Book Review ~ Catching Fire and Mockingjay (The Hunger Games)

Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire, you have provided a spark, that left unattended, may grow into an inferno that destroys Panem. ~ President Snow, Catching Fire

Finally, I'm taking time to post my promised review of the rest of The Hunger Games trilogy. WOW. I haven't really read that many fiction books in a long time, but I'm not sure I've ever read a book that had me gasping out loud at events. It definitely drew me in more than I ever expected. Again, here's your warning about this containing spoilers about Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

I admit, one reason it's taken me so long to write this review is because I was left with all these emotions that I didn't know what to do with. It took me a few days at least to process everything I had read, how it made me feel, and the feelings I was left with when it was all over. I cried. Yes, at 2am on a Monday morning when I finished reading Mockingjay, I cried like a baby. Happy tears, yes, but also the heart-wrenching emotions letting loose. Suzanne Collins did a wonderful job bringing the reader into the story, making it feel alive. Yes, it was fiction, but it felt real. I couldn't help but imagine what it must feel like to have your entire life taken over. To have those you love most ripped from you. To sacrifice your wants for the greater good of everyone.

Catching Fire picks the story back up with Katniss becoming the face of rebellion for the people of the twelve districts. The government, ruled by President Snow, is very aware of the uprisings and rebellion starting in some of the districts. And they blame Katniss. Following their win in the Games, Katniss and Peeta, as all victors, are forced to be paraded around the districts for the next year, reminding the people day after day about the Games. It reminded me so much of 1984, how the government controls the media, what you see, what you hear, and always has eyes on everyone. The haunting knowledge that your life is truly at the mercy of the powers that be. That any minute they can swoop in and kill you, or worse harm the ones you love. In a sick twist, every 25 years they celebrate the Quarter Quell of the Games by opening a time capsule type note and following the prewritten directions. The seemingly rigged note for the 75th Hunger Games, the year after Katniss and Peeta won, it's required that the reaping include only previous victors from each district. District 12 has only ever had 3 victors. Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch, which forces Katniss back into the arena. It also gives a chance to see the other previous victors and the living hell which has become their lives. It's proof that you can't just take another life without having life altering consequences.

Oh, no. It costs a lot more than your life. To murder innocent people? It costs everything you are. ~ Peeta Mellark, Mockingjay

She and Peeta both have nightmares that only other victors can understand. It gives insight into Haymitch's continual drunkenness. I couldn't help but mourn everything the Capitol had taken from them. It's hard to wrap your mind around people so cruel that they would ruin another person just for their entertainment. To physically, emotionally and spiritually break someone for a good reality show. It sickened me in a way that 1984 didn't.

The victors enter the arena and the Games play out strangely, with the others oddly helping to keep Katniss and Peeta alive. Catching Fire ends with turmoil as the arena is compromised by an arrow from Katniss' bow and she awakes to find herself rescued by rebels and in District 13, which was never completely destroyed. She learns of the uprisings all over the country, the bombing of District 12, the complete destruction of her home, and worst of all, the Capitol has Peeta. After all the heartache, I was inspired when Katniss accepted the challenge of being the face of the rebellion. The Mockingjay. Maybe now there would be hope.

Mockingjay is mixed with the rebel plan to overtake the Capitol, the eerie feeling from President Coin the leader of the rebels, Peeta's rescue and the realization that the Capitol has taken everything from him and Katniss. His memories of her have been replaced with a belief that she is the enemy. I admit, it took my breath away when they were reunited and I was expecting an embrace and instead he choked and tried to kill her. It's just more proof of the inhumanity of the Capitol and what they'll do to protect their world. The rebels carry out their plan of attack. Katniss realizes that President Coin isn't all that different than President Snow. In a tragic unexpected turn of events, the rebels sacrifice some of their own in order to beat the Capitol and another heart-wrenching moment comes when Katniss realizes Prim is one of the ones sacrificed. To her, the ends don't justify the means. Killing is killing, even if it's to help good overcome evil. It's unforgivable. And good does overcome. President Snow and Coin are both eliminated. The rebels win. The districts overtake the Capitol. And Peeta remembers.

Through the development of the characters, several things are evident. It's impossible to ever be the same after you've been forced to kill or be killed. The guilt from killing innocent people haunts forever. It's takes longer to repair the damage then it did for the damage to occur. Relationships change because of life experiences. Things are never the same between Gale and Katniss.

That what I need to survive is not Gale’s fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that. ~ Katniss Everdeen, Mockingjay

I think it takes all of this for Katniss to realize that Gale isn't the type of person she needs. His anger, his attitude towards killing - in The Hunger Games he tells Katniss that she'll be fine in the arena since it can't be any different than hunting animals - and the damage she's sustained have made it impossible for them to be together. She needs hope and only Peeta can give that. That our past affects the future and that if we don't pass on the lessons learned from it, no matter how painful, then history will repeat itself.

So I cried. Because of the happy ending, because of the tragic losses they had to endure to get to the happy ending, and relief because it was finally over. Aside from nightmares and memories, the suffering was over. The Games had ended.

What started as a sort of skeptical wanting to know what all the hype and outrage was about ended up in me deciding this was one of the best series I've read. I still won't allow my kids to read it until high school. But again I'm drawn to the question, if there was no God, would it even matter? Would we see a faster decline of our society? Is it that far-fetched to imagine our world as being one that devalues human life and is selfish beyond measure? I don't think so. And I believe that by discussing this series with our children, we can get them to understand the real control that Satan can have over people. The kind of selfishness and carnality portrayed can only survive in a world where God is disregarded.

In doing some research on the series, I stumbled upon Focus on the Family's review of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. I especially like that they include questions to use for discussion with your teens. Things that I wouldn't even necessarily think of asking. Questions that arise from seeing the books as more than just recreational reading. Topics that make good writing assignments, that reminded me of things I thought and wrote about in high school.