Mockingjay. (SPOILERS!)

I know it came out days ago, but my copy just came in the mail. I know a lot of people here are fans of the Hunger Games, too, so, i thought I'd get your opinions on it. But NO SPOILERS, I'm not done yet.

Also, I thought it was really cool how many people (even outside of the whole teen/YA nerd types) seemed to know about the book. I already wrote about this on my blog, so I'm just going to copy it here. Remember that I wrote this before I had read the book, and before it came out.

Quote :

In the teen book world, we're all pretty excited about the release of Suzanne Collin's new book, Mockingjay. It's the third and final book in the Hunger Games series, but please don't ask me to tell you the plot of the first two books, because it's rather confusing, and would take a while, mainly due to the fact that I'm a perfectionist and must describe every... tiny... little... detail. But anyways, I do suggest that you read them, for they are witty, thought-provoking, and interesting.

Another thing that sparks my interest as far as the whole release goes (besides the fact that, well, I'm excited to read the new book!) is that this kind of countdown to a book release is not something that happens all that often with a book series. "But wait!" You'll say, "What about Twilight, and Harry Potter?" And to that I reply, "Movies."

Pretty much every series that pops to mind that has had so much excitement before a release has also had a series of movies. The first Harry Potter books weren't already hugely popular before their release- it was only after the movies also started to premiere that people began to count down to book releases, stay up all night to read the books, and wait in their local bookstore for hours to get the book. Before that, it was just another book series- one that many people loved, but not one that inspired such displays of public approval. There wasn't Harry Potter merchandise at Hot Topic before there were movie profits, and the popularity the movies brought to the series.

Same with Twilight. There weren't Twilight sweatshirts and pins and t-shirts being mass-produced and sold across the country when it was just a book series. But then the movies came out, and now you can't swing a cat in a bookstore or Hot Topic without hitting Twilight merch.

I expected the same thing to apply to the Hunger Games, no matter how popular they were in my nerdy little groups. So, imagine my suprise when I walk into a local Hot Topic, looking for the new "Undesirable no. 1" Harry Potter shirts, and find three different styles of Hunger Games shirts.

The local bookstore, too, has a cardboard poster board showing the release date and some press pictures. You can download a widget thingy on your computer that counts down for you. Heck, there's even an advertisement video for it that you can watch, like you would watch a preview for HPatDH movie, or a new TV show. And this is just a book.

All I have to say is, I'm so getting that "District 12 tribute" shirt next time I go to HT.

So, again, what'd you think about the book, and what'd you think about the whole merch/preview thing that was going on?

I got so excited when I saw this topic. I got Mockingjay around seven PM on the 24th and stayed up till 1:30 AM reading it (had to stop to eat dinner, etc). Like I said before somewhere, one of the three books I've ever cried in (DH being another). That might be because it was 1 in the morning and I was tired and delirious. But I've reread those parts and it's still sad.... I can't read a book like this and not know what happens. I tried stopping around midnight, I laid in bed wide eyed for a few minutes, then turned my light back on and continued reading.

As for the merchandise, I walked into Borders before the release and I see all this Hunger Games merchandise. I honestly was not expecting that, or the display in window. I saw a Hunger Games board game (I think it has to do with the idea of the Training before the Games). I might have to get that District 12 tribute shirt you mentioned.

It's very surprising with all this merchandise, as you said that most series don't get like this before the movies, and I'm sure the Hunger Games will get more popular once the movie comes out (I heard a while ago it was sometime in 2011, but I'm not so sure they'll keep that release).

Anyway, amazing book (just like the other two), but not entirely what I expected. It took a little getting used to in the beginning, but I got really into it after the first part. Enjoy reading it!

