Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ok, so. I think this still has a fairly important place in the whole dystopian SF scene, even if its MESSAGE was a little, or even a lot, muddled. It obviously affected tons of people and shone a spotlight on violence and revenge. But that being said, I have to turn my attention to the lesser (or if we go by word count, much greater) interpersonal messages.

Because, let's face it, this is a three-way teen drama dressed up in SF civil war.

Ok. That might even be what so many people want, too, but on this re-read, the whole play between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale just feels so... icky. Sure, Katniss does what she does for Peeta out of loyalty, more like what anyone would do for a friend, not a lover, and Gale just got strung around and he obviously got fed up, too. There's just nothing really redeeming about the romance, and maybe that would have been fine if there wasn't SO much page time devoted to it.

Why am I nit-picky about this? Because it was kinda like this from the very start, and far from resolving into something REAL or SATISFYING, it became as dull as dishwater--just like the ideals of the rebellion.

War is bad, mmm'k? Gotcha. Blown up children absolutely suck. But having a horrific scene or a dozen doesn't make up for the depression or the lack of hope.

Didn't I finish the first book with tons of hope? Yep. Did the second give me the feel like there might be a silver lining? Yep. But sadly, the third's actual silver lining just felt like alcoholism. To my synesthesia, I just smelled cheap alcohol and sadness.

Then again, perhaps that's the point.



Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

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