When I enjoy something, I tend to squirrel it away so I know it’s still there, something to look forward to. There’s a bag of Dove dark chocolates in a hidden spot in my cabinet, safe from the prying hands of my two boys. I refused to delete the “Lost” finale for about a month after it ended.

So I’m surprised at myself for devouring Mockingjay the way I did. I read Hunger Games and Catching Fire quickly, but I ignored the third book for several months. Then, my husband read it, and took FOREVER with it. After he finished, I knew I had to read it because I don’t like having someone close to me know something that I don’t know. Although I am the queen of spoilers, Mockingjay is above spoilage in my mind.

That being said, I’m not sure what I was expecting in Mockingjay, but it wasn’t this book. If you haven’t read it and you don’t want to read about specific events in this book, please stop reading here.

Here’s what it is. I was expecting one of them to die. Either Peeta or Gale. I was kind of hoping for Peeta if I’m being honest. I was team Gale from the start. And that didn’t happen. It was kind of a Harry Potter, cop-out ending, in my opinion.

But … this book definitely gave the series the closure it needed, ended on a hopeful note, and kept the three main characters intact. I guess that is a win. There’s non-stop action throughout this story, and things blow up and blood is spilled. I’m glad that I know now how the story ends, and I am intensely looking forward to seeing the Hunger Games movie when it comes out in March.