Mockingjay
As promised in the coming back post this September I will post some thoughts on Mockingjay. I'll try not to spoil anyone because I wouldn't have wanted to be spoilored either. In fact, I was one who rushed to the shop the same day it came out just to have one of the first copies and read it in a couple of days just in case someone told me a word or two of what happened at the end of Mockingjay.
At this point, I've read some reviews already. Some are good, some are not that good. It was, of course, impossible for Collins to write a book that satisfied the enormous amount of fans the trilogy had already gained before Mockingjay was published. Anyway, for an attentive reader it was so clear this installment was about war, no one should be surprised about the outcome.
But let's talk about how she's done it, and not about what happens:
Collins used the same pattern in books 1 and 2 (tributes, TV show-bussiness, make-up and attrezo, and a violent outcome where kids/people had to defend themselves against aggression of the government). Twisting it a bit, because Katnis is no longer in the hands of the Capitol but she's with the rebels who act the same way, the pattern is almost complete. This brings like a sense of comming home, of knowing something will happen. And then, she twists it a bit farther.
Collins used a wonderful reluctant heroine, Katnis, who embodies perfectly the awkwardness of being a teen confronting adult society and norms. To teens, norms seem absurd. To Katnis, Capitol norms are to be defeated. But even adults relate to Katnis's fight for freedom. Because her struggle may seem what we all want for ourselves.
And finally the end. Won't tell anything about it, I just will tell it's a perfect ending to the series and it will force you to think about it for a while, not for a day or two. I've read it a week ago and I'm still rereading some parts and thinking about it. She made a clear point: Wars are useless, it's up to humanity to take her word and go on from here.
I'm sure there are more things, but will have to think about them. Just wanted to make sure you knew I've been reading... and thinking. A lot :).