While I liked this, it didn't grab me as much as the first two. I'm not really sure why, as it was well-constructed and I have a lot of respect for the conclusion, which struck me as particularly consistent. It would have been easy - if not altogether believable - to slap a happy ending on this series, but it's not a happy series and the trauma inflicted on the characters is so enormous, and so long-lasting, that a successful revolution could never wipe it all away. Resistance has a price, and every single person involved pays it to the hilt. So I'm not quite sure why I didn't like it as much as the others. I wonder, though, if it's because I felt less threat. Katniss, through all of Mockingjay, is in a different position: embedded in a community that by and large supports her and her efforts. She's not separated from her family, she's not the underdog in a distant arena. And while this was grim and violent, it didn't have the same looming, overpoweringly ominous sense of horror that the arena did. Given how much I love horror, that could have been the point that made the difference.

Still an excellent series, however. Taken as a whole, I thought it was fantastic.