This review can also be found here - http://thebookboudoir.blogspot.com/2011/07/mocking-jay-hunger-games-3-by-suzanne.html

I read the first four chapters as soon as I finished Catching Fire. After that, things got in the way and it was another week before I was able to pick Mockingjay back up. I couldn't put it down once I settled back into it.

Lots of questions answered. Lots of heartache and bittersweet.

Peeta in particular tore at my heart. Seeing him struggle the way he did, wanting so badly for him to remember why he loved Katniss.

Then there is Gale, whom I loved as well. So full with pain, being in love with someone he wasn't sure he could 'have'.

The main focus isn't a romance between Katniss, Gale and Peeta, but the struggle and the battle they live with regarding the Snow and the Rebels. That's probably the most heartbreaking part. Knowing they are all struggling with inner demons, worrying about loved ones, losing others that have touched their lives.

Had so many people not read, reviewed and recommended the trilogy, I doubt I would have read it. I'm not usually into this type of thing- futuristic world where things have been destroyed, etc. I'm glad I joined the crowd this time. They are powerful books. Powerful characters that you can't help but love and pull for and want to see happy. Sadly, even the 'happy' isn't what we'd like to see them get. I guess given the things they've lived through, their HEA is more than they could have ever dreamed of.

My mind is still all over the place. Not really connecting all the dots. I think this is probably a good thing. When you read a book like this, it should be powerful enough to make you think about it for days after you finish it. It definitely makes you realize how lucky you are in the world you live in.

That aside, Suzanne Collins writes an amazing tale. I'm truly captivated. (And a little rambly)