Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire is the second book in the amazing young adult trilogy by Suzanne Collins.

Picking up where The Hunger Games left off (quite abruptly, I might add!), Catching Fire tells the story of what happens to Katniss and Peeta after the 74th Hunger Games are over.

Anyone who read The Hunger Games should feel naturally compelled to read the second book in the trilogy, if for no other reason than the ending of the first novel leaves us with a cliffhanger and salivating for more!

This is my review of the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy. If you are interested in my thoughts on the whole series together, then please return to the hub of my Hunger Games pages. From there you will be able to read other reviews, find Hunger Games products to purchase and show your support, engage in discussion of the novels and more.

Spoiler Alert!

While this at-length review of Catching Fire does not contain spoilers for the second book, you will find spoilers related to The Hunger Games. If you have not read the first novel, I recommend not reading this page unless you are content to have the book spoiled for you!

My reviews typically consist of a synopsis of the book (in my own words) and then a review of what I thought of the novel. This review is no exception to that rule. I have given Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins, a five star rating.

Katniss and Peeta have survived the 74th annual Hunger Games together, making it out of the arena alive, much to the displeasure of the President of Panem. Although the Capitol is obsessed with the "romance" between Katniss and Peeta, the president is on to their fraud, and believes that they have gamed the system. Katniss and her family, as well as Peeta and Gale's families, are in grave danger from the president.

Under threat for the lives of all of them, Katniss bears the heavy burden of proving that she is in love with Peeta Mellark (when she in fact is not) and convincing the Capitol that her engagement to him is genuine. Failure to be sufficiently convincing will result in the ultimate murder of everyone that Katniss loves.

Amidst all of this, a revolution is beginning. Because of the strength that Katniss and Peeta had to stand up to the Capitol and its ways, the districts are preparing for an uprising against an oppressive government, and Katniss, "the girl on fire" is expected to lead the revolution! Can she live up to the expectations of the districts? Does she even want to? And what about her "cousin," Gale?

In Catching Fire, the trilogy really begins to take off as sparks fly and we begin to see who Katniss Everdeen really is.

Please don't get me wrong: I loved reading the first book in this trilogy. I found it heart-wrenching right from the get-go. But with Catching Fire, I really began to see and be able to explore the politics of these books. Since I am a very political person, I found that captivating, and it really set me on a course to not only finish the series, but to mark it among my "new" favorites. In my opinion, this is where the series really takes off.

I personally feel that the character development was much richer in this novel than it was in the first. My experience was that in The Hunger Games, the character of Haymitch was particularly flat but that certain relationships could have done with work. In particular, I would have liked to have known more about Katniss and Gale's relationship with one another prior to finishing Catching Fire. It was easy, in the first book, to make assumptions based on the information that we were given, but in my case, my assumptions turned out not to be quite what Suzanne Collins wanted.

On the other hand, I think that this is an excellent example of an author getting into her groove. As the series goes on, it is much easier to see the relationships between characters as Suzanne Collins most likely wanted us to see them.

I thought that Catching Fire was an outstanding book. As a lover of dystopian fiction, I could really feel the attitude in the districts and understand Katniss' feelings about what she had started. If you've read The Hunger Games then you should absolutely read Catching Fire. If you have not read the first book in the series, go back to my review of The Hunger Games.

This is your chance to tell the world what you think of Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. I invite you to use my guestbook (comments) to leave your own personal review of the book so that other visitors to this page can get varied viewpoints about the novel (and the series). Agree with me or not, this is your chance to sound off! Please just be sure not to post any spoilers for Catching Fire in the comments! I do check all of my comments before they are approved, so I will be making sure that no spoilers make it through!