OMR I love The Hunger Games. I got my book already but I'm rereading the other books first, I could usually finish each book in just a couple hours, but busy college schedule >.<

So I'll come back and read the rest of this discussion later because I don't want to risk spoilers, because it ALWAYS happens to me, that i'll read a conversation that will say no spoilers, and there will be a spoiler :'(

Okay I just finished it after rereading the other two. And holy shit that was amazing!!! That was not was I was expecting at all, like NTonkAuror said. I was really expecting something completely different to happen, especially towards the end, but for a giant section at the end I was on the verge of tears (I didn't cry because I very rarely cry, but it was hard not to! I had tears in my eyes even if they didn't actually fall. The end was really cute though! especially the epilogue... though in the middle of the super sad part where I was trying not to cry I got kind of pissed at Katniss (if you read it you should understand what I mean, but I don't want to give away any spoilers)

DorkyBookworm wrote:

... but for a giant section at the end I was on the verge of tears (I didn't cry because I very rarely cry, but it was hard not to! )

You don't cry, Dorky, you don't cry... you don't cry.... YOU DO CRY!


But seriously, though, I finished it the day I wrote this post, and I also loved it.

DorkyBookworm wrote:

Okay I just finished it after rereading the other two. And holy shit that was amazing!!! That was not was I was expecting at all, like NTonkAuror said. I was really expecting something completely different to happen, especially towards the end, but for a giant section at the end I was on the verge of tears (I didn't cry because I very rarely cry, but it was hard not to! I had tears in my eyes even if they didn't actually fall. The end was really cute though! especially the epilogue... though in the middle of the super sad part where I was trying not to cry I got kind of pissed at Katniss (if you read it you should understand what I mean, but I don't want to give away any spoilers)

The last 40 pages or so (after the sad thing happened) I had tears in my eyes until I closed the book. Even after. It was so amazing. I laid awake just thinking about it for over a half an hour (and this was after one in the morning!). I was very happy with the epilogue. It was just enough. I don't want to give away any spoilers.... AAAH! I always kind of thought she'd end with. . . him. . . . I can't explain cause then it'd give it away....

Wait.... is it safe now? We all finished it, right?

NTonksAuror wrote:

DorkyBookworm wrote:

Okay I just finished it after rereading the other two. And holy shit that was amazing!!! That was not was I was expecting at all, like NTonkAuror said. I was really expecting something completely different to happen, especially towards the end, but for a giant section at the end I was on the verge of tears (I didn't cry because I very rarely cry, but it was hard not to! I had tears in my eyes even if they didn't actually fall. The end was really cute though! especially the epilogue... though in the middle of the super sad part where I was trying not to cry I got kind of pissed at Katniss (if you read it you should understand what I mean, but I don't want to give away any spoilers)

The last 40 pages or so (after the sad thing happened) I had tears in my eyes until I closed the book. Even after. It was so amazing. I laid awake just thinking about it for over a half an hour (and this was after one in the morning!). I was very happy with the epilogue. It was just enough. I don't want to give away any spoilers.... AAAH! I always kind of thought she'd end with. . . him. . . . I can't explain cause then it'd give it away....

Wait.... is it safe now? We all finished it, right?

I totally know what you mean about... him....

And yeah, I think it's safe now.

I think it's safe now too, and if anyone is reading this who hasn't finished the book....

DON'T READ PAST HERE WE WILL START TALKING SPECIFICS!!!!!


anyways... ok when they were doing the vote right before Katniss killed Snow I got really pissed, I mean I can understand that they would want them to know how it feels, but still, they went through all of that, they should understand how it felt and they went to war, and one of the main reasons was to STOP the games, not make their own...

I still didn't know who she was gonna choose when I started it... I mean I hoped Peeta because he was super cute and I love him, but I love Gale too and I really wasn't sure, but I'm happy the way it ended and who she ended up with, because I really couldn't decide who I preferred...

But yea, NTonksAuror, I'm with you after "the sad thing happened" I had tears in my eyes for the rest of the book! And like half way between that point and the end my roommate was like "did you seriously have tears in your eyes before?" and I was just like "Yes! And I do now too! Stop talking to me I want to read!!!!!"

DorkyBookworm wrote:

I think it's safe now too, and if anyone is reading this who hasn't finished the book....

