Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

112 reviews

erica_reads_things's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Really solid ending to a series that changed the face of dystopian fiction. There isn't much to say that hasn't already been said!! Sad that my time in this universe is almost to an end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Death, Medical content, War, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders

ag_berry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Murder, Genocide, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Torture, Mass/school shootings, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Death, Police brutality, Addiction, War, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Child death, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Gore, and Classism

snowiceblackfruit77's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Alcoholism, Murder, Abandonment, Drug use, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Mental illness, Torture, Vomit, Addiction, Kidnapping, Medical content, Self harm, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

lindseyhugg's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Violence, War, and Murder

Minor: Torture, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Blood

mandycantsleep's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Child death, and War

Moderate: Vomit and Gun violence

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, and Drug use

thedubstepdoge's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow this book is just incredible, this is my 2nd time reading it (first time was a long time ago) and is just such an amazing book, so tragic and emotional and intense. This really is just as good as the hunger games and catching fire, like it’s obviously not focusing on the actual games but it’s different and much more reality focuses with the war and the Capitol and District 13 and everything. It’s just intense and keeps you engaged the whole time. I could say so much more about this but i’ll leave it at that for now, again it's amazing, the whole trilogy is, probably my favorite book series ever now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, War, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use

astrangewind's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Mockingjay is a brilliant example of dystopian fiction. As a sequel, it draws on the previous books without replicating them, which is shockingly absent in much of YA fiction. It feels like a truly accurate representation of a true dystopia being taken down by a revolution, which is to say there cannot be a happy ending. And there isn't.

There's only the event, the grief that follows it, and the steady eventuality of learning how to live again, albeit not entirely happy.

Collins' expression of PTSD, through pretty much every character, is painfully accurate. No, the characters don't return home unscathed. It's a beautiful and necessary and heartwrenching book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, War, Death, Violence, Torture, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, Animal death, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Forced institutionalization

downsophialane's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

This book is by far the hardest of the series to read; it's just so bleak and so sad. Every character is so horrendously traumatised. It's hard to watch Gale becoming more and more warlike, especially knowing how that ends. It's hard to see Peeta as a twisted husk of the lovely boy he was before. The expansion of Finnick's character is emotional but very well done.

His death is just so incredibly unfair, and I had forgotten it... because we, and Katniss, are never given a chance to properly mourn him. Prim's death feels like such an obvious metaphor - an effective one - but we spent so much time with Finnick and understood so much of his trauma. And then, we aren't given a chance to mourn him - which is why I'm sure I totally forgot that it happened! In my mind Finnick will be living a long, peaceful life with Annie by the sea somewhere.

Mockingjay is a war book. It's not my subgenre and reading it is stressful and awful. But, some bloated pacing in the middle notwithstanding, it's a very good book, asking young adult readers challenging questions of culpability in oppressive systems. That passivity can be violent was a massively influential idea for me when I first read this book in 2010 (and forever after). 

It's wild that love triangle had the cultural grip that it did because it's actually so sophisticated and complex? The key relationships and characters are so fascinating. I will never not be thinking about Peeta Mellark and Haymitch Abernathy and Finnick Odair. 

Some of the pacing in the middle was a little bloated but that ending was something to behold. Every decision.

The rebels win the war.... off page? Our heroine is unconscious for it? Such an interesting subversion of the Chosen One trope.

Excellent narration by Tatiana Maslany. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Mental illness, War, Death, Child death, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical trauma, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Self harm

daisdu's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Reread. Really good conclusion to the series. I feel it tied up all the threads that have been laid over the course of the books, while still acknowledging that life goes on, and though this conclusion might not be perfect, it was still worth fighting for. Definitely some painful moments over the course of the book- I cried a lot, but I think those moments were done really well and felt worth something.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Addiction, Murder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Medical content, Genocide, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Classism

reemoony's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

fire (literally) 🔥🔥🔥

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Kidnapping, War, Classism, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Murder, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Torture, and Violence