Saturday, May 26, 2012

My Name is Katniss. I'm the Mockingjay. I Should be Dead.


FYI if you haven't read yet...I might SPOIL a few things for you if you read this post.  But there are a few things I've got to get out...

What in the WORLD just happened with this triology!?

  • Book 1: Very suspenseful. Pretty Good. Set the scene for potential edginess.  Love Triangle Begins...
  • Book 2: Mediocre as far as suspense goes.  Worse than the first. Still leaves you needing to read the third book with all the unfinished business.  Love Triangle Continues...
  • Book 3: WEIRD!  I won't say the book was bad. It DID finish the story. But NOT suspenseful.  Love Triangle just fizzled even though she ended up with Peeta.
I feel like Suzanne Collins is a quazi decent writer, but it's like she got lost with her ideas when she was writing this.  It felt like she started a series and wasn't sure of how it would end herself until she wrote it.  Call me a planning control freak, but Suze, you should have thought this one out a little more.  If you're going to try and follow the trend of turning your third trilogy book into 2 films...I'm NOT sure how you're going to drag this one out...

There was a lot of death in this book.  Which I didn't necessarily have a problem with.  I did get the vibe though, that she was going for this dramatic reaction with the death of poor baby Prim...but seriously, Prim was hardly part of the story.  She was just in Katniss' mind all the time.  I'm not one of those "fans" that is trying to say Prim's death ruined the story but it was like she was going for another Rue reaction.  Didn't happen for me.  Won't shed a tear when that one is portrayed on the big screen.  Well, maybe I shouldn't guarantee that...I've been quite the movie crier lately. Haha.


Now it would have been dramatic had Katniss died after all those times she defeated death then Prim rose to the occasion of becoming the Mockingjay or something...but nope.  I was irritated that Finnick died.  I loved Finnick.  His character became so involved and actually productive, then poof! Dead. Prim, whatevs. Finny...COME ON! WHY???!!!

As far as the Love Triangle goes it just fizzled.  There was no suspense. It ended up Peeta by elimination, not choice.  Dull.  I started getting to the point in the story where I could have been satisfied having her end up alone by choice or even dead to save someone else...but it just wrapped up pretty calmly. 

Overall I think the "bigger picture" that really hacked me was the fact that this series started on Katniss being this defiant, independent, determined  individual not afraid to stand up for family, love and what she believed!  Book 2 these characteristics kind of diminished and once District 13 gets involved they basically conformed her into their own little President Snow.  She was a robot.  She was constantly protected and unable to think for herself and take her own risks.  The more I'm thinking about it, the more I think I would have been ok with her doing something dramatic that saved the day and ended up killing her.  Maybe I'm cynical but I was just looking for a little more edgey drama.  I kept falling asleep in this book.  

Try again Suzanne Collins.  I know you've got it in you.  I liked where you were trying to go with this, but it just didn't pan out in a way that worked. 

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