The end of a series

This is a double-book review double-whammy. Within a week and a half I polished off Catching Fire and Mockingjay, which is what I'm calling the grand finale to my sudden interest in Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games world. The books are rated differently. As the reader, there are people and events you root for, but in the end, I'm also glad Collins didn't fall into clichés or take the stories on predictable paths. Read well. Written well. The end.

Upon single book-by-book reviews: Catching Fire gets 4/5 stars for the addictive qualities of the plot and drive. The best term to use here: it's a page-turner. It was a tough book for me to put down every evening. I found myself constantly fighting off fatigue just so that I could get through the next chapter... and then the next! What I applaud Collins for doing in this novel, is that she didn't fall into a "now everyone just work together"during the Quarter Quells. I wanted it, but at the same time, you think that would be too boring or logical. The story rides on conflict and removing that battle for life would have really flat-lined the series. As much as I said I didn't care for Katniss in the first book of the series, I felt for her more here.

Katniss lost me as the Mockingjay. In contrast to the light and airy feeling of the cover, this book was very violent and depressing. At times a bit "trippy", the novel reads as a giant nightmare. I was a bit disappointed in the ending of the novel and there were very few likable characters. The whole love-triangle completely flat-lined. The only hint of there still being any emotional attachment within Peeta, Katniss or Gale was towards the end of the novel. Even then it sounded more like a choice Katniss had to make, as she overheard Peeta and Gale chatting during very Twilight-esque scene in hiding. If there were to be a fourth novel in the series, it would be about Katniss's struggle against PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). This book receives 3/5 stars from me.

To rate the series as a whole, I would push closer to a 3 than a 4, but a 3.5 nonetheless. The ending leaves a very lasting impression on the reader (at least it does on me). Though it ends on a note of hope, it is still a very depressing series which makes it difficult to reflect on all the good that was within it.