Mockingjay

Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins, is the third and final installment of The Hunger Games trilogy. It included many of the same themes, and issues as the previous books. That being said, this book is quite different from the others in storyline. While the other two books are centered around the Hunger Games competition, this book is firmly set in the midst of a rebellion against the government.

As with many books in the young adult category, the Hunger Games Trilogy is quite anti-government. The government, and the citizens living in the Capitol are wealthy elitists. The people living in the twelve districts are pushed down, working (farming,mining, logging...), without the hope of bettering their lives. There is mention of a large rebellion many years previous in which the districts rose up against the Capitol. After the rebellion was crushed by the Capitol, the Hunger Games were started as a way to remind the people of the Capitol's complete control.

In this book we find out about the 13th district. This area had been completely destroyed in the rebellion, and it was believed to be uninhabitable. It turns our that there is a large military complex hidden there (I picture an area like NORAD, inside a mountain, only this is unmarked). The rebellion which was just under the service in the previous books is the key storyline in this book. This book looks at how issues which originally look black and white, are rarely that way once you dig into them, as the leaders of the rebellion make questionable decisions. Katness becomes the poster-child  of the rebellion, and has to live with this even as the higher powers make decisions which she struggles with.

The book also includes the ever present love triangle, Katness' family, and Peeta's eventual PTSD. This book brings up the question of  how much can be sacrificed for the greater good?  Who gets to decided who lives and dies? When is rebellion really revenge?