Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Woah! This book was not what I had expected at all. Collins has gone from an indictment of a degenerate society which indulges its decadence by watching people fight to the death, to a very obvious indictment of war and its dehumanizing effects. And this is not a case of good versus evil after all, but a scenario that depicts a rather cynical attitude of mistrust of the motives of all those in power.

The problem is that this is a "young adult" book. I know that a great many adults have read and appreciated the series, too, and the message of this third installment and its scenes of violence can be taken in stride by them. But I wonder about the actual young audience, which seems to begin at about age 11. I'm thinking here about my granddaughter, who I had decided was too young to read even the first book. She begged me to loan her my copy, after some of her friends had read it. I did, and she loved it. She is now reading the second book (which is kind of a replay of the first, but much less interesting), and she will want to read the third, I suspect. Will she perceive the message, or will she just be disturbed by the violence and disappointed by the not-very-happily-ever-after ending? I just don't think this is suitable for the so-called "target audience." They should not be faced with so many moral ambiguities at such a young age, I don't believe. (It was being sold at my granddaughter's Scholastic Book Fair at an intermediate school for grades 5 and 6.)

All that being said, the rest of this concerns how I perceive the book as an adult reviewing a book for adult readers. The anti-war message is overly obvious. The moral dilemma of whether an oppressed populace should be as ruthless and cruel as the oppressors to gain ascendancy is not really addressed.

On the plus side, the plot is much more intricate and well paced than in the second installment. And the portrayal of the role of media in shaping popular perceptions is brilliant. The descriptions of Katniss's "attack group" being "styled" and recorded on film are so cynical, but so probable in real life. I am reminded of the famous photo of the flag raising on Iwa Jima, which was used to such good effect in World War II. According to now-revealed historical records, the event was "re-staged."

It will be interesting to see how the film makers will handle this installment of the trilogy, but I'm sure they will make the movie. I have not seen the film of the first installment, but reviews I have read have said that the movie neglected character development in favor of action and quick-editing techniques. How will they handle an anti-war message, I wonder. I fear that all the movies will devolve into an audience "thirst for violence" mentality, which the books supposedly denigrate.