Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)

by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)
Sparks are igniting.Flames are spreading.And the Capitol wants revenge.Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.In Catching Fire, the second novel in the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before...and surprising readers at every turn.

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) Details

TitleCatching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)
Author
LanguageEnglish
ReleaseSep 1st, 2009
PublisherScholastic Press
ISBN-139780439023498
Rating
GenreYoung Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Fiction, Fantasy

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) Review

  • Cara
    January 1, 1970
    This is most possibly the WORST (or best depending what you go on) cliffhanger I have encountered in all my reading days. It leaves you more than just hanging, you are grasping for your life on a thread that is fraying and there is nothing to do but hold on (well metaphorically of course). One word that can sum up this book is intense . Everything is just felt more. The compassion, threats, action, betrayal, gestures, words all of it. This has to be the reason why it is so addictive. As expec This is most possibly the WORST (or best depending what you go on) cliffhanger I have encountered in all my reading days. It leaves you more than just hanging, you are grasping for your life on a thread that is fraying and there is nothing to do but hold on (well metaphorically of course). One word that can sum up this book is intense . Everything is just felt more. The compassion, threats, action, betrayal, gestures, words all of it. This has to be the reason why it is so addictive. As expected from this series we are in for a ride. Some things are hinted out, but the full affect of what is going on isn't totally revealed till the very end. Though I felt frustrated at times this is a grand slam of a sequel. You know it's hard to hate Katniss for being the object of the whole love triangle. I usually get annoyed to no end and can't help wonder what people see in the person, but Katniss is different. Though you don't think that Katniss is particularly more special than others, but that is part of what you admire about her. Plus she is critical of herself so you don't necessarily get a good feel of what people think about her other than what is said with dialogue. I totally love this because frankly that is what it's like in real life. It's others that can show you who you really are when you aren't able to do it yourself. Peeta and Gale are both incredible guys and what makes them so great is that they both are good friends , something that is lacking in other books at times. Don't get me wrong there is a lot more to the series than the love triangle. Suzanne Collins gives us a lot to mull over till her much anticipated final climatic book Mockingjay.BTW Excellent Excellent covers!!! Later added: For those of you who didn't know there is a movie coming out for the first book The Hunger Games! Here is the link to the trailer. Now just to wait for the second movie trailer...and the second trailer has arrived! Click here to view it. I got the chills guys.
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  • Meredith Holley
    January 1, 1970
    I went to see Inglourious Basterds a couple of times this past month, and there is that scene where Eli Roth and Omar Doom are in the theater, and they dress themselves up to look like waiters and then whip around the corner and kill the two Nazi guards to some funny Ennio Morriconi(ish?), spaghetti-western sounding music. And everybody in the theater laughs, and then the film cuts to Hitler laughing, watching a movie of a Nazi soldier killing Americans. It’s one of those great story-telling mom I went to see Inglourious Basterds a couple of times this past month, and there is that scene where Eli Roth and Omar Doom are in the theater, and they dress themselves up to look like waiters and then whip around the corner and kill the two Nazi guards to some funny Ennio Morriconi(ish?), spaghetti-western sounding music. And everybody in the theater laughs, and then the film cuts to Hitler laughing, watching a movie of a Nazi soldier killing Americans. It’s one of those great story-telling moments where I’m nice and comfortable and morally superior, until I realize that actually I’m exactly the same as someone I think is Evil. There was a moment when I first saw Merchant of Venice that was like that, and I was depressed for a month after I read Notes from the Underground because of the same type of experience. I don’t know where you get that brand of story-telling ability, but Suzanne Collins has it coming out of her ears, in the sort of young adult variety. Catching Fire was maybe not as striking as the first book in this series, The Hunger Games, in making me disturbed about myself, but it definitely had its moments. Also, I was in my second week of law school and had just gotten back from an exhausting wedding when I read it, so I might not have had the capacity to self-reflect that I normally do. If you don’t know already, even though you should know, the premise of this series is a that in the future, post-apocalyptic world of the super-badass Katniss Everdeen, one rich city controls twelve poor-to-starving cities that produce all of the goods for the rich city. In order to keep the poor cities in fear, the rich city requires each of the poor cities to send one teenage boy and one teenage girl as tributes to play the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games the kids have to kill each other until there is one survivor, who gets to party for the rest of his/her life but never really feels like partying because everything’s so fucked up. Usually they go crazy, if they didn’t start out that way. It’s very Lord of the Flies, and yes it is the same premise as Battle Royale, but not as determinedly nasty as those two books. Also, girl action hero! Anyway, a couple of days after I finished this book, I was spacing off instead of briefing cases, and I started thinking about the description of the capital city that controls the other cities. There is a part where Katniss and another character have to go to a party at the capital, and there are as many amazing foods as they can imagine. It’s a big party, and they’re celebrities, and everyone loves them. They have one bite of every kind of food, so that they can taste everything, but unfortunately they get full. One of their entourage explains to them that there are puke closets, so that everyone can keep eating for the whole night, and our two characters suddenly step back from the party and remember their families and neighbors, who are starving while the capital lives in decadence. I was thinking about that and how the shallow people in the capital city were just as culpable for the evil in their society as the military that imposed starvation on the cities, and then, suddenly, I realized, duh, she’s talking about me. This story is really about the global economy, and (passive, consumption-driven U.S. citizen that I am) I’m not the hero. So, that’s about three times this month that I’ve been on the side of terrorists. I don’t know whether that means story-tellers are gettin’ pretty tricky, or if it just means I think there’s a problem with the way stuff is. Or that, like, I’m becoming a rager, or something. (FBI, if you’re reading this, JK about this whole paragraph. LOL!)When I was working my 8-5 job last year, I started listening to some iTunesU classes while I was doing my work so that my brain wouldn’t die. One of them was given by Carolyn Marvin at Stanford, and it was called “True Colors: Myth, Magic, and the American Flag.” The premise, to summarize very briefly, was that for any culture to stay together, the culture requires a blood sacrifice. This article goes into more detail about nationalism and blood sacrifice. She really convincingly pointed out how, civilized though we think we are, blood sacrifice in modern Western culture is not really significantly different than tribal human sacrifices. It’s a seriously creepy theory, but I’m not kidding when I say that she’s right. Really, listen to the lecture. So, I’ve spent a lot of time in the past couple of weeks doing a mental compare/contrast of the U.S. with this futuristic dystopia. We don’t come off looking too good, guys. Obviously these are really complicated topics, but nothing seems as simple as “violence is not the answer” or, on the other side of the argument, “destroy civilization.” I’m not positive what the right answer is, but I’d like to find out. I think Suzanne Collins’s books should be taught in high school social studies classes, so maybe we could get some young brains working on this problem. How do we effectively refuse to benefit from universally destructive and dehumanizing trade practices, but still live healthy and productive lives?So, go read everything Suzanne Collins ever wrote (including the episodes of Clarissa Explains It All because that show is awesome) and reflect on international trade and the global economy. I don’t know if you’ll be a better person for it, but I think so. Maybe after you do all that reading you can help me figure out some way for us not to be Evil.
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  • Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies
    January 1, 1970
    Binge reading? Me? Nah...>_>Ok, so to refresh the memory of recent events, I watched the final Hunger Games Saturday without a clue who the fuck any of those people are. I read Hunger Games #1 yesterday, and loved it. Now onto book 2.Loved it too, is it any surprise? It's awesome! I actually know more and more people from the movie now!So now that I've expressed my love for the book, allow me to rant. I HATE THE CASTING. Not all of it, of course, but Peeta, in particular. I'm sure Hutchers Binge reading? Me? Nah...>_>Ok, so to refresh the memory of recent events, I watched the final Hunger Games Saturday without a clue who the fuck any of those people are. I read Hunger Games #1 yesterday, and loved it. Now onto book 2.Loved it too, is it any surprise? It's awesome! I actually know more and more people from the movie now!So now that I've expressed my love for the book, allow me to rant. I HATE THE CASTING. Not all of it, of course, but Peeta, in particular. I'm sure Hutcherson is a fine actor. He's decent looking, that's not the point. The point is he's not right for Peeta.I loved Peeta in the first book, my love for him continued in the second. He's just so good. So pure, so nice. Self-sacrificial and genuinely well-meaning without being a martyr, and the on-screen portrayal of him ISN'T HOW I PICTURED HIM AT ALL. ARRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!/endrantLet's talk about the love triangle. If you guys know me, you will know that I absolutely can't stand love triangles. 99.9% of the time, they're useless. They add nothing to the plot, and they're only a device used to portrayl how ULTRA FUCKING SPESHUL AND BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT AND DESIRABLE THE MARY SUE MC IS.There's a love triangle in this book, and it was perfect. If a book has to have a love triangle, this is how it should be done. Gale is her long-time friend, almost a brother, for whom she naturally develops genuine feelings for. Their relationship is based on mutual respect; they take care of each other. They don't underestimate one another.Peeta is a tool. I don't say that in a bad way, like he's such a tool, man. I mean that he is a tool for Katniss' survival. Their "love" for one another ensured their survival in the Games. Despite Peeta's long-time crush on Katniss, she doesn't return his feelings, and in fact, held him at arm's length, under deep suspicion until he proves himself.So yes, I approve of this motherfucking love triangle. And I more than approve of this book.
