Mockingjay

Mockingjay is the third and final book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. It was released on August 24, 2010.

Book description

 * "Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Kaniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are leaders. A revolution is unfolding.


 * "It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans — except Katniss.


 * "The success of the rebellion hinges 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 the personal cost."

Plot
After her rescue by rebels, Katniss Everdeen reluctantly agrees to become "the Mockingjay", a symbol of the rebellion against the Capitol. As part of a deal, she demands that the leader of District 13, President Coin, grant immunity to all of the victors of the Hunger Games. She demands the right to kill President Snow herself, and asks for her family to keep their cat, Buttercup. In a daring rescue, Peeta Mellark and other victors are rescued from the Capitol. However, Peeta has been brainwashed into hating Katniss, and tries to strangle her upon their reunion.

The rebels take control of the districts and finally begin an assault on the Capitol itself, which Katniss is a part of. However, an assault on a "safe" Capitol neighborhood goes wrong, and Katniss and her team flee further into the Capitol with the intent of finding and killing President Snow. Eventually Katniss finds herself pressing on alone towards Snow's mansion, which has supposedly been opened to shelter Capitol children (but is actually intended to provide human shields for Snow). Afterwards, bombs placed in supply packages kill many of these children and a rebel medical team, including Katniss' sister Prim.

President Snow is tried and found guilty, but he tells Katniss that the final assault that killed Primrose Everdeen was ordered by President Coin, not the Capitol. Katniss realizes that if this is true, the bombing may have been the result of a plan originally developed by her friend Gale. Katniss doubts this, but still realizes that she will never be able to look at Gale the same way, regardless of whether he was directly involved in Prim's death.

Katniss remembers a conversation with Snow in which they promised not to lie to each other. When she is supposed to execute Snow, she realizes that he was telling the truth and kills Coin instead. A riot ensues and Snow is found mysteriously dead, having possibly choked on his own blood or trampled by the crowd. Katniss is acquitted due to her apparent insanity and returns to her home in District 12. Peeta returns soon after as well, having recovered immensely from his brainwashing.

In the epilogue, Katniss speaks as an adult, more than fifteen years later. She is married to Peeta and they have two children. The Hunger Games are over, but she dreads the day her children's innocent world is shattered by learning the details of their parents' involvement in both the Games and the war. When she feels upset, Katniss has taken to reminding herself of every good thing that she has ever seen someone do.

Part 2, The Assault
When Peeta Mellark briefly warns Katniss of a soon to come bombing in 13, fighting off the tracker jacker venom, with the result of torture. He does this televised during an interview by Caesar Flickerman, when he is asked what he desires to say to Katniss, in which they are "still dragging out the star-crossed lovers thing," as Johanna Mason and the hijacked Peeta refer to bitterly later on in the novel.

A shrilling alarm sounds, to evacuate the upper levels into the bunkers. Katniss is modeled by the people, so she composes herself. She is one of the first to reach the bunkers, coming to reassure that Mother and Prim should still be relocating the hospital patients. As she waits, disturbed by the flecks of blood on the bunker sign, she grabs three packs as of the instructions.

As time passes, Mother arrives, and they become wary why Prim hasn't arrived yet. She imagines herself as Prim, and suddenly grasps the situation. Prim, being herself, had rushed back to their compartment to get her beloved cat, Buttercup.

Characters

 * For a complete list, see List of Mockingjay characters.


 * Katniss Everdeen — The Mockingjay. The symbol for the rebels. She fought her way into the Capitol and ended the Rebellion. Killed President Coin. Lives in District 12. She married Peeta Mellark. Together they had two unnamed children. One of the victors of the 74th Hunger Games.
 * Peeta Mellark — Was in the arena with Katniss but got captured by the Capitol. He has loved Katniss since they were little kids. He married Katniss Everdeen, and they have two unnamed children. The other victor of the 74th Hunger Games.
 * Primrose Everdeen — Katniss's little sister. She helps Katniss keep sane when Peeta is not there. Prim worked as a healer in District 13, and died during a bombing by Coin's soldiers when a hovercraft with parachute bombs dropped on a herd of capitol children. Prim was working as a doctor in the explosion.
 * Gale Hawthorne — Katniss's best friend and hunting partner. He is in love with Katniss, but they don't end up together because Katniss associates him with the bombing that killed her sister and can't stand to look at him. Note: Gale helped in the creation of the bomb that lead to the end of Prim’s life, though he was not behind that specific bombing. Gale eventually takes up a successful position in post-war District 2.
 * Haymitch Abernathy — A drunken former victor from District 12 who used to be a mentor for the Hunger Games. He helped in the rebellion and then returned to District 12, where he remains a drunk. Victor of the 50th Hunger Games.
 * Plutarch Heavensbee — Used to be the Head Gamemaker for the 75th Hunger Games, but was secretly working with the rebels to overthrow the Capitol.
 * Finnick Odair — Victor of the 65th Hunger Games. Originally from District 4, Helped in the rebellion against the Capitol. Him and Katniss help each other keep sane when Peeta and Annie aren't there. He marries Annie Cresta after she is rescued from the Capitol, but is killed by rose-scented lizard mutts during the mission to assassinate President Snow. He and Annie have a child.
 * Annie Cresta — Victor of the 70th Hunger Games, she went mad when she witnessed her district partner get beheaded. She is arrested by the Capitol after the Quarter Quell. She is Finnick Odair's love interest and later becomes his wife. She is widowed when he is killed by Snow's mutts during a mission, and later gives birth to his child.
 * President Coriolanus Snow — The cruel President of Panem, who died from either choking on his own blood or being trampled. Katniss pointed out that no one cared and it didn't matter. Smells of roses and blood. Poisoned people to come to power. He smells like roses because he drinks the poison also, then uses an antidote so he won't die, then covers up the smell of bloody sores in his mouth with rose perfume.
 * President Alma Coin — President of District 13. She authorized the final bombing of the Capitol's children, which killed Prim. Katniss assassinates her during Snow's execution.

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