Mockingjay

Collins, Suzanne. 2010. MOCKINGJAY. N         ew York: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN 978-0-439-02351-1

“Let the 76^th Hunger Games begin!”

Katniss Everdeen returns in this third novel in the Hunger Games trilogy. She’s competed and survived two Hunger Games, angering the Capitol with her clear disobedience. Still taunted by President Snow and his promise of revenge, symbolized by a “perfect white rose,” Katniss must now decide whether to be Mockingjay, the icon for the rebels, in this revolution between the Capitol and rebels. Will she rise and fight with the rebels or hide as a refugee in District 13?

Once again Suzanne Collins keeps her readers spell-bound with the suspensful adventures of heroine Katniss Everdeen in this third and last dystopian novel of the series. Readers will relate to the emotional turmoil Katniss endures throughout the book from the devastation of her home in district 12 to her love for Peeta and Gale.  With rich imagery and powerful language, readers find themselves hurled into the realm of war and it’s effects on those fighting it and their loved ones. Having created a believable setting in her previous novels Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Collins connects each novel with the same familiar settings of outer districts desiring to be like the utopian Capitol to new vividly described pods with their dangerous and deadly traps like one that melts flesh or one with barbed metal nets. In this imaginary yet believable world, “holos,” portable holographic diagrams, and hovercrafts that release silver parachutes with timed explosives connect the future with the technological advances of today. “Collins is absolutely ruthless in her depictions of war in all its cruelty, violence, and loss, leaving readiers, in turn, repulsed, shocked, grieving and, finally, hopeful for the characters they’ve grown to empahtize and love (Baird, 2010).”

With themes of coming of age, war, violence, trust, survival, power, peace, and justice, young adults will be able to evaluate their own beliefs as they relate to the characters of the book. This novel lends itself for great discussions on loyalty, self-sacrifice, war, materialism, and the effects of television or media. In Mockingjay, “propos,” or propoganda videos, are created to help wage the war. Students could create their own “propos” for or against a topic in the book or another focus of interest.

Mockingjay has received a number of honors such as being a USA Today bestseller, 2010 Kirkus Best Book of the Year, and a 2010 Booklist Editors’ Choice. It has also been included on the following lists: the 2011 Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices list, the 2010 New York Times Notabale Children’s Books list, and the 2010 Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books list.

Reference

Baird, Jane Henriksen. 2010. “Mockingjay.” School Library Journal 56, no. 10:110. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed November 1, 2011).