Last night I watched Mockingjay Part 1 with my family, and I found myself conflicted. I remember reading the book when I was 13, weeping over Peeta's fate, anxiously turning pages. By the time I finished the book, I was disgusted. I felt cheated, robbed of such a powerful ending with an epilogue. An epilogue that seemed to turn Katniss from a warrior into... I'm not sure what to call her. I understand the author's choice. She was trying to make the reader feel satisfied. This was a macabre/happy ending for such a dark book series. It was supposed to fit, wrap everything up in a bow, but still make us think. But it didn't. Not at all.
This was the first YA dystopian/sci-fi/fantasy series that had disappointed me with it's ending, and it certainly wasn't the last. In middle school I was enthralled by Percy Jackson & the Olympians. Myth, mystery, action, love, and death. It ended almost perfectly, until the author added a cliffhanger that lead to a new series that ultimately fell flat. Sure, Heroes of Olympus added magnificent character development, as well as new characters to the PJO cannon, but the last book was such a train wreck I still don't know how I feel about it. You can't spend five books building up to a great battle that only lasts about five pages. After finishing The Blood of Olympus, I realized that the final installment of a book like that needs, well, blood. Sure, it hurts to lose beloved characters, but their loss reminds you that there's actually something at stake in the story.
Which brings me to my next point, Harry Potter. How can you not love these magical books? In Deathly Hallows we lose so many characters it physically aches. (Fred...Dobby...HEDWIG) But each death raises the stakes. They make us as a reader realize that nobody is safe from Voldemort and his evil. Not even a pet owl. And the scene at the end, where Harry confront Voldemort and offers him forgiveness and redemption... that is a powerful piece of literature my friends. Our whole vision of so many characters is turned inside out. But again, we end in an epilogue. This one is better, it doesn't tell us much except for who marries who, and that Harry has terrible sense when it comes to naming his youngest son. My only problem with this ending, is that J.K. won't let the ending die. She keeps teasing us with "exclusives" on Pottermore that are basically the epilogue restated, yet we eat it up. It's not a satisfying ending if it never actually ends, you know?
Contemporary YA, is a different story. They're not tied down by series arcs and the rules of a world they created. They're following the rules we already have, and they're doing something magical with it. John Green refuses to tell us what happens to Hazel Grace after The Fault in Our Stars. He says it defeats the whole purpose of the book, and I love that. He's trying to make us think. It ends on a happy note, but in the end, we know the end. Eleanor & Park ends with a postcard addressed to Park with three words written on it. We never find out! The possibilities are endless here, and the author says she knows the answer. But she won;t tell us, because the words are not the point. She wants the reader to ask themselves, "What did Eleanor write? Why do I care what she wrote?" When a book makes you feel something, makes you see the world in a new light after you shut it, that's when an ending is satisfying. "Happily Ever After" endings can't really do that. Sure, you feel warm and fuzzy, but are you seeing the world differently?
I want to read books that challenge me. I want to read stories from authors that trust me enough to break my trust.
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