Just when I thought the story cannot get anymore complicated, Collins decides to add some unexpected twists that leaves the reader speechless. This was so well written that you can actually feel and experience the pain and torture that the characters go through. As I read on, I was heart stricken by the fact so many soldiers and innocent people have died and at one point I almost cried. This book is not a story you would forget, ever.

There's a war going on in Panem. Katniss is now living in District 13 - the one that no one knew existed - reunited with her mother, sister and Gale who escaped an attack on District 12. She has no idea what happened to Peeta following her rescue from the Quarter Quell arena and the rebels want her to be their Mockingjay - the face of the rebellion - to unite the districts against the Capitol. It was interesting to read about how District 13 differed from 12, with everything being very regimented and structured, and also to find out more about the first war in Panem - the one that led to the start of the Hunger Games to remind the people of the districts that the Capitol is in charge. The author doesn't hold back in writing about the aspects of war and the part where Katniss visits a hospital in one of the other districts is particularly heart-wrenching. There was a change in dynamics between the characters in this final part of the series. Katniss is more withdrawn into herself following everything that has happened, which is completely understandable. She spends more time with Finnick and Johanna, who she collaborated with during the previous Hunger Games, probably because they get how she's feeling more than most people can.. There's still the tension between Katniss, Gale and Peeta but it takes a different angle as this time Gale is the one who's around for more of the story and Peeta's not quite himself (I thought this was a great twist to the story, although I'm not going to reveal the cause of it). It's also interesting to see how the two boys react when they're together, knowing how they both feel about Katniss. A fantastic finish to an amazing series, Mockingjay was one of those books that I just couldn't put down. In fact, that was the case for all three books. I read the first two back to back but then put off reading this one for a while, I think because I didn't want it to end and because I didn't want to be disappointed by it. Fortunately that wasn't the case. I loved everything about this book. My only complaint ... the series being over.

If you click on my name and read my reviews, it won't take you long to realise that Suzanne Collins is quickly shooting up into my list of favourite authors, and with this third masterpiece in 'The Hunger Games' Trilogy, she's not done anything to let my opinion of her drop. I don't know what I was expecting, what I wanted out of the end of this trilogy. With the first two being so fast paced, so amazingly readable and so difficult to put down, I was expecting something extraordinary, some further twists and turns that play with your mind in a way only this author can. One thing is for sure; I was not expecting this. Thankfully, Collins proves she is not just a one trick pony by throwing her perfect heroine Katniss Everdeen into a 3rd Hunger Games scenario. In fact she does almost the opposite. She proves what a truly remarkable writer she is by straying quite far out of her comfort zone and producing an incredible book. Unlike the first two, where the unexpected would happen with characters changing their allegiances, bad guys turning good and vice versa, 'Mockingjay' is, to put it simply, all about Katniss Everdeen. Her emotions, her regrets, her fears, her sorrows, her tragic past and, of course, her thirst for revenge are put down on paper so exquisitely. She is not always the innocent and pure creature that has been portrayed in the first two books, and as she changes, you as a reader change with her. Collins certainly both understands and appreciates who her readers are and what they want, and that is definitely reflected in this book. There is no 'All Was Well' cop out that ended the Harry Potter series on such an anti-climactic note. Collins instead chooses a far more realistic, far more mature, and therefore far superior way to bring her masterpieces to an end, and I can do nothing but admire her for that. Of course there is still all the explosive action, the electrifying fights and ingenious cliffhanger endings to chapters one has come to expect from this series, but there is also so much more emotion, so much more feeling to this final instalment that just confirms in my mind (as if any further confirmation was needed) that these are just the most extraordinary series of books I've ever read. To me the best moments in reading come when you are so happy with how a book has ended, yet at the same time are so unhappy that there is a possibility you may never find a book quite as good ever again. Never has that feeling been stronger than when I was finally able to place the complete Hunger Games Series on my bookshelf.

This 3rd and final installment was just as fantastic as the rest of its franchise, it did not dissapoint and was riveting to experience. I highly recommend this book, and this franchise, to anyone and everyone.

If i had to choose a series of books to take with me onto a desert island this would be the one i would chose. No matter how many times I read them I never get bored.