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  • Emily
    January 1, 1970
    I think I wouldn't be feeling quite so disappointed by this book if The Hunger Games hadn't been quite so close to perfect. But there it is. Must be hard to compete with yourself when you set the bar so high. Where The Hunger Games is a tightly-plotted, fast-paced dystopian thriller heaped with romance and horror, this book is... well, a lot of the same. A WHOLE lot of the same plot. Redundantly similar at points, only slower moving and far less polished. Too much of the story is told rather tha I think I wouldn't be feeling quite so disappointed by this book if The Hunger Games hadn't been quite so close to perfect. But there it is. Must be hard to compete with yourself when you set the bar so high. Where The Hunger Games is a tightly-plotted, fast-paced dystopian thriller heaped with romance and horror, this book is... well, a lot of the same. A WHOLE lot of the same plot. Redundantly similar at points, only slower moving and far less polished. Too much of the story is told rather than shown -- whole months can go by in just a few pages -- and yet the real action gets rolling about two thirds of the way through the book. There were times when the story actually seemed to PLOD. That said, this is an ARC and things could change. Here's hoping this one sees some revision before its publication this fall. Collins is obviously capable of great things. And all complaints aside, this is a very compelling read. Fantastic characters, and the setup is definitely there for an interesting conclusion. I can't wait to find out what happens next.THAT said, marks off for deus ex machina abuse.
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  • Will Byrnes
    January 1, 1970
    Sparks fly in the second volume of Suzanne Collins’ blockbuster Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire. Victory in the 74th games has not been all that sweet for surprise double-victors Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. And it is extremely sour for the reigning government. Katniss had shown them up big time when she publicly defied the gamemasters to keep from having to kill Peeta, an act of sedition as much as it was an act of courage and honor. President Snow burns with rage at Katniss for show Sparks fly in the second volume of Suzanne Collins’ blockbuster Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire. Victory in the 74th games has not been all that sweet for surprise double-victors Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. And it is extremely sour for the reigning government. Katniss had shown them up big time when she publicly defied the gamemasters to keep from having to kill Peeta, an act of sedition as much as it was an act of courage and honor. President Snow burns with rage at Katniss for showing up the games, the Capitol, and him personally. He recognizes that it is necessary to give the subjects of his government some hope, but Katniss and Peeta have provided a spark to the tinder of popular resentment, and Snow needs to forestall a conflagration.The author Katniss is not in a good place back in District 12 after the games. Yeah, she has a nifty new house in the victor village, and her family is well taken care of, but she is experiencing a fair bit of PTSD. Collins describes Kat the victor. She has nightmares. She has flashbacks. And in the beginning you can see she’s practicing avoidance. She’s completely pushed Peeta to arm’s length, you know? She’s trying to stay away from him. Why? Because everything associated with him except some very early childhood memories are associated with the Games. She’s conflicted to some degree about her relationship with Prim because she couldn’t save Rue. So she’s dealing with all that, and her method of dealing with it is to go to the woods and be alone and keep all of that as far away as possible, because there just are so many triggers in her everyday life. - from the Time interview Part of the requirement for games winners is to go on a Victory Tour across all the districts. One of the soft spots in the logic of the story is that President Snow would think for a second that parading across the defeated districts the youngsters who had killed their children was anything but a guaranteed recipe for disaster. It is believed that Katniss' popularity and selling the lie of her death-defying love for Peeta would gain some love for the Capitol, and would dampen public unrest. Sure, whatever. Of course, Katniss manages to fan the flames of the people’s unhappiness with things as they are by her acts of kindness and respect for some of her fallen competitors and their families. As her popularity grows, the pin she wore in the 74th games, the mockingjay, spreads as a symbol of resistance. I am sure Emily Dickenson would approve. Time for Plan B.With his hopes for a palliative Victory Tour in ashes, Snow come up with another plan. How better to douse the embers of hope than to destroy all those who would fan the flame. So, for the 75th games, instead of a new crop of potential contestants, children between 12 and 18, from whom game contestants might be selected, he decrees that this time the tributes (those selected) will be chosen from the pool of prior winners. Hell-uh-oh, Kat and Peet, this means you-oo. Hell hath no fury like a president scorned. There is no law, only power, and Snow aims to char those caught, or even suspected, of playing with matches. And if crushing the Hunger Games victors from all twelve districts crushes the rebellious spirit of the people, well, may the odds be ever in your favor. Of course, we all know there is a third volume in the series, so I am giving nothing up by reporting that the plan goes up in smoke.There are many notions in play in Catching Fire, among them visions from the classical world of Greece and Rome. The whole notion of the games was taken from the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. King Minos of Crete had issues with Athens. There are varying accounts of how this came to be, but the accounts agree on the arrangement that was made. Athens was forced to send seven boys and seven girls to Crete every nine years to make a nice snack for a Minotaur, who resided in a labyrinth constructed by Daedelus. The kids are sent, but Theseus, an Athenian prince, wanted to get rid of the Minotaur, and thus the need for kid-burger specials, and so inserts himself in place of one of the young’uns. He gets some help from Cretan princess Ariadne, who offers a way for the children to escape the Minotaur’s maze after Theseus, hopefully, dispatches the beast. Her solution is significant here, beyond the classic story, as the unraveling of string, of a sort, figures large in Catching Fire in helping out the tributes.Katniss Everdeen grew from a raw teen in Book I to become a warrior. She grows stronger still in Book II, overcoming her fears and miseries, growing in strength, even while accepting that her fate was likely sealed. She is a gladiator, thrown into an arena to do battle for the pleasure and control of the rulers. And another classical notion comes in here, the slave warrior leading a rebellion. Katniss, by defying the Capitol in Book I and by her actions this time, has become the face of popular resistance, whether potential or kinetic.There are contemporary issues that resonate as well. Collins said: The Hunger Games is a reality television program. An extreme one, but that's what it is. And while I think some of those shows can succeed on different levels, there's also the voyeuristic thrill, watching people being humiliated or brought to tears or suffering physically. And that's what I find very disturbing. There's this potential for desensitizing the audience so that when they see real tragedy playing out on the news, it doesn't have the impact it should. It all just blurs into one program. - from Scholastic article And it is not exactly news that we are increasingly living in a world in which the one-percenters get to live lives of obscene luxury while working people are denied basic rights. The ancient Roman practice of eating to excess, then using a vomitorium to make room for even more indulgence is brought up in Collins’ vision as a very telling link between decadence old and new. And then there is the romantic element. Peeta is a wonderful guy, pure soul, gifted communicator, smart, strong as an ox, loves her, but, while she may find him attractive as a friend, does she find him attractive enough to throw over her childhood sweetheart, Gale? The pressure is unspeakable as the President, in order to save his own face, is insisting that she and Peeta make good on their cover story from their first game together. At the end of the 74th, Katniss had threatened pairs-suicide if the rulers insisted on having a single winner, and she prevailed. But the Capitol sold it as a manifestation of her love for Peeta, while the reality had been that she had stood up against the Capitol rulers. She agreed to help sell the lie after the games in order to keep bad things from happening to her family. Peeta and Katniss have to cope with the public lie of their being a couple, but must also contend with the fact that they really are very fond of each other. Add in another hottie in the shape of the studly Finnick Odair (a tribute in the 75th) and the potential for emotional imbalance is considerable.Some of Collins’ secondary characters get to spread their wings a bit, most particularly the District 12 mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, who gets to do a lot but much of his activity is told after the fact rather than shown. The president, Coriolanus Snow, gets to strut and fret his hour upon the stage, issuing threats mostly. I expect it is no accident that the president’s given name is the same as that of a Roman consul notorious for his low opinion of the ruled. Ok, I really enjoyed this book. I do have one gripe, though. Really, you knew there would have to be one. The Hunger Games story is really one long tale, and in order to keep from having to sell the book with its own set of wheels so you can tote it around, the publisher has divided it, like all Gaul, into three parts. (Unlike the greedy film makers who took it a step further and made four films out of a trilogy) And while it may make sense for this volume to have ended where it did, it seemed to me that it went from full on action to see ya next time in an awful hurry. That’s it. That’s my gripe. I had originally intended to make this a four-star rating, but on further consideration, in light of what Collins has done in terms of looking at real issues in a serious way, while offering top-notch entertainment, bringing in cultural foundations, and for making me root for a teenager to do something other than get a bad case of zits or run afoul of a serial killer, I am upping it to five. Catching Fire sizzles.=============================EXTRA STUFFAn excellent cheat sheet to catch you up on what happened in the first bookAn interview on Scholastic.comNeat bit on Theseus and the Minotaur in an SC interview in the School Library Journal The five part Time interview Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 SC’s site
