Loss

Mockingjay, the third book in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series, has many different plots and ideas.  But there is one very important one that really stands out to me when I think about this book.  It is about Peeta, Katniss' "star-crossed lover".

When the book starts, Peeta has been captured by the capital.  From the TV episodes that Katniss watches, you can tell that Peeta is being abused and harmed intensely by the capital.  But when District 13 captures Peeta and brings him back, you realize that it has been more than physical abuse inflicted upon Peeta.  All of his memories have been altered so he does not know what is real and what is not.  And in addition, the capital has made it so Peeta thinks that Katniss is a horrible "mutt" who demolished District 12 and his family.  When Peeta saw Katniss for the first time after coming from the Capitol, he tried to kill her.  

This situation is terrible on Katniss.  Even though she knows Peeta has just been "hi-jacked" by the capitol, she still feels like Peeta is telling the truth.  Katniss feels like Peeta is just truly just saying how she is, and believes that he used to just not see the really her.  

In addition, Katniss has lost Peeta.  Peeta was her on-again, off-again love, and more so one of her closest friends.  Peeta was the person she could relate to, and the person who cared about her more than anything else.  Peeta was the person who was willing to risk his life for her.  And now he is just some Capitol-altered, confused, hating person.  Katniss has lost him.  It is really hard for Katniss to deal with loss and grief.  She keeps re-convincing herself that she is over Peeta, only to be thinking about him and worrying about him the next day.  She doesn't know what to do.  While Peeta was in the Capitol, Katniss knew he was being harmed, but she at least knew he was alive, and she would be able to get him back.  And she still knew he cared about her.  But now she realizes he is lost forever.  Peeta is never coming back to her, or at least not the Peeta she used to know and love.  I think the hardest part is the fact that Peeta is somehow within reach, yet just too far away to grasp.

The Fault in Our Stars

Over the summer, I read the book The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.  This book was about a girl Hazel, who is a cancer patient.  At Hazel's support group, she meets a guy named Augustus.  Augustus also has cancer, and had one of his legs amputated as a result.  This book deals with a lot of major difficulties in life, such as the topics of loss, hope, and life in general.  This book really shows about being grateful for what you have, or what you used to have.

In the end of the book, Hazel's boyfriend Augustus dies.  But instead of just completely flipping out and being depressed, Hazel tries to think of what she had with Augustus.  She just recollects on all the memories they had together, because she knows that no amount of grieving will bring him back.  In a way, it's sort-of just like he moved out of the country and they will never see each other again.  She always knew Augustus was going to die soon, they talked about it together.  He'd even had a mock-funeral for himself with his best friend and Hazel.  So, although it's clear that Hazel will never forgot Augustus and always think about him, she can move on at the same time.  She knows that all Gus would have wanted was for her to move on.  So, even though she is always holding onto Gus, she can move on and move on with her life.

Even when things may seem tough, it's always important to move on.  Just because something terrible happens, that doesn't mean your life should completely stop.  Of course, that doesn't mean you should completely  forget, but your life can still go on.  This is really shown in the exciting book, The Fault in Our Stars.