You can torture us and bomb and burn our districts to the ground, but do you see that?

Fire is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us!”

Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire, had survived the Quarter Quell, even though her

home had been bombed to rubble. Gale had escaped. Katniss's family was safe. Peeta

had been captured by the Capitol. District 13, a district thought to have vanished into

oblivion with the Capitol’s wrath 75 years ago, really did exist. There were rebels. There

were new leaders. A revolution was unfolding.

It was by design Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter

Quell, and it was by design that she has long been part of the revolution without

knowing it. District 13 had come out of the shadows and was plotting to overthrow the

Capitol. Everyone, it seemed, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans--except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinged on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept

responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do

this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels'

Mockingjay--no matter what Peeta tells her from the Capitol.

Mockingjay , the epic end to the Hunger Games Trilogy, marked the end of my two day

book bingeing streak. Many lives were lost for the cause of the rebellion from rebels and

government peacekeepers alike. Rebels gave their bodies as weapons and their lives as

dusts of war. Many of my favorite characters lost their lives in this finale and sacrificed it

for the greater good. Their lives had vanished for the rebellion, and it was up to Katniss

for their lives to mean something.

I would rate Mockingjay a 10/10. It’s sad to see this series come to an end. I enjoyed

every moment of the finale. The mockingjay is the embodiment of hope for it is a

creature that had survived despite the Capitol’s efforts to eradicate them from existence.

Upon Katniss’ acceptance of her role as the mockingjay of the rebellion, she became a

symbol of hope that fueled the rebels. However, what I admire most about Katniss

weren’t her courage to overthrow the districts’ oppressors, it was how she would never

condone crimes in order to win the war. She would never repeat what the Capitol did to

her family even in retribution. More than that, she would do anything to stop new rebel

leaders from assuming the same position of oppression, leading to a breathtaking twist

of events in the end.

I recommend this dystopian tale to anyone who haven’t read it yet. Even if you can’t

read through the books, at least watch the movies. This trilogy is one that makes you

really think about what would happen if you were within the story. What would you do?

Will you survive? Or will you sacrifice your life fighting for an end to oppression?

Check out Mockingjay at the Newport Beach Public Library.