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  • Lyndsey
    January 1, 1970
    Warning!! SPOILERS AHEAD...Well, kind of. No plot spoilers, just image spoilers.Don't read on if you do not want to see images of the actors cast in the upcoming Hunger Games movies.I am officially designating this review as my update central for casting on the Hunger Games. As new characters are cast, I will post the actor's pictures here along with the images I find that imitate how they might look as the character they will be playing.LATEST UPDATES ON CASTINGWOWZA!The best photoshopped pic I Warning!! SPOILERS AHEAD...Well, kind of. No plot spoilers, just image spoilers.Don't read on if you do not want to see images of the actors cast in the upcoming Hunger Games movies.I am officially designating this review as my update central for casting on the Hunger Games. As new characters are cast, I will post the actor's pictures here along with the images I find that imitate how they might look as the character they will be playing.LATEST UPDATES ON CASTINGWOWZA!The best photoshopped pic I have seen of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss:So we officially have our Peeta:Okay, I just want to say that, while Josh is not what I had pictured, I trust those in charge. And Suzanne Collins gave her approval, so that in itself speaks volumes. Bottom-line is: Josh is workable. As long as they work with him to LOOK the part, and give him the eyes and most importantly the hair, I think he could be good.And our Gale:A little too pretty for my image of Gale. I also didn't picture Gale so beefy but instead trim and slim. Although for me, I was never too concerned with this role anyway. Gale never stood out to me as much as Peeta did in these books, so I would have been fine with nearly any choice. Once again, as long as they work their studio magic on his looks, he should do just fine.Willow Shields as PRIMROSE EVERDEENPaula Malcomson (of SyFy's Caprica) as Mrs. Everdeen![image error]Elizabeth Banks will be playing Effie TrinketWoody Harrelson is officially our HAYMITCH!!!The guy is awesome. I think he will pull it off without effort.Wes Bentley is Seneca Crane. Ummmmmm, yeah.[image error]If you ask me - this guy is way hotter than I ever thought Crane would be. Gah. He's frikkin hotter than the guy playing Peeta!Ceasar Flickerman will be played by Stanley Tucci.Excellent choice!Meet Rue and Thresh!!Amandla Stenberg and Dayo Okeniyi. They are perfect, and I am already getting emotional thinking about that infamous scene with Rue... *sigh*We also have our District 1 tributes!! Leven Rambin as Glimmer and Jack Quaid as Marvel.The unnamed District 3 Tributes have been cast: Ian Nelson and Kalia Prescott.As far as the other characters, the news isn't out quite yet. It seems they will be looking for Prim and Haymitch soon. So I will post more info here once the news is out.Let me know what you think of the re-imaginings of these actors in their new character roles!
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  • Sophie
    January 1, 1970
    I can't review this without being spoilery, so...1. AAAAAAAAAAAAAH2. The one thing I didn't like about this book is the part where Katniss finds out she has to go back to the Hunger Games. I think there should have been more of a pause there--for disbelief, for Katniss maybe trying to think of ways out of it, ways to kill herself even. The book started moving at a really fast pace after that point, with Katniss and Peeta preparing for the next Games, and I was like "wait, what? hang on a minute! I can't review this without being spoilery, so...1. AAAAAAAAAAAAAH2. The one thing I didn't like about this book is the part where Katniss finds out she has to go back to the Hunger Games. I think there should have been more of a pause there--for disbelief, for Katniss maybe trying to think of ways out of it, ways to kill herself even. The book started moving at a really fast pace after that point, with Katniss and Peeta preparing for the next Games, and I was like "wait, what? hang on a minute!" It was hard for me to believe that Katniss would willingly go back to the arena, at least not without major depression. One night of drinking didn't seem to cover it.3. Everything else = awesome. The mockingjay imagery. The clock arena. The rebellion. President Snow being creepy as fuck. HIS BREATH SMELLS LIKE BLOOOOOOD!4. As soon as Wiress and Beetee started talking about the chink in the force field's armor, I knew the answer to the Games was BRING DOWN THE FORCE FIELD. I was yelling and yelling at them to do it, and then finally they did, and I was like "YES!"5. I find the love triangle a little annoying but mostly interesting. Katniss doesn't really know how she feels about either of them, because she doesn't have the freedom to feel on her own terms. I like that she has some makeout time on the beach with Peeta, though.6. This series is reminding me more and more of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. The evil oppressive government, the secret rebellion, the possibly-mythical place for them to escape to (The Smoke/District 13), hovercrafts, face tattoos, genetically modified plants/animals. I was hoping it'd go that way when I first read The Hunger Games. I was like, this government needs to be overthrown, Tally Youngblood-style.7. "This is why we don't let you make plans." HA!8. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! WHEN IS BOOK THREE COMING OUT!!!!!!!
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  • Ash
    January 1, 1970
    Oh, snap. She DID NOT just do that. This is not a cliffhanger people, this is inhumane. Like hanging on for dear life by a spider web thin thread totally butt naked (you know that makes it worse)! It's so worth it though. Quick overview: Catching Fire starts up not far from where The Hunger Games ended. Katniss is living in the Victors Village with her family. You'd think she could finally be able to relax and live the cushy life. Well that wouldn't make a good book. There are rumors of rebelli Oh, snap. She DID NOT just do that. This is not a cliffhanger people, this is inhumane. Like hanging on for dear life by a spider web thin thread totally butt naked (you know that makes it worse)! It's so worth it though. Quick overview: Catching Fire starts up not far from where The Hunger Games ended. Katniss is living in the Victors Village with her family. You'd think she could finally be able to relax and live the cushy life. Well that wouldn't make a good book. There are rumors of rebellion and since Katniss and Peeta won the Hunger Games in defiance they have become the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol, particularly President Snow, is not happy with them. Now Katniss has to worry about looking as in love with Peeta as possible to quiet down the rebellion, but is that what she really wants? It’s really hard to summarize a book when you’re afraid that everything you say will give away the twist. If you have not read the book DON’T read a whole bunch of reviews or comments! You’ll figure stuff out! Figuring out what’s going on and the twists is part of what makes this so good. You think you’ve got everything and everyone pegged only to find out that you only got half (if any) of it right. I wasn’t sure what the second book was going to be about but now looking back I think “Of course! How else would it have worked?” The book starts off a little slow, but it’s important for what Collins is trying to set up. I love Katniss and I hate her. She frustrates me beyond belief, but you have to love her. I love how you see and know everything from Katniss's point of view. You’re just as confused and unsure as she is. It never feels like she’s not a real person. You feel just as scared for her family. You feel her confusion and doubt. You just really feel. I could probably name off a bunch of things that bothered me about the book (I think I mentioned how I HAAAATE love triangles with a burning passion) but you really care about the characters. You can't even hate Katniss's team of stylists, who are selfish Capitol dwellers. The book deals with so much more than who she’s going to end up with. At first I really didn’t want to read it because I know how I am with these books. I get totally immersed, constantly trying to figure it all out. I can’t believe the twists in this book! The ending is just so…epic! How everything just falls into place and makes sense. You see the characters in a whole new light. And then you’re left with the whole butt-naked-spider-thread thing. I’m pretty sure it’s not good for my health, but they say the same thing about oreos and fried chicken. So what do you read after a book like this? Well, you could look for a book that’s just as addictive and gripping as this (Yeah, good luck with that), or read a book about kittens chasing after butterflies in a open meadow. Then you’ll probably start thinking that there is a secret underground society of kitties just waiting for the right moment to emerge, and you find out that the butterflies are their spies! You see, this is the type of thinking you have after reading the book. It’s beyond epic. Until the third book finally comes out I’ll be hanging butt naked by a spider thin thread.
