'Catching Fire' by Suzanne Collins
"Every year in Panem, the dystopic nation that exists where the U.S. used to be, the Capitol holds a televised tournament in which two teen 'tributes' from each of the surrounding districts fight a gruesome battle to the death. In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the tributes from impoverished District Twelve, thwarted the Gamemakers, forcing them to let both teens survive. In this rabidly anticipated sequel, Katniss, again the narrator, returns home to find herself more the center of attention than ever. The sinister President Snow surprises her with a visit, and Katniss’s fear when Snow meets with her alone is both palpable and justified. Catching Fire is divided into three parts: Katniss and Peeta’s mandatory Victory Tour through the districts, preparations for the 75th Annual Hunger Games, and a truncated version of the Games themselves. Slower paced than its predecessor, this sequel explores the nation of Panem: its power structure, rumors of a secret district, and a spreading rebellion, ignited by Katniss and Peeta’s subversive victory. Katniss also deepens as a character. Though initially bewildered by the attention paid to her, she comes almost to embrace her status as the rebels’ symbolic leader. Though more of the story takes place outside the arena than within, this sequel has enough action to please Hunger Games fans and leaves enough questions tantalizingly unanswered for readers to be desperate for the next installment." ~ School Library Journal
Every page in the novel was a bewildering journey: you just did not know what was going to happen next. Everything from Peeta and Katniss participating in the Quarter Quell to the uprisings across all the districts. It was just all so interesting and unexpected that I could not put the book down. The first novel was just so boring and slow paced that you got bored of it after a while, but with Catching Fire you are addicted the whole time.
What really made the book better than the first, though, is Suzanne Collins' writing. I don't know if she took classes on first person narrative after writing The Hunger Games or what, but she improved immensely. That being said, the biggest pitfall of the novel has to be Katniss' attitude and her simple-mindedness. Sometimes I just wanted to punch her and say "Look at what's right under your nose!" and "Get your act together, girl." It was really towards the end (the last two chapters) that she was really trying my patience. It really reminded me a lot of Bella Swan in the Twilight Saga because of her "damsel in distress" and "oh poor me" attitude. Hopefully Collins addresses that in the final novel because I felt that that was the only downfall of the book.
The novel really is a great homage to a subjected people who unite behind one unlikely heroine and begin to overthrow there government. I think everyone enjoys these types of stories because they make us feel like we have power in the world and that we can all get out of bad situations if need be. So overall I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I'm hoping that the final book, The Mockingjay, will be jut as good. Definitely check this one out!
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