DON'T READ PAST HERE WE WILL START TALKING SPECIFICS!!!!!


anyways... ok when they were doing the vote right before Katniss killed Snow I got really pissed, I mean I can understand that they would want them to know how it feels, but still, they went through all of that, they should understand how it felt and they went to war, and one of the main reasons was to STOP the games, not make their own...

I still didn't know who she was gonna choose when I started it... I mean I hoped Peeta because he was super cute and I love him, but I love Gale too and I really wasn't sure, but I'm happy the way it ended and who she ended up with, because I really couldn't decide who I preferred...

But yea, NTonksAuror, I'm with you after "the sad thing happened" I had tears in my eyes for the rest of the book! And like half way between that point and the end my roommate was like "did you seriously have tears in your eyes before?" and I was just like "Yes! And I do now too! Stop talking to me I want to read!!!!!"

It's all good with the spoiler thing... I changed the title so now it's "Mockingjay. (SPOILERS)" or something like that.


I was also really pissed at the vote at the end. I was shouting at the book, literally.

I was kind of hoping one of them would die so they wouldn't have to live with the whole "Oh no the love of my life didn't pick me and picked the other person instead."

I was hoping all along that she'd eventually realize how AWESOME Gale was, but....

Also, I kept making AVPM/Harry Potter references in there: "constant vigilance," "You're not alone" kind of thing.

Yeah, that vote annoyed me so much. Exactly, I was thinking: You went through this, so why make someone else do the same? Another reason why I love Peeta- he voted no.

It wasn't too clear, but it was Coin who dropped the bombs, right? I think.... I have to reread it. Or was it not clear on purpose?

I kinda always liked Peeta, and hoped it was him. They went through the Games (and two after CF) and survived the horrors together. Gale wouldn't be able to fully understand what that was like. But in the beginning of CF I was thinking Gale, but after the Games started it went back to Peeta.... but deep down I always liked Peeta best. I saw my cousin over the summer (she lives kinda far away) and she was practically drooling over Gale, so she'll have to deal with the disappointment.... I kinda wanted to scream when Gale just left. I understand the whole bomb thing, but still. Just *poof*, off the face of the planet pretty much.

And Peeta at the end with the primrose bushes. . . ! I just love him! (Oh gosh, if someone I knew saw this, I'd be screwed. They all think I'm anti-romance blah blah blah. But I think sometimes they forget that I AM a girl too) But yeah, going into the book I had my mind set that Gale or Peeta would die, but the bomb thing served well enough.

And Prim! I honestly didn't see that coming until Katniss saw her come and everything. And then how she described it later on, something like: ". . .My sister become a human torch. . ." I started crying a little there, and when she said something like: "And no sister".

Oh wow. Sorry for that. I haven't been able to ramble or rant about Mockingjay yet.

NTonksAuror wrote:

Yeah, that vote annoyed me so much. Exactly, I was thinking: You went through this, so why make someone else do the same? Another reason why I love Peeta- he voted no.

It wasn't too clear, but it was Coin who dropped the bombs, right? I think.... I have to reread it. Or was it not clear on purpose?
...
And Peeta at the end with the primrose bushes. . . ! I just love him! (Oh gosh, if someone I knew saw this, I'd be screwed. They all think I'm anti-romance blah blah blah. But I think sometimes they forget that I AM a girl too) But yeah, going into the book I had my mind set that Gale or Peeta would die, but the bomb thing served well enough.

And Prim! I honestly didn't see that coming until Katniss saw her come and everything. And then how she described it later on, something like: ". . .My sister become a human torch. . ." I started crying a little there, and when she said something like: "And no sister".

Oh wow. Sorry for that. I haven't been able to ramble or rant about Mockingjay yet.

lol don't worry, I'm using this to rant too because my roommate hasn't read it either, and whenever I would gasp or say "OH MY GOD!" during the books she would get mad at me and say I was driving her insane because she can't read it yet (she's going to read my copy but first she has to reread the other two).