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  • mark monday
    January 1, 1970
    and now let's play the wildly popular RPG ADVANCED HUNGER & GAMES 2.0: CATCHING FIRE EDITIONOur Players Katniss HIT POINTS: 25ALIGNMENT: Chaotic GoodSYMBOL: Middle FingerSTRENGTH: 15INTELLIGENCE: 10WISDOM: 5DEXTERITY: 20CONSTITUTION: 15 CHARISMA: 25FIGHTER: 10th Level ArcherASSASSIN: 9th Level AssassinSPECIAL ATTACKS: Resentful AttitudeSPECIAL DEFENSES: Defensive AttitudeSUMMARY OF PLAYER SKILLS:despite the inherent restrictions of living in a YA novel, Katniss is a remarkably well-develope and now let's play the wildly popular RPG ADVANCED HUNGER & GAMES 2.0: CATCHING FIRE EDITIONOur Players Katniss HIT POINTS: 25ALIGNMENT: Chaotic GoodSYMBOL: Middle FingerSTRENGTH: 15INTELLIGENCE: 10WISDOM: 5DEXTERITY: 20CONSTITUTION: 15 CHARISMA: 25FIGHTER: 10th Level ArcherASSASSIN: 9th Level AssassinSPECIAL ATTACKS: Resentful AttitudeSPECIAL DEFENSES: Defensive AttitudeSUMMARY OF PLAYER SKILLS:despite the inherent restrictions of living in a YA novel, Katniss is a remarkably well-developed and complex character. although she's drawn from the familiar tough girl/outsider/square peg template, Collins resists softening her - her temper, her understandable but often misdirected suspiciousness, her frequent inability to empathize with others are never underplayed. her appearance at the end, where she appears to be slipping into depressive, semi-crazy, unreasoning mulishness, is very well-done and psychologically astute. i also love how her strengths are so nonchalantly illustrated - she is something special, but never a superwoman. her character's changes and growth and weaknesses and skills are carefully gradual and feel real - the reader is made to truly understand her, all of her. two sequences in Catching Fire particularly impressed me. the first one comes almost mid-way: Katniss' slow, painful revelation about the nature of oppression and the need for revolution, at one point moving from fear for her sister's safety and potential death if revolution occurs to understanding of her sister's life as a kind of living death already, if revolution does not occur. a great example of realistic character development that highlights Collins' sophisticated yet pleasingly transparent and straightforward writing style._________________________ Gale HIT POINTS: 15ALIGNMENT: Chaotic GoodSYMBOL: Pouty ScowlSTRENGTH: 20INTELLIGENCE: 15WISDOM: 5DEXTERITY: 15CONSTITUTION: 10CHARISMA: 20FIGHTER: 9th Level RangerSPECIAL ATTACKS: Che Guevera EyesSPECIAL DEFENSES: Come Hither EyesSUMMARY OF GAME STRUCTURE:i love how Gale’s appearances bookend the first two novels. it is an elegant way to illustrate this character’s importance to both Katniss and the narrative itself – Gale sees two different kinds of Katniss in each novel; his reactions to her are different as well, and despite his own somewhat static characterization, it is through Gale that the reader is able to truly mark Katniss’ changes in status and mind and spirit. even better, by saving him for the beginning and end, he gets put out of the way for the duration of most of each novel’s action. although Katniss wastes a rather inordinate amount of time obsessing over him for a good portion of both novels, once she’s in the arena, time spent mooning over her backwoods boyfriend is happily curtailed. i really like how Collins divides the time Katniss spends on each of her love interests; the romantic elements of the novel are as sharply structured as the novel itself, with its neat division into (1) the tour of districts and the burgeoning of revolution, (2) back home in District 12 and accepting the need for action (or, perhaps, flight), and (3) the game itself.just a few words for the game itself: AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. the game that takes up much of the final third of the novel is my other favorite thing in Catching Fire. the tension and danger, the pacing, the confusion of who should trust who and what did that person mean when they said that, the puzzle of what is happening in each deadly and differentiated section, the clock-like structure of the arena, and the immense difference between this game and the game depicted in Hunger Games... awesome! almost as awesome: the interview with the contestants, Katniss & Peeta's new look, Cinna's rebellion. really, i could go on and on._________________________ Peeta HIT POINTS: 15ALIGNMENT: Lawful GoodSYMBOL: Big SpoonSTRENGTH: 15INTELLIGENCE: 20WISDOM: 15DEXTERITY: 5CONSTITUTION: 10CHARISMA: 20FIGHTER: 9th Level Bread BakerBARD: 10th Level Public SpeakerSPECIAL ATTACKS: Debilitating Guilt-TripSPECIAL DEFENSES: He Actually Loves YouSUMMARY OF GAME PLATFORM:i don't know how popular the character of Peeta is, probably because i am far from being a young adult - but i think his characterization is another wonderful achievement. it is not such an easy task to make A Good Person and Voice of Your Conscience without turning that character into a two-dimensional Marty Stu. Collins is able to accomplish this with ease (and this is a character whose every other line is practically I Love You Katniss), in scenes where mawkish sentimentality and eye-rolling cliché are conspicuously, happily absent. her handling of Peeta's character is a hallmark of Collins' overall success. she writes of a dire world, one full of death and despair and undying love and family tragedy and trials & tribulations both romantic and violent. and she does it in way that is clean, polished, graceful, direct, and terrifically moving.
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  • brian
    January 1, 1970
    i'm gonna dangle some bait here: catching fire is the sloppy follow-up to hunger games, which seems to have been written in the frenzied fever of the author's realization that she had a megahit on her hands. the pacing is way off, the plotting is mechanical, the characterization is lazy, and the 'game' section is just lame. and the big reaping twist at the mid-point? it just sits there. it just happens and we're rushed in, totally pushing aside anything genuinely interesting for the sake of plot i'm gonna dangle some bait here: catching fire is the sloppy follow-up to hunger games, which seems to have been written in the frenzied fever of the author's realization that she had a megahit on her hands. the pacing is way off, the plotting is mechanical, the characterization is lazy, and the 'game' section is just lame. and the big reaping twist at the mid-point? it just sits there. it just happens and we're rushed in, totally pushing aside anything genuinely interesting for the sake of plot! plot! plot! it's actually kind of a shame b/c collins is terrific at coming up with story & plot elements, she's just kinda inept at assembling and executing 'em. yeah, i'm in the minority in this opinion... but i'm right. aight.chum in the water for my favorite type of goodreaders. y'know who i'm talking about: those weirdos (if you're over the age of 17, i wonder... who the hell are you? i mean, really?) who love some wildly popular book and get all bent out of shape if someone - anyone! - disagrees with 'em, and shits semi-coherent & badly-worded snark all over the place. they've gotta be the same people who also cram political sites full of this kinda shit:'obama is way worse then bush! wait till he takes away you're right to bare arms!!!'don't ya think?well, (as if you didn't see this coming), on to book 3.
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  • Heather
    January 1, 1970
    Catching Fire was one of my most anticipated books of 2009. I loved it's predecessor, The Hunger Games and was so hopeful for this intstallment. I wasn't disappointed per se, but it did fail to meet my expectations. Here's a few reasons why...I don't know what it is with authors and their recent need to load up their books with a hundred or so pages of filler, but I really wish they would cut it out. There is lieterally about a hundred and some odd pages of this book that should have died on the Catching Fire was one of my most anticipated books of 2009. I loved it's predecessor, The Hunger Games and was so hopeful for this intstallment. I wasn't disappointed per se, but it did fail to meet my expectations. Here's a few reasons why...I don't know what it is with authors and their recent need to load up their books with a hundred or so pages of filler, but I really wish they would cut it out. There is lieterally about a hundred and some odd pages of this book that should have died on the editing room floor. The 9 months that Katniss spends in District 12 only serves to let us know that uprisings are occuring and she has been targeted by The Captial, all of which could have been summed up in a chapter or two.Second, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that about 90% of those of us who read and loved Hunger Games were team Peeta all the way. Though we knew Gale would be an issue, we were hoping Katniss would "wake up" and realize what a worthy, fine specimen she has in Peeta, well, it doesn't happen that way, and to say I'm bummed is an understatement. I'm kinda pissed. Katniss doesn't grow in this book at all. She is still a brash reacter, instead of a logicl thinker. I didn't mind it so much in the first book, because who wouldn't be, but the Hunger Games taught her nothing it seems, in either the way she responds to situations or in reference to how she really feels about the people in her life.Next, I get that Peeta was never much of a badass, but was it really necessary to injure him 10 seconds into the games? That irked me like nothing else. In hindsight, Peeta is one of the strongest characters, menatlly, if nothing else, and yet Collins reduced him to an invalid so that Katniss could rise up to the challenge. Please. It only made me roll my eyes and steam over the fact that I was going to have to read Hunger Games part duex, which wouldn't have been bad except for the fact that I was expecting something more.Which leads me to my last complaint, the games. Though I could see everything in this book coming, I thought it was rather brilliant to send them back to the games. What wasn't brilliant however, was the games themselves. They started out well enough, but after the crazy fog and freaky monkeys, Collins sort of lost me. Who cares if there is death traps all over the place if you know how to predict it and can avoid it? Not scary. Basically, this booked lacked the magic of the first, and failed to wow with new material as nothing new really happens. Yeah we learn a little more, and the last few pages shake things up a bit, but I shouldn't have to wait until I've read to the end to finally learn something interesting. There were moments where I would catch a glimpse of what made me love Hunger Games, and for that I give this book three stars. But I can't in good conscious give it more for it lacked character development and basically just served as a pit stop between books one and three. Hopefully the third will be better.
