read: (1st) some point in 2014 (2nd) 07/05/23 - 13/05/23 | spoilers.
'Mockingjay' is a full-circle ending to 'The Hunger Games' series.

Not only do we end with a successful rebellion, the full dismantling and rebuilding of the governmental system, but we also have a happy whilst realistic ending emotionally. Katniss figures out what is best for her, yet, as shown in the epilogue, her and Peeta are not cured. Both still experience nightmares and flashbacks; Another example of these characters being humanised and having emotional repercussions to the suffering they have experienced - something dystopia writers ignore far too often.

The symbol of the mockingjay, the metaphor for modern politics, rises to its peak.

We see District 13, a uniform dictatorship, turn children to war weapons. We watch Gale become an angry product of his environment - How if you force a child to grow up with violence, that is what they, too, will resort to. We watch how the Capitol will spare no expense to turn anything to an arena. The needless killing of beloved characters like Finnick and Prim, a mirror of how lives lost to war are always pointless. The bombing of hospitals, the lying of leaders, the mere mention of a 'symbolic Hunger Games', weaved seamlessly into the fiction of the story, yet consistently reflective of current world violence and western complicity.

A quote I always refer to for this theme is something said by Plutarch towards the end of the book:

"Now we're in that sweet period where everyone agrees that our recent horrors should never be repeated. But collective thinking is usually short-lived. We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction."

There is much to love about this book. Each victor could be spoken about for hours.

Joanna's need for revenge with the symbolic Hunger Games, understandable yet counterproductive. Finnick's words to Katniss: "I drag myself out of nightmares and find there's no relief in waking... Better not to give in to it. It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart." Peeta's recovery from the torture he suffered, his difficulty with which of his memories are real or not. Katniss' crushed self-image despite being the most selfless person the entire series: "Finally, he can see me for who I really am. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly. And I hate him for it."

All of these nuanced experiences of PTSD are things I heavily appreciate being represented, but also add so much weight from a storytelling perspective.