I finished the trilogy last night. I honestly don't even know what to say about this book. I'm conflicted about my feelings. I feel like the progression of the books was pretty intense. And then at the very end, it just.....wraps up. Weirdly. I don't think she slapped it together hastily, but I just wish it hadn't been so anticlimactic. I guess maybe that would have added another 100 pages, though.
I'm disappointed in Katniss' character. I kept waiting for a moment when I'd start to like her, and it never really happened. She is blind to the love other characters feel for her and I never cared for the way she treated Peeta. I'm glad she ended up with him, though, I was always rooting for that. I also was upset with the way she voted to have one last hunger games with the Capitol children. I don't personally understand how on earth she could think that was a good idea after everything she had been through.
As for the main plot and the way it ended. I think Katniss made the right choice with not allowing the district 13 president to reside over Panem. But I was really disgusted with the scene where the children are murdered. That is hard for me to stomach and I felt very angry at the thought of it. I still think the whole plot of this series is disturbing. But it is also gripping and easy to read. I had to get through them all, quickly, because I needed to know what happened. It was an interesting take on what happens to people and their motives during times of strife. I'll admit, I had a lot of discussions with Matt during the course of reading these books about how this represented the world we live in. And that shows the mark of a great writer....one that gets you thinking.
This one had 283 pages.
I'm thinking maybe I need to devote my time to more series type books this year. I am much more inclined to keep reading, and rather quickly at that, when I am attached to a story line and want to get through it all. I'll have to look into it.
I agree with everything you said, especially the questionable subject matter (why does a series dealing with a sport where teenagers are sent to kill one another count as young adult? But I remember several young adult books from my youth tackling pretty dicey issues.) And maybe my expectations are unrealistic (especially for an author who writes on this subject matter), but I had also hoped to see Katniss grow a lot more throughout the series. She really didn't change much at all. And the end just kind of... happened. The story was definitely action-packed and kept me reading, but I wasn't altogether pleased with the result :/
ReplyDeleteJust saw your book blog and will definitely be stopping by more often for inspiration!