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  • tee
    January 1, 1970
    Spoilers? Oh boy am I going to spoil the SHIT out of this for you! So I got bored about halfway through and because I was bored I started focusing on the irritating things. So, Katniss asks a lot of fucking questions. This book should be titled Curious Katniss and the Game that she should play is "How long can Katniss go without asking a question before we blow her skull to smithereens?" Not very long! It'd be a really, really short booK and people like me would either rejoice, or be sad because Spoilers? Oh boy am I going to spoil the SHIT out of this for you! So I got bored about halfway through and because I was bored I started focusing on the irritating things. So, Katniss asks a lot of fucking questions. This book should be titled Curious Katniss and the Game that she should play is "How long can Katniss go without asking a question before we blow her skull to smithereens?" Not very long! It'd be a really, really short booK and people like me would either rejoice, or be sad because then we would have to find something productive to do with our time. You know, other than WRITE A LIST OF EVERY QUESTION KATNISS ASKS IN THE BOOK. I did that! See, along with other people asking questions (I didn't compile these) along with the slew of 'maybes' (please refer to a rundown of this later in my review) and the lack of anything interesting happening - this novel is a prime candidate for, I don't know, being used as toilet paper. Except I have too much respect for my arse to do that.Just because it's YA, it doesn't mean you get to get away with being shit. Katniss asks questions in her head and as a reader, we are privy to the inanity of her thoughts.Then I turned and as Gale and Haelle and all the kids waiting for me, so what could I do but go along?; Who is here? What do they want? Why is my mother so pale?; What could he be doing here? Perhaps I wouldn't have had such a problem with the questions if Collins didn't frequently go on a mad, frenzied self-questioning rampage, like so:If he knows this, what else does he know? And how does he know it? (...)loaded down with game? Haven't we for years? (...) Or have they> Could we have been followed? (...) Cameras? (...) what have they seen? Those questions were all in one paragraph. IT WASN'T A ONCE-OFF. And here's the rest of Katniss' internal monologue, for your reading pleasure.(...)what have I done?; What does he do? Drink it?; And who knows who else will pay for my actions? And how?; What would he do with the information, anyway?; (...)but how do I bein that coversation? Hey, Peeta, remember how I was kind of faking being in love with you?; (...)if I'd been raised in the Capitol?; Who else will I fail to save from the Capitol's vengeance? Who else will be dead if I don't satisfy President Snow? That really isn't the point, though, is it? (...) two victors chosen for the arena?; (...)than risking the alternative?; What would they do if I simply vanished? Disappeared into the woods and never came out? (...) start a new life deep in the wild?; What does this mean?(another barrage of questioning in chapter 4); Do what? Blow my lips up like President Snow's? Tattoo my breasts? Dye my skin magenta and implant gems in it? Cut decorative patterns in my face? Give me curved talons? Or cat's whiskers? (...) Do they really have no idea how freakish they look to the rest of us?How far south have we come in a day? If I had a bow and arrows, would I just keep going? What do they do? Have preliminary drawings? (...)make sure they're in the crowd? (...) offering to take her place?; Is it because I didn't save Rue?; (...)leaving all the words to Peeta?; Is she Thresh's grandmother?; (...) salute to the girl that defied the Capitol?; Who was that? Thresh's grandmother? One of Rue's little sisters?; How on earth did I cause so much trouble? (...) has that question actually been preying on him? How did I not know that?; Did I do it? Was it enough? (...) promising to marry Peeta enough?; but who would know? BUt what can he do?; (...) what's it like at the other houses?; But why? Have I? But will he even come? Didn't I do the same thing to my mother? (...) dismiss this as foolishness?; Why should I?; Why doesn't he see what's so undeniable?; Anything they made in the Capitol? Was that directed at me? (...) therefore something untouchable?"; Pr won't she?; What happened? Did he try to come to Gale's aid before I got here?; Where was he from? District 3? From the Capitol itself?; (...) but what is the worst pain?; Who could it be at this hour of the night?; What am I angry about though?; Does everyone look younger asleep?; (...) of his life to see it?; (...) districts are right? (...) conscious one?; (...)I have to try to fight? (...) so evil that there is no choice? (...) have been treated?"; Was it even planned, or something that simply erupted out of years of hatred and resentment? How could we do that here? Would the people of District 12 join in or lock their doors? (...) and have no idea what to do?; who am I to question her?; But what kind of love does she mean? What do I mean when I say I love Gale? (...) does he?; (...) with bricks and torches?Is he really planning to go through with it? What, in his twisted brain, will that achieve? Is it for the benefit of those in the Capitol? (...) And then he'll kill us? As a lesson to the districts?Who else would I be?; What if they're right? Could it be true? Could there be somewhere to run besides the wilderness? Somewhere safe? (...) instead of waiting here for my death?(...) persuade the crowd of my love for Peeta?; I have people on my side? What side?Am I unwittingly the face of the hoped-for rebellion? Has the mockingjay on my pin become a symbol of resistance?;What is going on? Has Thread turned on the fence as an addition security measure? Or does he somehow know I've escaped his net today? Is he determined to strand me outside District 12 until he can apprehend and arrest me? Drag me to the square to be locked in the stockade or whipped or hanged?I thought no one saw me sneak under the fence, but who knows?; Could there be surveillance cameras? (...) knows about the kiss?; But what choice do I have? (...)who knows what I'd be jumping into?; (...)invited by the Peacekeepers? (...)is he carefully instructing Thread what to do? Or is Thread acting on his own?; What is?; What can he do with that? What does it mean? Existing pool of victors?; Where? Where to go?; Why?; (...)written down seventy-five years ago?; What just went through my mnd?; How did I even get to this place?; What did I come for? What could I possibly want here?(...)who knows what he could get me to agree to?; (...)if it weren't for Peeta? (...) kissed him bac had I been free to do so?; (...)under different circumstances?; What else could it be?; Lover?; And why should I?; (...)doing with flaming belts? Broiling themselves?; (...)am I wrong? Or do I see the president fixated on me as well?; What did I do now?; What would we say, anyway? That we're sorry for the other's lot? That we ache for the other's pain? That we're glad we had the chance to know each other?; What's to discuss?; Only who could I trust? (...)only to possibly kill her later?; What did Peeta do? Something to upset them?; But how did he upset them?; Do you have any idea how much I hate you? You, who have given your talents to the Games?; (...)he's the head Gamemaker?; will this help Peeta stay alive?; Was it to conceal something they were unable to wash away?; What better way to give hope to the rebels? Are they jealous of its beauty? The power it might have to manipulate the crowd?; (...)why doesn't he change the Quell?; What has he done?; What can it mean? Keep a secret from who?Where on earth is he going with this? And me? vthe loss of my children to the Games? And it could be true now, couldn't it? (...) suggestion of marriage or a family?; How real are the tears?; Is this an acknowledgment that he has been stalked by the same fears that I have? That every victor has? Every parent in every district in Panem?; Do we sleep?; Why are they delaying this?; But move where? Where is he now? What are they doing to him? Torturing him? Killing him?Turning him into an Avox?; Where are you?; Where are you?; Why didn't he tell me about this arrangement before?; Could this all be a ruse? For Finnick to win my trust, and then swim out and drown Peeta?; Well, what did I think? (...)universal truce in the arena? (...)what? Restraint?; I wait? Know him better? Owe him more?; And how long did I take to turn deadly? But to what end? And who knows what the night will hold? So how can I kill him in his sleep? Why didn't he just let him die?; Why could he possibly have wanted to save Peeta? And why was he so determined to team up with me? (...) and what was it doing?; What is it?What does that signify? One ring for each district? Maybe. But why? "Mean anything, do you think?"; (...)how would I have gotten Peeta out of here alive? Was it because she was so old her days were numbered anyway? (...) and me as allies?; Do the various attacks stay within the confines of the jungle?; But why would he?; But what are my options?; Where is it? Where is it?; (...)knife