Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, 390 pages

"Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans - except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay - no matter what the personal cost." -Jacket

**SPOILER ALERT**

Okay, so I had sky high hopes for this book. I'd waited for it for a year - actually had it marked on my calendar. The first two books were some of the best books I've ever read in terms of creativity. They had me captivated. I gave them to my friends and family. I talked about them constantly. So...Mockingjay left me really disappointed. I felt like the author's sole intention in this book was to tell us that war is bad and it leaves everyone broken. Mission accomplished - to the point where it overpowered everything else and got really annoying.

The Katniss in this book is not the Katniss we've come to know and love, the Katniss who is fiery and takes control of her own destiny, who fights for what she believes in. I was waiting for her to do that in this book, even after District 13 turned out to be less than ideal. So they want to use you as a pawn, rise up and become a leader and do it your own way! Don't hide in the closet or go to the hospital time after time after time. (That hospital bit was really overused.) It's obvious that Katniss has post-traumatic stress disorder (in her defense, who wouldn't experiencing all that by the age of 17?) but I kept waiting for her to snap out of it, to be the Katniss who defies the Capitol and District 13.

I waited a year to find out what would happen between Peeta, Gale and Katniss. Who would she choose? I liked them both. The romance was pitiful at best in this book. Peeta is so broken that I'm not sure he ever fully recovers. I hated how Gale became so hardened and full of anger that he creates weapons. I thought the relationship between him and Katniss was just plain lazy for two characters who have been so close for several years. No one had any passion. No one seemed to care enough about anything. Gale wants to destroy. Peeta wants to kill. Katniss just floats along.

And what was up with Katniss and Haymitch voting "yes" for another hunger games? I mean, come on. Were they really that messed up? I thought killing Finnick was completely unnecessary. I thought the ending was rushed and we, as readers, didn't get nearly enough post-war pages to read. There was no happy reunion. There was no spark between Peeta and Katniss. I thought the last few sentences of the book were rather clever, but mostly I'm just left feeling frustrated.