Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I can’t imagine why an author would spend so much of their word count convincing us that the “hero” is an over-thinking, inconstant, whining little girl. There is no growth of this character across three books. At the outset, I was happy to see a strong female protagonist that carried along a dynamic and dramatic sci-fi story. Unfortunately, the author was more interested in convincing us she’s not mature enough to handle relationships in difficult situations and not intelligent enough to synthesize a new understanding of the world through her many experiences.
The story is serviceable enough and there are certainly plot points that make it engaging. Unfortunately, there is so little subtlety in any of the characters. The most interesting character, Haymitch, is kept mostly on the fringes. I would rather hear his inner dialogue, than another self-centered monologue by Katniss.
Fortunately, this should be near impossible in the movies. We might actually get that most rare of artistic products, a movie that is better than the book.