in his leg?; So why have they chosen Peeta to protect?; (...) Peeta's life above their own?; (...)to choose him over myself?; Has Haymitch convinced the others of this?; (...)the rest of us could claim?; (...) decided effots to keep him alive?; Where is she? What are they doing to her?; How did she get here? Why is she part of the games?; Above me? Do they have her up in the trees? Why didn't Peeta come to help me? Why did no one come after us?; Why?; But as I stretch out on the sand I wonder, could it be more? (...) have kids with Gale?; How long can we keep up this alliance?; What if I am wrong about the others protecting Peeta?; I don't understand what's actually going on?; (...)but what does it matter now?; because who knows what Chaff's up to?; But why? I've set thousands of snares. Isn't this just a larger snare with a more scientific component? Could it work? (...) trained to gather fish and lumber and coal? What do we know about harnessing power from the sky?How can I protect him from a distance?; Stay down? I think. What? What is happening?; Am I?; Am I as good as dead?; This, in itself, can't be a sinal to kill, can it?; I can still hear the insects, but are they starting to fade?; What did Beetee do? Did he actually try to drive the knife into the force field the way Peeta did by accident? And what's the deal with the wire? Was this his backup plan? (...) into the force field? What would that do, anyway? Nothing? A great deal? Fry us all? ; But what is he doing?; (...)will Peeta survive the rest? Why would I need reminding?; what did he call it that day?; Will they let anyone survive? Will there be a victor of the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games? (...) read from the card?; Save him?; Where are the others, then?; (...)and... one more, right?; But where have they taken them? Moved them from hospital to prison?; (...)he'll be excused his crimes? Or did he really have no idea what Beetee intended? what else has he lied about?; Do I really want him dead?; But will Peeta now that or will he keep fighting?; Does he think he has a chance of surviving?; Does he even care if he does?'; hat has happened to him? How is he even here?But Katniss doesn't keep her questions to herself; she annoys everybody else with them! I couldn't bear to NOT share the following with you.Katniss takes it upon herself to question everybody, everywhere"You're hideous, you know that right?"; "Walk?"; "Did Cinna come early to help me get ready?"; "There have been uprisings?"; "Why don't you just kill me now?" "Who says I'm not?"; "What do you mean? How can I aim higher?"; "Did I design my outfit?"; "Why?"; "Where's everyone else?"; "Doesn't he need prepping?"; "What's yours?" "Orange? Like Effie's hair?"; "How do remember these things so exactly?"; "Does it help? To paint them out?"; "Want to see my talent?"; "Did you choose me, Haymitch?"; "Why?"; "...is there? Not being straight with each other?"; "About what?" "So, you're the Head Gamemaker this year?"; "Are you plannin the Quarter Quell Games already?"; "What?"; (...)"having a nightmare?"; "Are you sure you don't want it back?"; "Where did you get it anyway?""Really? You don't think I'm mad? You'll go with me?"; "You're sure?"; "Do you think I'm making this stuff up?"; "What about your family?; "Going to town?"; (...)"would you?"; "You will?"; "What?"; "No, but can you get Hazelle? SEnd her over?"; "Can you save him?"; "Can't you give him another shot?"; "What did you do in the arm months?"; "Why didn't you put this on him last night?"; "Where's Peeta?"; "Did he get back all right?"; "Have you seen Haymitch today?"; "Then what's your plan?"; "What's he want that for?"; "Ypu closed down too?"; "What is it? What does that mean?"; "Who are you?"; "Where'd you get the uniforms?"; "What's that about?"; "What are you going to do?"; "Thirteen?"; "What's wrong with your leg?"; "Anyone after you?"; "Making tea?"; "Out of food?"; "So, what's your story?"; (...) expect to find in District Thirteen?"; "Really?"; "See what?"; "You're going to District Thirteen based on that? A shot of a bird? You think you're just going to find some new city with people strolling around in it? And that's just fine with the Capitol?"; "Why haven't they helped us? If it's true, why do they leave us to live like this? With the hunger and the killings and the Games?"; "Can I help you with something?"; "When did you say that?"; "You have a message for me?"; "Didn't it already?"; "How was school?"; "Why couldn't you get shrimp? Is it out of season?"; Katniss continues to be inquisitive (and I lose my patience with using quotation marks but believe it, it's still her asking these questions! Out loud! Exclamation point!I begin to question them casually (...) I want to ask them more (...) "Do you still think it won't work here?"; But maybe at some point?; What do you think they'll do, Haymitch? To the districts that are rebelling?; So you think Thirteen was really destroyed?; What are you going to do?; It'd be bad for you in the arena, wouldn't it? Knowing all the others?; What's done?; "You what?"; What business is it of yours what he does?; What?; What are you going to do?; What's with him?; Who's next?; Is this the person who won twenty-five in here? (...) do you?; (...) did he?; So what are we wearing for the opening ceremonies? Headlamps or fire?; How did you do this?; What do you spend all yours on, anyway, FInnick?; Then how do they pay you for the pleasure of your company?; Have you seen your suit turned on?; Are we supposed to hold hands this year?; The families?; What?; Why?; So why bother?; You mean you want us in the Career pack this year?; (...)is that what you're saying? Why does that not surprise me?; What about you?; How are we going to kill these people, Peeta?"; Why did Haymitch want us to get to know them?; You painted something didn't you?; Why would he paint a picture of me, Effie?; Is it a secret?; Have they ever given a zero?; Why did they do that?; (...)piece in their Games?; So, what should we do with our last few days?; You?; What?; Then you'll allow it?; So, what am I wearing tonight?; Was this heavy?; Will I be twirling again?; the most beautiful thing?; The others went home?; What?; What do you think?; Sun?; Each take one side?; Remind me, did we make deals with anyone else?; What?; Peeta?; Peeta?; Is this your token? Can't you hear it?; Whose is it?; What is it?: Can you fish with it, Mags?; Can you take them both?; Finnick?; Where did they go?; Think it's safe to try for the water again?; Why don't you two get some rest?; (...)haven't looked pretty?; What now?; What does she mean? She got them for me?; What do I have to work with? Seawater?; So what were you doing with Nuts and Volts?; Are you thirsty?; Did you notice anything unusual in the others?; Prim?; At the final eight?; No?; You really believe that?; Do you believe it, Finnick?; Who?; Was that the earthquake year?; Did she get better after?; I mean, her mind?; Do you think they figured out about the clock? Why not?; Guess who I'm not fooling with that story?; Ready?; Peeta?; Peeta?; Who cut you?; The first one? Why?; What?; Where is Peeta?; Like bait? Like how they'll use Annie for bait, Finnick?; Prim?; They're not in District Twelve?; If the questions weren't enough; Katniss, or Collins herself, is also plagued with self doubt. Uncertainty! Oh the horrors> There were at least 125 maybes mentioned in this book, which may not seem like much but once you're aware of them, they're fucking everywhere. Here's a great example from Chapter 15;Maybe he's too pretty, or maybe he's too easy to get, or maybe it's really that he'd just be too easy to lose..Yep, that was altogether! Here's a few more, Maybe she expected it. Maybe they can even confirm my suspicions of an uprising there. Maybe some fishhooks.Maybe you're a Class A irritating fuck, that's what.Some of Collins' sentences are also horrific;Then I'm at a party where everyone wears masks and someone with a flicking wet tongue, who I suppose is Finnick, stalks me, but when he catches me and pulls off his mask, it's President Snow, and his puffy lips are dripping in bloody salivaYeah, by horrific I don't mean the content. Check out that eyesore. Sheesh.AND she starts a lot of sentences with conjunctions. Which I do continually. Which, in my opinion, is fine if you are stating something emphatetically or are not a published author. Perhaps it's even okay to let the odd one slip if you do so happen to be so lucky as to get your shitty novel published. When that odd one adds up to the point where it's actually noticable and fucking annoying, then you've got a problem. Just when I was starting to get really irked at this flaw, I stumbled across this gem from chapter 16 to prove to you exactly what I mean."And the more I come to know these people, the worse it is. Because, on the whole, I don't hate them. And some I like. And a lot of them are so damaged that my natural instinct would be to protect them. But all of them must die if I'm to save Peeta."So, in conclusion, I am really glad I don't own this as an actual IRL paperback and I could just delete it thus disappearing it back into the void where this whole book should have stayed in the first place.TL;DR: This book sucked balls.
