MAJOR spoilers if you haven't finished the book yet!! (also, as a late edit... I had meant to leave this really open-ended. I want lots of conversation at the end here! I think the books deserved it...but I got going and just couldn't stop. Forgive me. <3)
Somehow, Suzanne Collins manages to get me all roped into her story...resulting in me not being able to put the book down. So unfortunately (or fortunately) I am going to depart a bit from my normal layout and just straight to: so what did you ladies think of the way the whole HG series wrapped up?
I know that Mandy and I were both hysterical messes at the end. I was thrilled with the way that Collins finished out the books. They made sense to me. Of course, after I was done reading and still trying to calm down, I decided to read some of the reviews on Goodreads. I was so surprised that there were a number of 1 and 2 star ratings. People who had loved the first book, and then gradually became more and more disappointed as the series went on.
We all confessed that the beginning of MJ bored us practically to tears. But some of the other complaints were that Katniss seemed to have lost her edge. That all she did in the third book was mope about. Defy her schedules, hide in corners, closets, and bathtubs and sleep her life away. They were disappointed that she was basically used as a puppet in everything that she did. That she never really seemed to make any decisions for herself. And that she wasn't much like herself in the first book at all.
I think that one of Kat's major character flaws is that yes she cares about her loved ones almost to a fault. Pretty much to the point that it blinds her. It makes her seem very selfish. I mean, even I thought she was being a little selfish when Peeta came back but had gone over the deep end. BUT- I also catch myself thinking that it is exactly how she had always been. Always suspicious. Always looking out for her survival, number one. Peeta was always the care-taker. Always putting her before himself. Katniss wasn't like that.
Many people also didn't like the way she 'just' ended up with Peeta. They claimed that it was like everything else that seemed to happen in the third book. It just happened to her. That she didn't have a choice in it. Well, as much as I can almost agree that they did just kind of come together at the end, I don't there there was any other way for them to survive. She could have never, never been with Gale after the war ended. Partially because of what I said in my other post (I think I said it). Peeta and Katniss have so much history together. They were completely broken down by the government. They were manipulated, threatened, tortured. That is an experience that would never be able to be replicated. Sure, Gale had to deal with the whipping. He had to see District 12 bombed to the ground. But he was never affected on as much of a psychological level in the way that Kat and Peeta were. There are just some things that he wouldn't have been able to understand. Katniss may have had a certain kind and level of love for him at some point, but the way life unwound itself, they never could have been together.
I still stand by the fact that Katniss never really knew Gale. His true colors came out during the war, I think. Yes- they made excellent hunting partners that was a need they filled for each other. And yes, they may have been able to practically read each other's minds, move as one body...when they were younger. But there was a split...especially after the bombing that ended the war.
Another thing I saw is that people (as I mentioned earlier) didn't seem to like the portrayal of Katniss during her depressions. But I thought that it was real, and true, and so desperate. So lost. Let's not forget: she is only 17 when all of this is happening. Hell. At 24 I am pretty sure that I would crack! That is what depression looks like in real life. Lacking motivation, trying to bottle up things so that you don't feel them as much, pushing people away...yet at the same time needing something to pull you forward. It isn't something that is easy to make it through. I don't think that people gave her enough credit. She is so strong for coming out on the other side. Changed. Learning to live through life the way it happened. But she is surviving.
Annnnd- many people thought some of the deaths were completely senseless and basically uncalled for. Well. War is senseless. People die all the time when they didn't deserve to. And again- I think it makes the story more real. Don't get me wrong...at Finnick's death, I sobbed. Sobbed. On the couch for probably five minutes. It turns out that some people don't want real-life tragedy in their books. Always wanting their favorite characters to survive. Everything to be wrapped up in a neat little bow. But I think it is more meaningful to have things not work out 100% the way you want to. It makes you feel and grieve with the characters.
Um. And now after all of that I am spent. I think I left a lot of my ideas kind of hanging out there. Feel free to comment on what I've said above. Make it longer, more detailed, bring in your opinions. Or bring up some of the stuff that I left out (because I left A LOT out!). I am really hoping for a good long string of comments. ;)
Ok, I can't even read your entire post without dying to comment. I've also noticed people giving the books less than 4-5 stars and I couldn't believe it! I found that SC has such a deeper level of thinking than I ever would have imagined. I mean, I thought the story could have ended after THG. Granted, I would not have "loved" the ending, but we could have all lived with it and accepted it. The fact that she carried it out again and again, with a newer intensity and plot each time was brilliant in my mind!
ReplyDeleteOF COURSE, the poor girl lost her edge! She's been through (LITERALLY) HELL and back, seen people die in front of her eyes. Mind you, she is STILL a child!!!!!! I would be moping around, insane, too! I do agree that the beginning of the book was boring, but I think it was appropriate considering we just learned there WAS a D13 and needed to understand the background information to have a steady concept of what exactly was to take place.
Peeta kept Kat safe throughout the complete horror! Yes, Gale knew everything about their hunting experiences and whatnot, and had HE volunteered for the Games as he confessed to later, then they undoubtedly would have ended up together. But no matter how much she had a love for Gale, it just wasn't the same "survival" time love that she endured with Peeta. I do agree that their was no other alternative. I cried so bad when I found out they had babies <3 It was the perfect ending in my mind.
