RaveThe Los Angeles TimesUnfolding in Collins’ engaging, intelligent prose and assembled into chapters that end with didn’t-see-that-coming cliffhangers, this finale is every bit the pressure cooker of its forebears ... Mockingjay takes readers into new territories and an even more brutal and confusing world: one where it’s unclear what sides the characters are on, one where presumed loyalties are repeatedly stood on their head ... More maudlin than the first two books in the series, Mockingjay is also the most violent and bloody and, based on the actions and statements of its characters, its most overtly antiwar — though not so much that it distracts from a series conclusion that is nearly as shocking, and certainly every bit as original and thought provoking, as The Hunger Games.
Sherman Alexie
RaveThe Los Angeles TimesThe high-school misfit is a familiar young-adult-story template, but Alexie makes it fresh because this particular misfit is one who doesn't often appear in print. As a poor Native American, Arnold's issues are different. He's called ‘Chief’ and ‘Squaw Boy’ (by the kids at school) and Apple (by fellow Indians on the rez, who say he's red on the outside and white on the inside) … These sorts of tragedies are far removed from the lives of his peers at school, but they affect Arnold in a way that isn't defined in black and white, or as Indian versus non-Indian. As Arnold learns, the world isn't divided by color but by actions.