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  • Mohammed Arabey
    January 1, 1970
    الشـــرارة التي اشعـــلت الثــورةهناك سبب يجعلني أعشق ذلك الجزء...تصاعد الأحداث والقمع به كان مشابها لحد كبير لثورة مصر في 25 يناير 2011 وحتي ابرزها الفيلم في اعلانه بعبقرية بحق في رسم الاحداث هذه الجزء بالأخص أرشحه كحكاية ثورية شبهة واقعيةبالرغم من ان الثورة كانت في خلفية الاحداث بدءا من الجزء الاولفأهل "بنما" المقهورين يعملون كعبيد للكابيتال، العاصمة..أهل المال والنفوذ..يعيشوف في قهر والأخرون في رخاءبل ويضحون بطفل وطفلة في كل عام من كل مقاطعة ليتقاتلوا بعضهم بعضا لامتاع اهل الكابيتالو ليتذكروا الشـــرارة التي اشعـــلت الثــورةهناك سبب يجعلني أعشق ذلك الجزء...تصاعد الأحداث والقمع به كان مشابها لحد كبير لثورة مصر في 25 يناير 2011 وحتي ابرزها الفيلم في اعلانه بعبقرية بحق في رسم الاحداث هذه الجزء بالأخص أرشحه كحكاية ثورية شبهة واقعيةبالرغم من ان الثورة كانت في خلفية الاحداث بدءا من الجزء الاولفأهل "بنما" المقهورين يعملون كعبيد للكابيتال، العاصمة..أهل المال والنفوذ..يعيشوف في قهر والأخرون في رخاءبل ويضحون بطفل وطفلة في كل عام من كل مقاطعة ليتقاتلوا بعضهم بعضا لامتاع اهل الكابيتالو ليتذكروا ثورتهم التي "انخمدت"من 74 سنة...عندما حاولوا الثورة علي"اليد التي امدت لهم بالخير".."اليد التي تحمل الخير لبنما"..ليتذكروا جحودهمفي هذا الجزء ستري كيف تقوم تلك الحكومة التي تحمل الخير لبنما بالقمع والتعتيم الاعلامي علي اي معارضات ..ثم كيف تشتعل الثورة من مقاطعة لأخري فالثورة التي تشتعل في بضع المقاطعات لتستمر السنتها وتقوي الي ان تصل للمقاطعه 12ستشعر بالفعل انك رايت تلك المشاهد المكتوبه بحرفيه رائعه في ثوره مصر التي اخشي ما اخشاه ان تتحول مستقبلا لـHunger Gamesوربما..قد كان******************البدايه كانت هادئة...زواج مرتب من قبل..زواج بقرار جمهورياحداث هادئة ولكنه الهدوء الذي يسبق العاصفةوتخللها الثورة..بدات من شرر..هنا وهناك ..التي اشعلتها الفتاة علي النار كاتنيسولكنها لا تعلم بسبب التعتيم الاعلاميوالنهايه كانترهيبه,مريعه فعلا بالكاد ستتماسك لمعرفه ما سيحدث لاحقا في الجزء الثالث والاخيرهذا الجزء بتمتع بميزه لم تكن موجوده بالجزء الاول..فقد اضافت المؤلفه عنصرا جديدا يضاف للاثاره,الدراما وحتي الرومانسيه ..هذا العنصر هو "الغموض"..ستشعر ان هناك امرا ما يخفيه البعض..خطة؟ربما...ولكن لصالح من؟فالمؤلفه بدات الاحداث بعد مرور بضع الشهور من العاب الجزء الاول البدايه قد تكون بطئيه شيئا ما الا ان الكثير من الاحداث والمفاجأت المهمه حدثت فيها..فكره الهروب مع جيلصراع البطله في مشاعرها تجاه بيتاالاستعداد لجوله الفائزين للمقاطعاتوالزياره المفاجأه للرئيس الجوله نفسها بالمقاطعاتومشاهد القمع والغضب الذي أدي لشرارات الثوره والحفله بمقر الرئاسهصراع كاتنيس بين الهرب و الوقوف للثوره...القمعالاعلان الرهيب لطبيعه جوله الالعاب الخامسه وسبعون..الذي لا يهدف الا للانتقامالاشاعه حول وجود المقاطعه 13وخطه اللعبه والغموض الذي يحيط يها وبالشخصيات المشاركين بالنسبه للاحداث المكرره من الجزء الاول***********************************نجحت بالفعل المؤلفه في جعل الاحداث التي قد تتشابه مع احداث الجزء الاول ان تكون مختلفه تماما في طبيعتها..فمثلا الاستعدادات للعبه جوها مختلف تماما عن الجزء الاول وذلك نتيجه لمستجدات الاحداث..المقابله مع المرشحين كانت قويه جدا في مفاجأتها .حتي جوله الفائزين مرت بطريقه لا تشعر معها بلملل فلم تستفيض في وصف الجوله الا في المقاطعه الحاديه عشر"التي بها رو".الاحداث نفسها ازدادت كميه الاثاره بها..وكما قلت الغموض الذي كان يحيط اللالعاب طوال هذا الجزء..فهناك غموض في الشخصيات ودوافعها كله يؤدي لمفاجأه تلو الاخري حتي تأتي نهايه هذا الجزء والذي تم كتابته بذكاء لجعلنا علي "حافه الترقب"للجزء التالي.بالنسبه للشخصيات:***************هناك تطور في الكثير من الشخصيات القديمه مثل كاتنيس والتي صارت اعمق وايضا اعجبني جدا الصراع الداخلي لديها والذي كان اصعب بكثير من الجزء السابق.. كذلك شخصيات الام,هايمتش,ايفي,سينا ازدادت بعض العمق وربما ايضا تشعر بتعاطف اكبر معهماما بالنسبه للشخصيات الجديده فهي مثيره ايضا وغامضه في بعض الجوانب ربما ابرزها فينيك و جوانا وبالاخص جوانا اعتقد انها من الشخصيات المثيره الغامضه جدا.هذا الجزء بالفعل يثبت عبقريه المؤلفه في جعل الجزء الثاني يفوق الاولوفي انتظار الجزء الثالثمحمد العربي من 13-1-2013الي 1-2-2013The ending is .....Real SHOCKINGNow without spoiler ,and to cut this review short Catching Fire tops the first part The Hunger Games by adding to the thriller, drama and the semi romance theme that were at the first book a new element "Mystery"The story here start after few months of the Games,slow beginning with how the life became, the preparing for the tour..then the President visit.. the capital festival.. The straggling ideas at Katniss mind between the fleeing away or stand for the rebellion.. The consequences of her talk with Gale.. The rumors of the last hope.. The Quarter Quell ..The shock..the 75th Hunger Games itself ....and finally the most shocking cliffhanger ending ever. The Power Points of the books:The repeated EventsThe author did a great job in here to not repeat herself,and when necessary since some of events that must be happening again as the first book it's different,deeper,got real meaning and emotional than the 1st book.For example the tour was very detailed at Distract 11 -which it should be since it's Rue's from P1- and then the next ones are brief.The Games itself got a new element as I've said at the beginning which is the Mystery of the characters ...was really very well written.and that lead to the surprising ending.The Characters Katniss : Now she's struggling since becoming in the spot light ,The pressure President Snow makes on her, her feelings for Peeta and Gale. It's real deep at this part and very confused..and that's really normal for her condition.The Mother,Effie,Haymitch are getting deeper this book..and I really loved the deeper the relationship between Kat and them in this book which is more emotional.And the new characters Finnick Odair ,Johanna Mason are the best add.. also the rest of the new characters are really importantThe PlotVery tense,and as I said Mysterious which wasn't at book one,The thriller is doubled and also the emotional scenes.Every chapter end with a cliffhanger make u "What the ..."or "Oh My God"...and that last until the very end..