And lol I know what you mean with the whole anti-romance thing, but to me books are completely different, just because I act one way in real life, doesn't mean I can have completely different reactions to bookd


and yes when Prim died!!! I did not see that coming!!!!! At first when I saw the medics coming in I thought "oh god is her mom going to be there?" then when she explained about the braid and the untucked shirt I was like "oh no!!!! Katniss get to her and get her out!!!"

but yes I did love Peeta for voting no! I thought it was kind of sweet when Katniss said "I vote yes... for Prim" but still... I think that was just messed up!

DorkyBookworm wrote:

lol don't worry, I'm using this to rant too because my roommate hasn't read it either, and whenever I would gasp or say "OH MY GOD!" during the books she would get mad at me and say I was driving her insane because she can't read it yet (she's going to read my copy but first she has to reread the other two).

And lol I know what you mean with the whole anti-romance thing, but to me books are completely different, just because I act one way in real life, doesn't mean I can have completely different reactions to bookd


and yes when Prim died!!! I did not see that coming!!!!! At first when I saw the medics coming in I thought "oh god is her mom going to be there?" then when she explained about the braid and the untucked shirt I was like "oh no!!!! Katniss get to her and get her out!!!"

but yes I did love Peeta for voting no! I thought it was kind of sweet when Katniss said "I vote yes... for Prim" but still... I think that was just messed up!

I tend to prefer books with a little touch of romance thrown in here and there, but that's my personal preference in certain books. I think in Catching Fire it kind of gets a little overdone at times, but whatever. I still love all the books.

Yes, her voting for Prim was touching.... but her vote still annoys me. But she wasn't exactly all that sane after Prim died though.

So I had a question and want to see what you think. So it's called Panem, meaning bread in Latin. In Mockingjay it makes the obvious connection to bread and circuses of the Roman era. But I was just thinking this over and realized that Panem was named before the first rebellion and before the Hunger Games. What do you suppose their motivation behind that was? Pretty much naming their country Bread. I'm thinking that it was just a coincidence that they named the country Panem, and that later came in to play. They couldn't have purposely made the connection to panem et circenses since the Hunger Games hadn't begun yet. But later it turned into a kind of a slap in the face to the districts and anyone who understood the meaning.

So my dad recently finished reading Mockingjay and he had a theory about why Katniss voted 'yes' for the Games. He said that she only voted to gain Coin's trust and still be able to execute Snow, and therefore kill Coin. I was a little confused too, if she believed Coin dropped the bombs, then why vote yes for Prim? Anyway, Coin and Snow both died so it worked out in the end. I would have liked to know if the last Hunger Games were initiated. The new president (completely blanking out on her name, something with a P) didn't come across as one who would agree with the Games.

NTonksAuror wrote:

So my dad recently finished reading Mockingjay and he had a theory about why Katniss voted 'yes' for the Games. He said that she only voted to gain Coin's trust and still be able to execute Snow, and therefore kill Coin. I was a little confused too, if she believed Coin dropped the bombs, then why vote yes for Prim? Anyway, Coin and Snow both died so it worked out in the end. I would have liked to know if the last Hunger Games were initiated. The new president (completely blanking out on her name, something with a P) didn't come across as one who would agree with the Games.

That was also my thought, kind of. Agree with her in words, and then clearly disagree with her in action.


The new president of Panem is Paylor, by the way.

readergirl1028 wrote:

That was also my thought, kind of. Agree with her in words, and then clearly disagree with her in action.


The new president of Panem is Paylor, by the way.

Thanks, I was completely blanking out and my book was upstairs and I'm too lazy to go get it. I'm sitting around super glueing bugs back together for my project. :O

I think that's what happened with Katniss. I guess she voted for the Games truthfully, but added "for Prim" to gain the trust of Coin. Or assumed that the new president after Coin wouldn't go through with it. But yeah, I really would have liked to know what happened with that- if there was another Hunger Game or not.