Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
5 stars
Reasons for reading: I couldn't put Hunger Games down; book in a series for the Four Month Challenge
Summary: "Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge."
My thoughts: Another winner! I was slow to get on the bandwagon for this series, so I'm sure everyone's said much better things in much better ways than I can. I was delighted to find the second book just as gripping as the first, I find that that's pretty rare these days. Collins is the master of the twist and leaving you hanging in suspense!
I was a tiny bit worried that the action of the Games were just going to be a rehash of the ones in the first book, but Collins managed to make them even crazier. I loved that Katniss became a national heroine and inspired a revolution - it doesn't get much bigger than that! But it was made even more poignant because while it's a good thing to change the evil regime of Panem, many people suffered and Katniss took the blame on herself. She's still headstrong and doesn't always say or do the right thing, but Katniss grew in this book, coming to understand how her actions could affect people and starting to control her impulses a bit better. I loved the mockingjay symbol and how it was used to provide secret hope for the downtrodden citizens. I thought the "Which one will she pick?" thing between Peeta and Gale was both a good plot device (who needs simple?!) but also a bit frustrating, I wished she'd pick!
The verdict: You don't need me to tell you it's awesome! I can't wait for Mockingjay to come out later this year!
2 comments:
But why does she have to pick? I keep getting the feeling that she's not really that into either of them, especially with everything else going on.
Well, sometimes she certainly doesn't seem into them, but she does seem to worry about what she should do a lot, too. So I guess I want her to stop worrying about it - maybe picking neither is the way to go!
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