I, as you know, was also bawling over Finnick's death. I had to read it over like 4 times before the reality hit and Dex was trying to talk to me and i was just crying, mumbling, "Nooo...!" It was so tragic. Of course, I wanted him to survive, but I knew they couldn't all live. Sure, maybe some of the death's "were senseless" but isn't that what made the book so extreme and barbaric in the first place! It IS about a war, people!!!! I was more than devastated when the children were blown up. I felt sick to my stomach imagining my own children excited for a simple little treasure in a parachute and then exploding and leaving earth so rapidly. I could have done without that entire excerpt as I'm certain it may welcome me in my nightmares at some point. As if that wasn't bad enough, I found SC to be so clever: Kat [actually] "Catching Fire" WOW. But crying, yet again, at the death of Prim. I never saw that one coming. :*(
I fully recommend this trilogy to everyone that expresses an interest. Sure, it's abrasive and overbearing at times. But truthfully, it makes you appreciate our freedoms and the somewhat "pathetically EASY" lives we have today. SC has a way of reeling you into her characters and inserting so many underlying hints and tidbits (like the character's names!!). I feel like for the past month, these people have been a part of my life. I know them on such an intimate level now and I feel like I need more, like I'm missing something. I was trying to explain this to Dex... he just smiled and hugged me :) Men.
I went through and actually read the Goodreads reviews that got only 1 star. The funny thing? I don't thing even a one of them completed more than the first book and the ONLY [weak] argument they have made is that the fighting was "cruel." Um... have they not read a single history book? Wow. If the genre isn't your preference, then say your don't prefer that style, not that the book was "bad" or "poorly written." I found it phenomenal!
ReplyDeleteOH! And I forgot to mention, last thing, promise. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I read that Kat shot the president, do you know it took me a page and a half later to realize that she shot COIN, not Snow!?! I was reading so fast at that point, it didn't register in my brain that she directly disobeyed orders. I hated Coin. I knew she was up to no good. Then I laughed, yes, literally LAUGHED, when they mentioned Snow "possibly dying of laughing." Ahahahaha. I could just imagine that mean old man, sitting on his laughing, cackling over the wrong, yet appropriate death. Ughhh. The nasty, blood-smelling roses. :/
I totally agree on your point of : if you don't like the genre, don't read it. I actually thought that straight out. And said it to Brad too. If people don't want to read about a horror-filled world with corrupt people, crazy governments, and people being used to the extreme well then DON'T read a dystopian novel! For real. Personally, I think that dystopias are so interesting. 1984, Brave New World. The authors really get to explore the depths of human control, greed, and corruption. And create awoke characters who are battling against it.
ReplyDeleteI meant awesome characters. The iPad and blogspot don't get along so well.
ReplyDeleteMandy I love that you make the point of - the childrens deaths in the beginning....ya know, the Hunger Games themselves. Totally senseless. And one of the most barbaric things about the story. How quickly I forgot about that! How quickly I became immune to seeing it as a horror. Because it was exciting. But think about it...these grown adults. Setting traps for children. How exciting it must have been from their side to see the audiences reaction. To watch the kids kill each other. To watch them step into their traps. Ugh. It makes me sick.
I thought that was a cool twist that for Katniss and Finnick, heading into the city was just like heading into another games. I liked how she brought that full circle and almost had Kat in three separate games. Even though she really never stopped playing.
Just like you, Mandy, I also had to stop and re-read Finnicks death. At first it didn't even hit me who wasn't getting pulled out of the manhole. When I realized it was Finnick, I lost my breath. I had to go back, slow down my reading, and mourn one of my favorite characters.
At Prims death, I was more shocked than sad. Her death didn't hit me until Buttercup had come looking for her. Then I lost it. Some people didn't like how little Prim was in the book. But I think she was in just enough. Just the right amount. She was so busy helping others, learning about the medical field, taking care of their mother too, fully subscribing to D13 and the possibilities it was going to give her. And of course, showing just how much she was growing up. Prim always knew exactly what to say to Katniss. She could always look straight into the heart of the matter.
It makes me wonder how things would have turned out differently if Gale had volunteered. But even in the books...Katniss never would have forgiven him. He wouldn't have wooed the audience like Peeta. He didn't even know he loved Katniss unless she was kissing Peeta anyway. He would have been too much of a threat. Too vocal in abuse towards the Capitol. And I don't think that they would have survived together. I feel like the Gamemakers would have made sure of it.
Ooo talking about this is almost better than reading it. I can finally get all my thoughts out!
I just skimmed this, but it is another interesting blog on the internet. This post was pretty cool. I will have to go back and re-read.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/mockingjay-discussion-12-real-or-not-real/
OK, I'm really sorry this has taken so long. When Grandma died, I pulled away from bookclub, decided I didn't want any part of it anymore, because life sucks and blah blah blah. Then I felt so bad that I'd not posted in so long, it was less embarrassing to ignore it, than to post after so long. Dummy...
ReplyDeleteNow I'm back, and I've got to tell you, I did not like the end of Mockingjay. I didn't. I was all geared up for this huge exciting fight, for Katniss to go in there and stomp some Capitol butt, and then to turn around and fix the whole dang system, until the world functioned peacefully again. But instead... I felt like she was cut comepletely out of it. She was unconscious during the big climactic fight to Snow, she was in jail while the country was righting itself, and then at the end, there was no sweeping, romantic choice involved between the men we had all come to lvoe darn near equally. "Gale moved away, so I love Peeta now" was how it felt to me. Grr.
They killed Finnick, who I was madly in love with, they killed her gosh darn SISTER, and then Gale moves away. I was not happy with the ending. (Of course, my mental state at the time has to be taken into account..)
I loved the trilogy as a whole, the first two books I know I'll read over and over. I just expected somethign more from the end, somehow. They killed her SISTER!!! PRIM!!!!