Mocking Jay – Weekly Reading Response Blog

I just finished the book Mocking Jay the third book in the Hunger Games series. In the middle of the book I thought it was probably my favourite out of the series but I really didn’t like the ending. I didn’t like the ending because it was a bit forced and the author didn’t explain a lot of details.

1. What I disliked about the book was the ending was too fast, the author didn’t really explain a lot in the epilogue. After Katniss shot the arrow at President Coin (the President of District 13 and the leader of the rebel soldiers), instead of President Snow (the President of the Capitol and founder of the Hunger Games) she had a mental breakdown since she witnessed her own sisters death. She was in the hospital for a really long time and it seemed like she was close to death because she refused to eat and take medication. Then suddenly, Katniss was relocated to District 12 her former home before the Capitol destroyed it. Haymitch was also forced back to District 12 in order to mentor Katniss and make sure she is well, which he does not. Katniss’s mom is to help in the medical field in District 2, so Katniss really has no one except the recovering Peeta.

2. The part in the epilogue made me ask a lot of questions because I wanted to know what had become of the Capitol, Katniss’s mom and Haymitch. I also wanted to know if there were still peacekeepers and if Katniss still hunted. The ending was very quick and Katniss explained that she and Peeta had kids and how the play in the meadow where the Capitol had bombed them. All that was left of the meadow was a giant hole filled with dead bodies, she was talking about how she had to explain to them one day what had happened with the Capitol and how Katniss and Peeta were a huge part in standing up and stopping the Capitols rein of destruction.

3.What I noticed is that Peeta really changed at the end since the Capitol captured and “hijacked” him into believing Katniss was evil and wanted to kill him. Near the end Katniss really had to work with Peeta to make him believe that the things the Capitol had said to him were completely false.

Reading Response Prompts

1. Tell what like or dislike about the book and why.

2. Tell about parts of your book that puzzled you or made you ask a question.

3. Tell what you noticed about the characters, such as what made them act as they did or how they changed.

4. Write about something in the book that surprised you or that you found interesting.

5. Write your predictions and about whether your predictions were right.

6. Ask for help in figuring out meaning of your book.

7. Tell about the connections that you made while reading the book. Tell how it reminds you of yourself, of people you know, or of something that happened in your life. It might remind you of other books, especially the characters, the events, or the setting.

8. Write about the author’s style and how it makes you feel.

9. Write about the language the author used and why you think the author wrote this way.

10. Write about the author’s craft – what was effective about the way the author wrote.

11. Write about anything else that you may think of that deals with the book.

12. Do you relate to any of the characters in the book? Explain how and why.

13. If you abanded the book, why did you?

14. Name 3 examples of signals that went off in your head while you were reading and explain them.

15. Explain what happened at the climax and explain why you think that is the climax.

16. Tell what you think could be changed in the book to make it better for readers.

Reading Response Rubric

Level 3 (B Range)
In your response you:
- have written at least one post a week
- demonstrate that you have read a variety of fiction and non-fiction materials
- reflect on the books you read effectively- relate to the books you read
- retell only the most important information in your responses
- explain your interpretation of a written work clearly, supporting it with evidence from the work and from your own knowledge and experiences clearly.
- demonstrate that you are a critical thinker that examines characters, plot, setting and literary - devices effectively

Level 4 (A Range)
In your response you:
- have written more than one post a week
- demonstrate that you have read a good variety of fiction and non-fiction materials
- reflect on the books you read very effectively
- relate to the books you read very effectively
- retell only the most important information in your responses
- explain your interpretation of a written work clearly, supporting it with evidence from the work and from your own knowledge and experiences clearly and concisely.
- demonstrate that you are a highly critical thinker that examines characters, plot, setting and literary devices effectively