Within minutes of finishing Catching Fire I grabbed my copy of Mockingjay eager for more. However, I'm sorry to say that I was bitterly disappointed by the final novel in The Hunger Games trilogy. I'm a sucker for a good love story so after Catching Fire I was looking for many more romantic moments leading up to the end of Mockingjay, but I did not find them. Instead I was presented with a story miles away from its two predecessors. The atmosphere was completely different with characters separated and all over the place as well as numerous new additions. Some people see this book as a brilliant ending to the series, but for some reason, I just don't see it that way and after reading this book my Hunger Games high has most certainly been subdued.

This books kicks off straight after Katniss has been removed from the Arena of the Quarter Quell by a mysterious hovercraft. She wakes up to find herself amongst a group of rebels taking her to District 13 where it turns out there is still a thriving and rebellious population despite the fact that the Capitol has claimed for years that the old District is deserted. It is on the hovercraft that Katniss realises that Peeta hasn't been rescued from the Arena as she was, but instead he has been captured by the Capitol. Katniss attempts to recover from the heavy injuries she sustained during the Quarter Quell whilst fearing for Peeta's life. After swearing to keep him safe and bring him home alive after the Quarter Quell, Katniss is desperate for news of Peeta - her supposed fiancee and father of her 'child' - and is also furious with Haymitch for double crossing her. In this book we see the fight of the rebels against the Capitol play out

One thing I do have to give credit to Suzanne Collins for is surprise. I could not have been more shocked at the way that the events played out in this novel and it was absolutely  unpredictable. This book really reinforced my view that it's not just the ending that matters, but how you get there, and I wasn't very pleased at all about how this book played out. All the characters go through dramatic personality changes which altered everything that had been set out by events in the previous books. Whilst there were many moments that filled with me much emotion and even left me with a few tears streaming down my face, the predominant emotion I was feeling after I'd finished was frustration. I didn't feel like my hunger (excuse the pun) for The Hunger Games had been satisfied and I needed more. I'm sorry I can't say more, but I don't feel that I can express exactly why I am so dissatisfied without revealing what exactly the plot line is.

For me, this was definitely the worst book out of all three in this series and the ending really let me down. I was incredibly frustrated for a couple of days and then I discovered The Hunger Games fanfiction, which really has been the only thing to stop me from killing myself after the s*** ending to this series. For those of you who haven't yet read Mockingjay, I'd almost suggest that you just don't, because it almost ruined my love for this series, but then again, I can't imagine any true fan only reading two out of the three books. Some of my friends disagree with me, but there are also many who agree with my point of view. I've read reviews about how brilliant and about how disappointing this book is so I suppose this is a love/hate novel and it really will be up to the reader to decide. Despite the less than satisfactory end, this is still my all-time favourite series after Harry Potter and I highly recommend to it boys, girls and adults for a captivating read.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.

The Hunger Games.



Seen by many to be the most anticipated movie of 2012, I had very high expectations of 'The Hunger Games'. This new book to screen adaptation has been dubbed as the new 'Harry Potter' and 'Twilight', but I disagree strongly with this and The Hunger Games is a phenomenon in its own right and with a novel as unique as this, there's no reason to compare it to those gone before it.


The Hunger Games has a completely unique plot line which is absolutely gripping from start to finish. After an unsuccessful uprising in North America by the thirteen districts of Panem, a 'reaping' (it's more like a raffle really), is held every year to remind the remaining twelve districts of the authority of the Capital. During this 'reaping', twenty-four children are chosen, one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts, to participate in 'The Hunger Games'. These children are taken away from their distrcits and placed into an arena where they must fight til the death. There can only be one victor and this winner will receive fame and glory. Katniss and Peeta are the two contestants from District 12, the poorest and least prepared of all the districts, that must compete in the 74th annual Hunger Games and it is the stories of these two that we follow whilst they're in the arena, where some unexpected things happen.


As far as book to film adaptations go, I would have to say that this is one of the best. There were several moments in the film where the scene was the exact image that I had had in my mind whilst reading the book. The plot sticks to the original story line as much as possible, though obviously with some bits taken out. I was completely astounded at how well they brought the images from the book onto the screen and I think 'The Hunger Games' deserves a very big round of applause for this. At no point whilst watching the film did I think, 'Oh, the book is so much better', in fact, the film has made me love and appreciate the novel, where this story began, all the more. It's been a very long time since I read The Hunger Games, but as I was watching, I remembered the exact extracts from the book from which they originated.


The Hunger Games is sort of a mixing of the old with the  new as the districts live in impoverished conditions whilst the rich live in technical spleandour. The mixing of these two was done perfectly and the effects of the modern scenes was mesmerising, as were the scenes of nature. I've never seen a film where the two meshed so perfectly together and I was really pleased to see the coming together of old and new done so well.

Many people are under the impression that The Hunger Games revolves around a teenage romance, which it does not, I repeat, it does not. Whilst there are a couple of romantic elements to the plot, this is seen as a dystopia story. That said, I found myself rolling around on the floor in some scenes because I'm a big Peeta-Katniss fan and there are some scenes which make your heart pound.


I literally just finished watching the film and I'm on such a high. I recommend this film to everyone who loves a good film and fans shouldn't be afraid of this 'ruining' the series, because it definitely doesn't. In terms of quality (and plot), I believe this film surpasses Twilight by far, though unfortunately, the fan base is not as large as this story deserves. Being a massive Potter-head, I can't say that this is better than Harry Potter, but it's definitely a very, very, close second on my list of favourite books and films. I'm literally buzzing after watching this film and I can't wait to watch it again and again and again!