man’s about to die. Why do I always love these men? Lupin, Finnick, Kyle Reese. It’s pathetic. But I digress. Because honestly? I thought that was a dumb addition that was better suited to be left out.
The only other thing that really bothered me (aside from Katniss agreeing to another Hunger Games because WTF Katniss?!) was her having children by the end. Especially the way she phrased it. “It took ten, fifteen years for me to agree. But Peeta wanted them so badly.” Sweetie, if you don’t want children, DON’T HAVE THEM. Peeta knew what he was getting himself into, and since he lurrves everything about you (real or not real?) he’ll fucking deal with it. I was just upset that she caved. I understood that she needed someone there to hold her together because she was so utterly broken that she would have just wasted away alone, but it didn’t have to be Peeta. It could have been Gale. It could have even been Finnick, or Prim, or Haymitch if he’d stepped it up a bit. Just someone she knew and loved that could help her keep it together. But she didn’t need children. I know the whole point of this story was to create a world where children wouldn’t have to live in fear of reapings, but we got that with Baby Teddy Lupin Finnick, so Katniss really didn’t need it.
So let’s talk about good things.
Gale Hawthorne.
I fucking LOVED him in this book. I found him to be so very mature. And unfortunately, mature in a way he shouldn’t have had to be. The war really turned him from that boy in the woods to a soldier. Do I think it was his bomb that killed Prim? Not necessarily. Do I think his discussions with Beetee, overheard by a Coin spy, resulted in Prim’s death? Probably. But I don’t blame him for Prim’s death any more than I blame Beetee. Gale would never have dropped those weapons on innocent children. That’s not who he is. He became much more ruthless yes, and he’s not The Big Stinking Noble Heart that Peeta is, but he would never kill children. Although honestly, after Prim there was no way in hell Katniss could have ever ended up with Gale. She would always wonder if it was his bomb that killed her. I don't think they could have maintained a friendship after that, let alone a love or marriage. At that point it had to be Peeta. But I digress. I'm discussing Gale's character.
I loved the way he handled Katniss. That was a maturity I appreciated. He could have easily, for lack of a better term and it really is the wrong term, taken advantage of her weakness and her sadness. But he didn’t. He recognized it, and got her to recognize it, even if it was counterproductive to what he wanted. He had resigned himself to not getting her, and was very mature and honest about it. (Though I really could have done without the half-asleep Katniss hearing Gale and Peeta discussing her. Save that for Eclipse). And while at first I was annoyed at the complete LACK of wrap up concerning the romantic third wheel, I think Gale gave Katniss exactly what she needed: she didn’t have to choose. He knew what she wanted, what she would have chosen, and spared her the pain of having to do it by gracefully bowing out. Was he kissing new girls in District 2 by then? Fuck no. He would have mourned for losing his best friend for a long time. Which is the other thing I loved about him and ultimately what made me Team Gale over Team Peeta (this and the reasons listed in my previous post): his reason for falling in love with her made sense. As I said to Rachel: Being best friends with someone for years and then suddenly realizing you mind when someone else could possibly have a thing for her? Common, relatable, and sweet. Falling hopelessly in love at the age of 5 with a girl you've never met, never spoken to, and will never speak to for the next 11 years all because she sang a song and because your father fell in love with the girl's mother? Creepy and a bit unhealthy. Just saying.
Gale is honest, upfront, and clues Katniss in on her unintentional string-alongery. Like when he told Katniss “The only time you want me is when I’m hurt”, it was so true. And she needed to hear that. And the fact that he was aware of it, and didn’t exploit it? Very mature. When she’s trying to kiss him and get rid of her neediness all over him and he tells her to open her eyes and essentially really realize who she’s doing this with? Very mature.
I really like Gale, in case you couldn’t tell. Great character there.
I also really liked Katniss. I mean yes, she had breakdowns galore, and at times I wanted her to put her big girl pants on, but unlike some other book series *coughTwilightcough* she fucking earned a reason to be depressed. I yelled at Bella because the guy she’d known for 2 months left her and she completely fell apart. Katniss lost her whole world and people still kept finding things to dangle in front of her and taunt her with, and she kept losing those too. She’s entitled to be a wreck. And she’s a 17 year old girl. Her inner strength was fantastic, and incredibly believable. And I felt so bad for her because like Finnick, her life was changed the second her sister’s name was called from the ball. She never had a chance to go back, whether she won or not. None of them did. Like I said to Rachel: But jeez, after hearing all the victors’ stories (Haymitch, Johanna, Finnick), how bad is it of me to think that Rue got off easy? What her life could have been like if she had won, what would have been at stake for her siblings. If your name gets pulled from that reaping ball, your life is officially fucked no matter what.
Johanna Mason is just amazing. But to see her broken like that? I can’t even imagine. And yes, I think I ship Johanna/Gale at this point. I think once she puts herself back together a bit they could find something in each other. I saw it from their one little interaction.
Haymitch didn’t really get enough to do, and I felt that he was bounced back and forth in characterization. His comforting Katniss when she realized what was going to happen to Peeta? That was the Haymitch that naturally progressed from Book 2. Even the Haymitch who took her home to 12 to stay there with her, despite all the awful memories, because Mom wasn’t strong enough. But there were moments when he was too harsh, too much. And he really just kind of left, once they got to 12. I mean yes, they made the book together, and you could tell he was still a part of her life, but the last thing they officially say to each other in text is “See you tomorrow” “Probably not,” as Katniss plans her umpteenth suicide. Not really the ending I’d have hoped for for him.
Boggs was really the only new character introduced who I just loved to pieces. Ironic, no? No, I’m not going to get sad. I’m not. Happy things.
And the irony that the entire book series was entirely worthless because it began as a reason to save Prim’s life and she wound up dying anyway? Nice point. Mean and cruel, but nice.
Finally, I think Plutarch sums up the entirety of the series with his quote: "We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction."
But despite that incredibly bleak quote, I think this book series was amazing. And when I heal a bit, I’ll be rereading it over and over and over.
But for now, happy things, happy things. I’m going to go play with my rope and eat sugar cubes now. Peace out.