August 24, 2011 was a big day for readers: it was release day for a little book called Mockingjay.
Mockingjay, of course, was the highly anticipated final installment of The Hunger Games trilogy. That August five years ago, I remember walking through the streets of Manhattan and seeing everyone -- kids, teens, adults -- with their noses in the book. People were reading it on subways, on street corners as they waited for the light to change, and in corners of bookstores and libraries. Here at Scholastic, employees proudly wore their mockingjay pins to celebrate.
Here's what the media said back then:
- Publishers Weekly (a starred review!): “a beautifully orchestrated and intelligent novel that succeeds on every level.”
- Kirkus (another starred review!): “…this is exactly the book its fans have been hoping for.”
- USA Today: “Hope emerges from despair. Even in a dystopian future, there’s a better future.”
- Los Angeles Times: “Unfolding 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.”
- Entertainment Weekly: “Fans will be happy to hear that Mockingjay is every bit as complex and imaginative as Hunger Games and Catching Fire.”
- The Wall Street Journal Speakeasy blog: “The Hunger Games series–like most quality books–has been about much more than simply uncovering some central secret. It’s been about characters, cliffhangers, and a cautionary message about entertainment and obedience”
- The Christian Science Monitor: “In Katniss, Collins has crafted a heroine so fierce and tenacious that this reader will follow her anywhere.”
There's nothing quite like a book-iversary. Where were you when Mockingjay first released?
