I saw three people coming out of Barnes and Noble with the book as I walked in. I went in, grabbed the book which was conveniently placed right in front, and went to the check out line. The two people in front of me had the book, and two more came behind me with the book. As I left the store, a friend of mine walked in, and went immediately to the rack and picked up the book to buy. Pretty popular. Ray works at Costco, and said they sold out of the book early. Costco does carry a three pack containing all the books in the series, and he said that was nearly gone also.
Warning: very minor spoilers ahead - no specific plot spoilers, but how I felt about the book might inadvertently give some hints as to what happens in the story.
I couldn't wait for to start the book, so I began it Tuesday night, putting off other things I should be doing. Finally it got so intense I had to put it down and shake it off for a few minutes. I decided to wait and read it on the trip.
Mockingjay was not the roller-coaster, hang-on-for-dear-life ride that the other two books were. Well, not from start to finish; there were definitely very exciting parts. Also, I had forgotten how violent the books are. I could never in a million years watch a movie of these books. I had to skim parts of all the books that were too intense and graphic for me.
Collins wraps the story up - which I wanted. I hated the extreme cliff hangers of the other two books. (Although look how fast everyone runs to get the next book.) I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. I think I wanted a happy, fairy tale ending, and didn't really get it. In fact what develops fully in Mockingjay is the statement on war and its effects on our planet and people that Collins makes. The ending is consistent with that theme. I'm anxious to talk with someone about it. I think it will help me process how I really feel about the book.
I have mixed feelings about the book - I liked it, but I'm not yet embracing it unreservedly. I'm still processing it. That's good writing - keeping someone thinking about the book after that final page is turned.
I reviewed The Hunger Games here and Catching Fire here.
we just got the book about 1/2 an hour ago! loren, gwyneth, liesel, and i are all fighting over it. gwyneth's on page 30. liesel's waiting to read it until her surgery on wednesday. i will probably stay up late tonight reading it all in one sitting. loren will just have to wait. i didn't read your whole email (didn't want any sort of pre-feeling going into it), but i will definitely let you know what i (we) think when we're done!
ReplyDeleteThe book is so unsettling - just the thought that children would be expected to enter an arena like that is so foreign and unacceptable to us. I'm waiting to read the third one until my friend finishes it, but I NEED to read it to finalize the story. I probably will watch the movie (unless it's rated R, which is highly likely), but only because I'm forewarned.
ReplyDeletei've finished it now. i feel the same way--i'm glad to get some closure, but i wanted a happier ending. i don't know how a happier ending would have felt real, though. i still feel a bit unsettled about how it ends up. loved it, though, the whole way through, as i did the other 2 books. gwyneth loved it, but said it was the saddest book she's ever read.
ReplyDeleteMy book just arrived from Amazon! Now I just need to read the first two. Look forward to talking with you when you get back!!!!!! Marilyn
ReplyDeleteMine came from Amazon last week, but I haven't had a chance to start it yet. Probably tonight.
ReplyDeleteAaah - this is killing me. Mine is supposed to come from Amazon tomorrow. I like happy endings, so I'm curious to see how I feel about this one.
ReplyDeleteThose last few chapters would make for a grim movie...I don't see how they could do that visually for the age of the audience...the book was even a bit much for the teen audience. I thought the ending was needed. She is a tortured hero and she will always be, but some moments of joy can seep in, too. A very good trilogy. It makes my heart ache for those living in and through our modern wars...
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading the book ( my mom bought it on her new kindle, which I might have used more than she has) and i thought the book answered a lot of questions from the cliffhangers before but I absolutely did NOT like the ending. It didn't seem right at all. I didn't like some of the things that happened with the characters such as Finnick but it was still a pretty good book. I think if some minor things were changed it could have changed the perspective completely.
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