The hugely anticipated final installment of The Hunger Game trilogy is the cause of much speculation and interest amongst the fandom. To help ease the wait until it's realease, we've collated everything we know about the last book on this page.
Basic Details:
On February 11th 2010, Scholastic revealed that the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy would be called Mockingjay.
On February 11th 2010, the US book cover was released.
Mockingjay will be published on August 24th in the U.S. and Canada. it comes out a day later, on August 25th, in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
The first printing of Mockingjay is for 1.2 million copies (increased from 750,000)
On July 26th 2010, Scholastic released the official trailer for the final book.
Unlike previous releases, there are no advanced reader copies of Mockingjay
The UK paperback edition will be 448 pages long and the US paperback edition will be 400 pages long.
Book Blurb/Summary
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12...
Why A Trilogy?
Suzanne always knew the Hunger Games would be trilogy, in an interview with Bookpage.com she said,
I knew from the beginning. Once I'd thought through to the end of the first book, I knew there would be repercussions from the events that take place there. So I actually proposed it as a trilogy from the outset, with the main story laid out. I started out as a playwright, and have an M.F.A. from New York University in dramatic writing. After I graduated, I began writing for television. Since I've worked in television so long, the three-act dramatic structure comes naturally to me. But I don't like to "over-outline." I like to leave breathing room for the characters to develop emotionally-which they often do. Characters always have surprises for you. They try on possibilities and even make some decisions you don't anticipate. It's a good thing, and I think it indicates that a story has vitality.
What Is A Mockingjay?
We are told what a Mockingjay is in The Hunger Games and are told how it came to be, however in a recent interview with the School Library Journal, Suzanne tells us a little more,
Back in Panem, in the Dark Days, which were 75 years ago when there was an act of rebellion going on in the country, the Capitol created this bird in its labs called the jabberjay. It was just this small black bird, and it had a crest. But it was genetically designed so that it essentially could record what it heard spoken. So they would send it into wooded areas where the rebels were, and it would record the dialogue. Then it would fly home and recite what it had heard.
Well, the rebels caught on to what was going on, and they started to feed the jabberjays false information. And at some point, the Capitol figured that out and left the jabberjays to their own in the wild, thinking they would simply die out. But instead, they mated with female mockingbirds, and this whole new species was created, which are the mockingjays.
Now the thing about the mockingjays is that they were never meant to be created. They were not a part of the Capitol's design. So here's this creature that the Capitol never meant to exist, and through the will of survival, this creature exists. And then it procreated, so there are now mockingjays all over the place.
The Link Between Katniss & Mockingjays:
During The Hunger Games each tribute is allowed to wear one item from their district. Madge Undersee, the mayors daughter, makes Katniss promise to wear a pin of a Mockingjay. Following her bold and rebellious actions at the Games, the symbol becomes a fashion item in the Capitol, but elsewhere it represents rebellion. In Catching Fire Cinna designs Katniss an outfit that transforms her and gives her the appearance of a Mockingjay. So, both Katniss & Mockingjays both defied the Capitol by surviving and are now the face of an uprising.
In a recent interview, Suzanne talks more about how the Mockingjays and Katniss relate,
Symbolically, I suppose, Katniss is something like a mockingjay in and of herself. She is a girl who should never have existed. And the reason she does exist is that she comes from District 12, which is sort of the joke of the 12 districts of Panem. The Capitol is lax there. The security is much less. The peacekeepers, who are the peacekeeping force, are still the law, and they're still threatening, but they intermix more with the population in District 12 than they do in other districts. And also things like the fence that surrounds 12 isn't electrified full time.
Because of these lapses in security and the Capitol just thinking that 12 is not ever really going to be a threat because it's small and poor, they create an environment in which Katniss develops, in which she is created, this girl who slips under this fence, which isn't electrified, and learns to be a hunter. Not only that, she's a survivalist, and along with that goes a degree of independent thinking that is unusual in the districts.
So here we have her arriving in the arena in the first book, not only equipped as someone who can keep herself alive in this environment-and then once she gets the bow and arrows, can be lethal-but she's also somebody who already thinks outside the box because they just haven't been paying attention to District 12. So in that way, too, Katniss is the mockingjay. She is the thing that should never have been created, that the Capitol never intended to happen. In the same way they just let the jabberjays go and thought, "We don't have to worry about them," they thought, "We don't have to worry about District 12." And this new creature evolved, which is the mockingjay, which is Katniss.
Spoilers:
We will learn why President Snow's breath smells like blood. [Source]
The book opens with Katniss looking at the ashes of her home in District 12 [Source]
A quote from the book: "My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead."
From Chapter 1:
It opens with Katniss in District 12 looking at the remnants of her home. Katniss had to persuade the people of District 13 to let he go back there. Gale wanted to come with her but she refused his company.
Many lives have been lost and fates unknown. Peeta's family, Cinna... Madge and her family are missing, most likely been whisked away to the Capitol.
District 13 are very domineering and they are controlling Katniss in order to keep the rebellion alive.
Buttercup survived!
Katniss wishes to run away and leave District 13, the only thing keeping her there is the hope of finding Peeta alive. Everyone thinks he is dead.
The chapter closes on a white rose, that has been left behind by President Snow. He is sending a message to Katniss. She is not safe & he can get to her at anytime.
Disclaimer: Mockingjay.co.uk is an unofficial fan site and is therefore unaffiliated with Suzanne Collins, Scholastic, Lionsgate Entertainment or any other party related to the Hunger Games Trilogy.
