Mockingjay!

As you may or may not know, I'm a fan of the Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games" trilogy. I never really liked to call myself a fan, but then I realized how excited I got when things like the release date for the final book (August 24th, 2010, by the way) were announced and decided that I am, in fact, a fan.

Scholastic announced the cover and title of the third (and last) installment of the "Hunger Games" trilogy today, and here it is:

I really like it. It's very different from the first two covers, which were much darker and straight-forward. They told me something along the lines of "Here is a mockingjay inside a ring, with some circles in the background. Make whatever you want of that." Book 1 showed us the famous mockingjay pin. Book 2 had an actual mockingjay, but it was just kinda there, flying at about the same angle as the mockingjay from book 1. This time, however, we're presented with a bright mockingjay spreading its wings; exposing itself to the world. Mockingjays have always represented strength, willpower, and hopefulness in this series, and you can be damn sure they'll mean more than just the final book.

Also, note that the background is light blue, and reminiscent of the sky. I get the feeling this is telling us there will be more to explore within the story, both literally and metaphorically. See, this time, Katniss won't be trapped in the Hunger Games arena for the majority of the book. She'll be out there trying to save her district and, by extent, all of Panem. Speaking of her district, I couldn't help but notice the shapes in the background and how the center circle is now broken. To me, the background shapes always represented the districts of Panem and how they're all connected. When I noticed the background of this cover, the first thing that came to my mind was the last line of Catching Fire: "there is no District Twelve." I expect chaos in this book. Lots and lots of chaos.

I can't wait for the release! I'm very excited to see what happens, and also very curious as to how this Katniss-Gale-Peeta love triangle will turn out.

What are your speculations? Are you guys as excited as I am?! :D