Mockingjay (2010)

*Premise spoilers, including spoilers for the end of Catching Fire*

Going into my reread, I was most curious to see how my opinion of this book might change. I had a pretty strong reaction to it the first time around, and I was wondering how it would strike me now.

Mockingjay finds Katniss a wreck after the events of Catching Fire; her district is in smoldering ruins, Peeta is being held prisoner in the Capitol, and in her underground sanctuary with the rebels of District 13, she’s expected to step up and be the face of a revolution. However, much like the Games relied so heavily on media and image, Katniss is called on to be more of an emblem than a leader. It’s Katniss, so you know she’s not just going to sit back and do what she’s told, but the vision District 13 has is of a gorgeous freedom fighter giving stirring speeches and wielding prop weapons in front of a camera.

The first time I read Mockingjay, I came away disappointed in it as a conclusion to the trilogy. On the whole, I thought it felt too unrelenting in its torment of Katniss, and in particular, the bleak ending left me feeling depleted. And I’m not a big epilogue fan in general, so that didn’t really make things better for me. My thoughts mellowed somewhat with the movies, but Mockingjay was still my least favorite of the trilogy.

Fast forward, though, to Sunrise on the Reaping. Bleak, brutal Sunrise on the Reaping, my beloved, tormenting our poor hero left and right until it reached the point where I’d never been so grateful for an epilogue in my life. The circumstances aren’t exactly the same, since being a prequel gives Sunrise on the Reaping freer license to be grim—there’s a reason Return of the Jedi doesn’t end the same way as Revenge of the Sith. Still, is it fair to look at Mockingjay and knock it for something that I love about Sunrise on the Reaping?

Long story short, I still don’t know that I find Mockingjay entirely satisfying, but my opinion on it has improved quite a bit. I’m better able to see the purpose for the ending, beyond just torturing Katniss, and I understand why Suzanne Collins went that route. Perhaps even more importantly, I’m better able to look at the book as a whole instead of just focusing on the ending. And there’s so much good stuff in Mockingjay.

I love that, having gotten out from under the Capitol and been rescued by the rebels, Katniss still finds herself caught in the expectations of people who are interested in her primarily as a symbol. This is a revolution that very much will be televised, and it’s fascinating to see Katniss navigate that, figuring out how to provide the symbol of rebellion that the districts need while also refusing to be a mere mouthpiece when others are risking their lives. And I appreciate Katniss’s distrust of District 13’s President Coin, the acknowledgement that armed conflict is complicated and messy and that, even if your enemy does unequivocally horrific things, that doesn’t automatically mean all your allies are pure of heart.

I really adore seeing the deepening of Katniss’s friendship with Finnick in this book. On the face of it, they might seem like pretty unlikely friends, but I love how they lean on each other after their shared traumatic experiences, knowing that they’re both in the same terrible boat. After Sunrise on the Reaping, it’s wonderful to see how Haymitch looks out for Katniss, Peeta, and to a lesser extent other young victors like Finnick. He doesn’t lose his cantankerousness and irascibility, but it’s more evident than ever how much he cares about them and wishes he could protect them from the sort of torture he suffered at the hands of the Capitol. And I greatly enjoy the documentary crew that’s tapped to film Katniss’s revolutionary “propos.” I always appreciate seeing folks from the Capitol joining the rebellion, and like Cinna before them, I love the demonstration that there are more ways to contribute to justice than taking up arms. The documentary crew fights with their filmmaking talents, just like Cinna fights with his designs.

Warnings

Violence (including violence against children and references to torture,) strong thematic elements (including suicide,) disturbing images, and drinking/drug use.