Catching Fire

by Suzanne Collins

Reviewed by Coral

After the unusual ending of the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games, a spark of rebellion has been lit in the Districts. It only grows as the Victory Tours works its way through each of the Districts.

Katniss has lived in fear of Capitol retribution since her act of defiance at the end of the Games. But she wasn't really ready for the lengths that President Snow would expect her to go to in order to keep up the story she built in the Games. When even that can't stop the rising anger, Katniss fears for the lives of her friends and family and considers the unthinkable: running with them into the wilds beyond the fences of District 12.

What she never could have expected, what no one could have expected, was the shape the Seventy-Fifth Hunger Games would take.

Will the Seventy-Fifth Hunger Games stop the coming rebellion? Or will it only spread the discontent even further than the Capitol expected?

While I liked this book, I don't think it was as strong as the first one.

For me, the build-up worked better than the Hunger Games scenes. I think, in the first book, where having only Katniss' point-of-view worked in creating an atmosphere of uncertainty that added to the story, here it removes from it, because Katniss is removed from the action outside of the Arena much of the time. Plus - and I don't know if it was because Katniss didn't understand or if it reflects the author writing for a target audience that is not me - there were parts of the book where I wanted to shake Katniss for not understanding something that was clear to me.

I didn't like how the actual Games unfolded in this book. Actually, I was actually as disappointed as Katniss was in those first moments, realizing how things were going to be in the Arena.

I am also confused about District Four. In the first book and in this one, District Four is said to be one of the Districts that have career tributes. But from how it was described here I don't see how that is really possible.

Grade: B

Ruby's Review

I should have stopped reading after the first book because I didn’t enjoy this one. The ‘romantic’ subplot continued and took up most of the first half of the book and even though it didn’t feel as forced as it did in the first book, it was still unbelievable to me.

As it turned out, the first half was the only interesting part of the book. As soon as the Games started up again it became kind of boring and sluggish. Even Katniss went downhill for me. I know she is supposed to be awkward around people and untrusting but she was so clueless about so many things that it came to a point that whenever she came to a conclusion I automatically knew she was wrong.

I swear I liked her in the first book; how did she get so stupid?

Grade: C