"Mockingjay" My thoughts. (spoilers)

So I finally finished "Mockingjay" last week.  This week, I worked tirelessly in an attempt to catch up on all the housekeeping that went neglected while I was sucked into the book last week. Today, though I should be cooking or whatever, I will instead use my time to jot down my thoughts on this national addiction that is the "Hunger Games" series and more specifically "Mockingjay".

I'm going to start by being brutally honest. I wasn't really into "Mockingjay" until the last half of the book when Katniss and Gale travel to district eight. Other than a few intriguing snippets of life underground in thirteen, nothing really happened up to that point. I'm sure Collins was merely using the first half to convey the feeling of sadness and loss as well as the uncertainty of starting over, I just think it dragged on a bit too long.

One of the most disheartening parts of "Mockingjay", for me, was Peeta's torture and mental hijacking. I could feel Katniss' heartbreak over what had happened to Peeta and the realization that he may never recover. Then, Collins masterfully twists this knife when Katniss is forced to recall her fond memories of Peeta in an attempt to help him separate his true memories from those that were hijacked. It was sad and horrific and very well done.

I thought it was interesting that Katniss had reservations about being the rebels' face of the rebellion. Wasn't this what she had been hoping for all along, a rebellion? I understood, better when she finally decided to go through with it and the leaders like Coin and Plutarch brought in the make-over team. It was a sickening deja-vu feeling. Here these people are trying to change the horrors the capitol had been reigning down on them for so long, then showing no better character.

Another very disheartening part for me, was the slow digression of Gale from spirited warrior to calloused killer. I had expected more from Gale and I was deeply disappointed.

One thing that didn't hurt as much as I think, Collins wanted, was the death of Prim. It was ironic and fitting that she end the series killing off the one person Katniss wanted to protect more than anyone else. She just didn't make me love Prim and so her death wasn't as jolting as it could have been.

Overall, the one feeling that stood out more than any other,  despite the supposed "happy ending" was sadness. Sad for the fact that in war there is no completely happy ending for anyone. Sad that this story was so true to the nature of human beings. That there is no end to what horrible things people will do to one another all in the name of money, or power, or entertainment. It makes you think, and wonder if a real life hunger game is not really that far off.