Why Mockingjay is A Book on Fire.

Choices. Collins had several choices. And quite refreshingly for me, she made, for the most part, excellent choices.

First though, let me share briefly my thoughts on the first couple of books. The first one, I thought was great, but also slow-developing. It did not captivate much until I was halfway through. Admittedly, I was also annoyed by the initial love triangle; though after reading the series as a whole, I can accept the move a little more. The second book was also a fun read. It moved a bit faster for me, though, the abrupt ending left me a bit unsatisfied. Overall, I thought the idea of mixing reality TV with death games was a brilliant idea that criticizes how tv, video games, and movies have numbed our sensitivities. I enjoyed them greatly, though I felt they both fell a bit short of spectacular.

Mockingjay, however, was spectacular- largely, in part, due to spectacular choices.

Brilliant Choice #1: Not making Katniss some Xena-like war hero.

Sometimes a brilliant choice can be what the author chooses NOT to do. I loved that Katniss's overall role in the war becomes less important. She was merely being used as a symbol for the war. She could never be the actual war hero. Besides, Coin, wouldn't have liked that anyway- someone to be thought more highly of than her. I thought it was fine that Katniss could beat other tributes in the Games. But in war, she has much less control. She has much less power. This is the reality of war. Even great soldiers can die. Great soldiers fail in missions. Katniss, though a great soldier, didn't accomplish her devise to assassinate Snow. The war was bigger than her, and I'm glad the author didn't get carried away and let Katniss go all Jason Bourne on us. Instead, I felt she delivered us a book that depicted the hells of war in the eyes of a teenager. And in Katniss's last battle, the author made another brilliant choice- Katniss was hit with a bomb, and lit up with fire. She finished her part of the war in perfect, yet morbid ironic fashion: On fire.

I also offer a small rebuttal towards comments about not enough detail. I believe it is totally fair to critique the author for this, but in this case, I would argue that there was plenty. The author stayed consistent and true in writing it from Katniss's perspective. Sure, there are ways insight could have been gained. But, the unwielding frustration of Katniss being a puppet of the rebellion would have been lost if she was allowed to prance around in the war conflict like Batman.

Hence, in doing less, I believe Collins accomplished more. It showed a point of view of a soldier in a war. It's not always the point of view we want to see or the point of view most revelatory. But war seldom gives us the most vivid point of views. Rather, it can be oblique, depressing, and consistently unsatisfying.

Brilliant Choice #2: Death to Coin.

This book would have been a disappointment if Katniss did not kill Coin. Often when a new country conquers, is life really better? Or, is it just different? Whoever wins, they become the good guys, right? Are we okay with that new life, merely, because it favors us better? Just because we got a "change" in a system, that doesn't mean the change didn't come with its own evil designs (the bombing of the children). Katniss deftly recognized this through Snow's convincing (another great choice). Coin represents the undying regime changes in war, and on another level- politics. Even though the grass looks greener, sometimes we fail to see that it wasn't grass we were looking at, but rather a bunch of weeds.

Brilliant Choice #3: The Prim Reaper

This book became awesome with one masterful and daring decision: letting Prim die. This decision would sure tug on the heartstrings of fans. No, Mockingjay was not going to have a Disney-esque ending. And, it shouldn't. This decision showed the reader that you can't control the heartaches of war. Katniss tried to prevent her Sister's death by volunteering, yet despite that, in the end, her sister still died as a final casualty in the war. This was a sad, but beautiful ending that reveals the horrors of war. Sometimes those who deserve it the least, are hurt the most. Prim represents those innocent and helpless victims of war. She represents those that are worth fighting for. The dark irony of Prim dying despite Katniss signing up for the initial hunger games to save her sister presents one of the most touching moments in the book.

Brilliant Choice #4: Plutarch

I love what she did with Plutarch. Period. I think Nathan touched on it well below, but I believe Plutarch represents those in society that know how to create the best situations for themselves. I like Plutarch. He is the salesman, the investor, the producer, the likeable guy. I don't like Plutarch. He is a phony, a narcissist, a self-promoter, the guy who is looking out for only his interests. The dynamic of Plutarch is great because he knows how to play the game. He is the ultimate gamemaker.

Brilliant Choice #5: Using Peeta and Gale as ways to show the horrific effects of war on people.

The psychological damages used on Peeta were great to create that tension and longing for Katniss. It reminded me of the stories you hear when a loved one comes home from war and is never really the same. Also, someone as strong as Peeta can even be broken by the pains of war- I thought this was an important thing to show. How can someone as translucent and optimistic as Peeta be broken? Time in a POW torture camp can take care of that optimism in a hurry. This choice spoke volumes of what that is like. Gale, becoming hateful, spiteful, and vengeful, to the point where his own personal morality had been compromised, is another devastating effect of war.

Brilliant Choice #6: Hope.

Despite the damages war entails, this book demonstrates that there are messages of hope that can still be derived. Every war has messages of courage, messages of charity, and messages of hope. War will certainly stretch people. Often it turns people into brutal human beings. Other times it turns people into unsung heros of hope and love. This is where I believe you can contrast the roles of Gale vs. Finnick. Gale helped devise a bomb that would perpetuate devastating effects. Finnick sacrificed his mentor to save Katniss (book 2), and later stays behind to save Katniss again. Finnick, to me, exemplifies someone who sacrifices it all for the sake of others to his own detriment. Finnick found hope when his wife was saved, and could have stayed behind, but he fought again. Finnick, to me, was the War hero in book 3.

Overall, I also loved the use of media, mixed with war, and how media plays a part in politics and war- and how people are influenced by the propaganda.

So, when people say, "I loved the first two hunger games, but the third was not my favorite," I simply have to stand back, smile, and say to myself:

Not Real.