Mockingjay

I start this review very personally: have you ever read a book (or series of books) and after shutting it, you felt like you just closed off a chapter of your life? Like a part of your life that hasn't so much ended as has been completed? Mockingjay, the final book of The Hunger Games trilogy (by Suzanne Collins) is most certainly one of those books. The book picks up shortly after the events of Catching Fire (NOTICE: If you have not read Catching Fire, I strongly advise that you do prior to reading this review- you have been warned!). Katniss is trying to put together the shattered, burned, lacerated and otherwise damaged pieces of her life back in order as she tries to make sense of what happened to her home (District 12) and everything else.
Mockingjay is a book that will reach through its pages, grab you by the throat and slap you for good measure. Of course, I mean this in the best possible way, but also as a warning to anybody who wants to read this book: it is extremely powerful. I must apologize now, because I'm afraid that I simply do not know what to say about this book. I'm totally speechless. It was... It was a masterfully composed novel, with powerfully conveyed messages against violence, a strong (but obviously not superhuman) protagonist who feels extremely real, and a cast of interesting and multifaceted characters.
On account of my being so shocked (positively!) by the book, I'm suffering extreme difficulty writing this review.
I'll begin with what I know:
The book takes place in the first person. It's speaker is the primary protagonist, Katniss Everdeen. She was a participant in the 74th and 75th Hunger Games. In the last game, she unwittingly destroyed the arena, and was rescued. She is now hospitalized in District 13, where her mother and sister now reside.
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I continue with what I know: Katniss is reunited, not only with family members, but old friends as well. Gale is alive, and led survivors from the bombing of District 12 to the woods, and from there they journeyed to 13. Now Katniss has to juggle adjusting to life in District 13 with an new role: shooting propaganda films to display across the districts, in hopes that they can rally more support and stop the Capitol once and for all.
Her dear friend Peeta wasn't initially rescued by the rebels of District 13, however. He was being tortured and manipulated by the Capitol to shoot their own propoganda. This places additional weight upon Katniss, who already has her own trouble to deal with, now must endure having the knowledge that her ally in the arena has been reformed through torture, and he may never be the same. In addition to this, everybody around her now thinks of Peeta as a traitor to the cause.
Katniss is now living as the Mockingjay, a living, breathing symbol of hope spitting right in the face of evil, the personificatation of all that is good, etc. That's why Plutarch Heavensbee is using her for the "propos" (propoganda spots), along with a few other surviving tributes.

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If there's one thing I really enjoy about the way Collins wrote Mockinjay (and the entire Hunger Games series for that matter), it's in the way that she reveals things. She unveils important details in dialog, which I really, really love about her books, since it keeps conversations between characters lively and makes the book even more engaging than it already is.
I'm afraid I'm going to have to make a return to this book- it was simply so excellent that I'm having trouble writing an informative review. If you like dystopian sci-fi that deals with the implications of certain techologies and actually makes its readers think about what certain things could mean, this is most certainly a book you will enjoy. If you like action pack heart pounding "I'm reading so fast I have to go back just to find out what's going on" type novels, you'll defintely enjoy this book. And if you like good books with strong characters who have deep serious discussions over weighty issues who don't lecture you but rather encourage you to consider the implications of their actions, I recommend you read this book as soon as possible without causing harm to others.

Collins official website:
http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/

Collins reading an excerpt from the first chapter of Mockingjay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYC1954VJfg

Another review of Mockingjay:
http://nmplteenblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/mockingjay.html

Common Sense Media review of Mockingjay:
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/mockingjay-hunger-games-book-3

On another unrelated note, the series that I promised you on video games is still being worked on. Please be patient!