Series: Book 3 in the The Hunger Games series
Rating: Not rated
Tags: Fiction, General, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Action & Adventure, Young Adult Fiction, Performing Arts, Survival Stories, Social Issues, Television, Science Fiction, Interpersonal relations, Survival skills, Television programs, Contests, Survival, Television & Radio, Insurgency, Fantasy Fiction, Children's stories, Lang:en
Summary
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has
survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it
out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The
Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they
think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse,
President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe
either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people
of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final
installment of Suzanne Collins's groundbreaking The Hunger
Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about
books of the year.
Product Description
A Q&A with Suzanne Collins, Author of
Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger
Games)
Q: You have said from the start that The
Hunger Games story was intended as a trilogy. Did it actually
end the way you planned it from the beginning?
A: Very much so. While I didn't know every
detail, of course, the arc of the story from gladiator game,
to revolution, to war, to the eventual outcome remained
constant throughout the writing process.
Q: We understand you worked on the initial
screenplay for a film to be based on
A: There were several significant
differences. Time, for starters. When you're adapting a novel
into a two-hour movie you can't take everything with you. The
story has to be condensed to fit the new form. Then there's
the question of how best to take a book told in the first
person and present tense and transform it into a satisfying
dramatic experience. In the novel, you never leave Katniss
for a second and are privy to all of her thoughts so you need
a way to dramatize her inner world and to make it possible
for other characters to exist outside of her company.
Finally, there's the challenge of how to present the violence
while still maintaining a PG-13 rating so that your core
audience can view it. A lot of things are acceptable on a
page that wouldn't be on a screen. But how certain moments
are depicted will ultimately be in the director's hands.
Q: Are you able to consider future projects
while working on
The Hunger Games, or are you immersed in the world
you are currently creating so fully that it is too difficult
to think about new ideas?
A: I have a few seeds of ideas floating
around in my head but--given that much of my focus is still
on
The Hunger Games--it will probably be awhile before
one fully emerges and I can begin to develop it.
Q: The Hunger Games is an annual televised
event in which one boy and one girl from each of the twelve
districts is forced to participate in a fight-to-the-death on
live TV. What do you think the appeal of reality television
is--to both kids and adults?
A: Well, they're often set up as games and,
like sporting events, there's an interest in seeing who wins.
The contestants are usually unknown, which makes them
relatable. Sometimes they have very talented people
performing. Then there's the voyeuristic
thrill—watching people being humiliated, or brought to
tears, or suffering physically--which I find very disturbing.
There's also the potential for desensitizing the audience, so
that when they see real tragedy playing out on, say, the
news, it doesn't have the impact it should.
Q: If you were forced to compete in the
Hunger Games, what do you think your special skill would
be?
A: Hiding. I'd be scaling those trees like
Katniss and Rue. Since I was trained in sword-fighting, I
guess my best hope would be to get hold of a rapier if there
was one available. But the truth is I'd probably get about a
four in Training.
Q: What do you hope readers will come away
with when they read The Hunger Games trilogy?
A: Questions about how elements of the books
might be relevant in their own lives. And, if they're
disturbing, what they might do about them.
Q: What were some of your favorite novels
when you were a teen?
A:
Boris by Jaapter Haar (Photo © Cap Pryor) Grade 7 Up Following her subversive second victory in the
Games, this one composed of winners from past years, Katniss
has been adopted by rebel factions as their symbol for
freedom and becomes the rallying point for the districts in a
desperate bid to take down the Capitol and remove President
Snow from power. But being the Mockingjay comes with a price
as Katniss must come to terms with how much of her own
humanity and sanity she can willingly sacrifice for the
cause, her friends, and her family. Collins is absolutely
ruthless in her depictions of war in all its cruelty,
violence, and loss, leaving readers, in turn, repulsed,
shocked, grieving and, finally, hopeful for the characters
they've grown to empathize with and love.
Mockingjay is a fitting end of the series that began
with
The Hunger Games (2008) and
Catching Fire (2009) and will have the same lasting
resonance as William Golding's
Lord of the Flies and Stephen King's
The Stand. However, the book is not a stand-alone;
readers do need to be familiar with the first two titles in
order to appreciate the events and characters in this one.
Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly
owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution
permitted.Amazon.com Review
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the
Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the
bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is
angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should
pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow
has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not
Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District
12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment
of Suzanne Collins's groundbreaking
The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the
most talked about books of the year.
From School Library Journal