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  • Chelsea Humphrey
    January 1, 1970
    Another enjoyable entry in the Hunger Games Saga! Soon I can pretend that I didn't wait forever to read these because I'll have flown through. Full review to come.
  • Wendy
    January 1, 1970
    Update 6/9/12 ** some spoilers..** but if you haven't read this by now, shame on you. I know it's popular and over-saturated, but it's not Twilight...At all. Read it asap.Re-reading the series because...I just want to, darn it. I bought the books for that reason, right? It was for me, just as hang-on-to-your-hat as the first time. I should have put it down at 11 and went to bed, but no. The first 2/3 of the book isn't exciting at all. But really, in this terrible dystopian world, I think things Update 6/9/12 ** some spoilers..** but if you haven't read this by now, shame on you. I know it's popular and over-saturated, but it's not Twilight...At all. Read it asap.Re-reading the series because...I just want to, darn it. I bought the books for that reason, right? It was for me, just as hang-on-to-your-hat as the first time. I should have put it down at 11 and went to bed, but no. The first 2/3 of the book isn't exciting at all. But really, in this terrible dystopian world, I think things had to get worse for Katniss before she decided that something had to be done. Things decidedly get worse. Her second worst nightmare happens: she's going back in the arena. Gah! I totally remember the first read through around that that was the last thing I expected. She realizes her first worst nightmare will probably come to pass in one way or another: there are going to be deaths. She can't protect everyone (major foreshadowing), but she'll die trying. I'll amend something I mentioned below: I do think this is maybe slightly better than HG. I can't really pin point it. It's a great book. Both are. HG introduces us to a world we can't imagine, and Catching Fire starts to show the cracks. The growing pains have begun. You can only suppress and oppress people for so long until they say "enough". Twelve districts live for the single benefit of the Capital. Did you get it the first time? She's the girl on fire, so they put in in the one place where fire can't burn: Water. And lots of it. I thought the idea of the clock was genius, not only in it's written execution but also in the metaphor. Your time is short. Your life is short. I think I even learned a thing or two about human nature. Also, don't pre-judge people. Of course, you're right 95% of the time, but 5% of the time, people will surprise you. They might be brave and noble hiding behind snobby and aloofness.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(previous review)Loved it!!! Totally not what I expected, but a good story. Although not as jaw-droppingly good as the first book. Less action, especially in the first act of the book. Action picks up later, but is still not as good as the first one. Still, a good 'middle' book, for what I expect to be a trilogy. Provided a little more backstory, and certainly a lot more foreshadowing of what will be happening next. Can't wait for the next one!!!
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  • James
    January 1, 1970
    Every so often, I select a Young Adult book to read. After I read the Hunger Games, I had to finish the trilogy... I mean, how could you not, right?Let's back up a bit... I love challenges. I am totally in my element watching serial killers on TV shows. (Umm... I didn't mean that in a sociopath-kinda way... I just mean the thrill of trying to guess who the killer is and who's gonna go next is the fun part... make believe... not real... I'm honestly not a serial killer... wait wouldn't a serial k Every so often, I select a Young Adult book to read. After I read the Hunger Games, I had to finish the trilogy... I mean, how could you not, right?Let's back up a bit... I love challenges. I am totally in my element watching serial killers on TV shows. (Umm... I didn't mean that in a sociopath-kinda way... I just mean the thrill of trying to guess who the killer is and who's gonna go next is the fun part... make believe... not real... I'm honestly not a serial killer... wait wouldn't a serial killer say that... oh, I'm screwed here.) And my favorite book of all time is "And Then There Were None." But the first thing I saw was "Battle Royale" years ago... what an amazing movie. It's total cheesy fun, but I could watch it anytime... ok, I'm off topic. The point is... there is something about knocking people off one by one until you're left with only 1 possible person... and the winner is... THAT is a fun book.So I had to read The Hunger Games. But OMG, when book 2 came out and Peeta and Katniss where back in the contest, I think I died and went to... not exactly heaven, as that would be WEIRD.She'd already been through so much. And I couldn't take the stress of guessing which character would go and in what horrific way. My reaction was like: OK... now that the hysterics and humor are done... I really, really liked this book. And if it wasn't already done in the first edition, I would have given this a 5... but I wasn't keen on the ending and so I had to go with a 4 for this one.I am normally a fan of the bad boy/girl winning the hero's or heroine's heart, and as much as the movies may have tried to change my mind... Peeta seemed destined to be with Katniss in the books. And I was good with that. We all need someone to bake for us, right?Losing Mags and Rue was awful. But the imagination in these books is incredible. And the push/pull in every direction... so good. This is is how I felt:I recommend reading the series. It may totally be commercial young adult fiction, but if it gets you to read, it's a good thing. And it's full of moral lessons and a challenge to think critically about life.All around... I think it's a must read! About Me For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by.[polldaddy poll=9719251]
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  • Natalie Monroe
    January 1, 1970
    Testing, testing... one, two, three. Okay, we're live with Cynical Natalie and Nice Natalie as they live-react to Catching Fire!Before reading:Nice Natalie: I hope it's as good as The Hunger Games.Cynical Natalie: Eh, I'm not holding out much hope. The Hunger Games wasn't that good this time around. The pacing lagged in the middle and Katniss comes off bitchy sometimes. Catching Fire and Mockingjay didn't come close to the high it gave the first time we read it.Katniss flashback of Gale:Nice Nat Testing, testing... one, two, three. Okay, we're live with Cynical Natalie and Nice Natalie as they live-react to Catching Fire!Before reading:Nice Natalie: I hope it's as good as The Hunger Games.Cynical Natalie: Eh, I'm not holding out much hope. The Hunger Games wasn't that good this time around. The pacing lagged in the middle and Katniss comes off bitchy sometimes. Catching Fire and Mockingjay didn't come close to the high it gave the first time we read it.Katniss flashback of Gale:Nice Natalie: *sigh* Remember when we used to be Team Gale?Cynical Natalie: I prefer to leave that memory in the murky marshes with Twihard tween Natalie. God, he's a selfish asshole. How did we not see this before? He's the broody, smouldering jerk we roll our eyes at now. (view spoiler)[Kissing Katniss was the dumbest move ever. (hide spoiler)]First appearance of President Snow:Cynical Natalie: 'He smells of blood', seriously? Can you spell cliche?Nice Natalie: It's symbolic.Cynical Natalie: Of cliche.Train ride to Capitol with Peeta:Nice Natalie: Cynical Natalie: I am not with her.District 11:Cynical Natalie: Has Katniss always been this... pure of heart? Like she's charitable and can't stand to see pain.Nice Natalie: I like it, it gives her character depth. You can't pin her down because she's both a killer and Mother Teresa.The whipping:Cynical Natalie: There it is. The love triangle. Nice Natalie: Oh, let it go! Katniss's confession was a heat-of-the-moment thing. Remember what she said later? "Gale, I can't think of anyone that way now. All I can think about, every day, every waking minute since they drew Prim's name at the reaping, is how afraid I am. And there doesn't seem to be room for anything else. If we could get somewhere safe, maybe I could be different." Announcing the 75th Hunger Games:Nice Natalie: Cynical Natalie: Calm your emotions, woman.Finnick's appearance:Nice Natalie: Cynical Natalie: Tribute interviews:Nice Natalie: I love the movie's special effects. Actually, I love everything about the movies. They stick to the book.Cynical Natalie: Where's Madge?Nice Natalie: Must you ruin everything?Mags during the Games:Nice Natalie:Cynical Natalie: For God's sake...This scene: “I'm going to wake Peeta," I say."No, wait," says Finnick. "Let's do it together. Put our faces right in front of his."Well, there's so little opportunity for fun left in my life, I agree. We position ourselves on either side of Peeta, lean over until our faces are inches from his nose, and give him a shake. "Peeta. Peeta, wake up," I say in a soft, singsong voice.His eyelids flutter open and then he jumps like we've stabbed him. "Aa!"Finnick and I fall back in the sand, laughing our heads off. Every time we try to stop, we look at Peeta's attempt to maintain a disdainful expression and it sets us off again.” Nice Natalie: *happy sigh*Cynical Natalie: I am allergic to joy. Moving on!Katniss/Peeta pearl scene:Cynical Natalie: This scene is problematic. Look: “No one really needs me," he says, and there's no self pity in his voice. It's true his family doesn't need him. They will mourn him, as will a handful of friends. But they will get on. Even Haymitch, with the help of a lot of white liquor, will get on. I realize only one person will be damaged beyond repair if Peeta dies. Me."I do," I say. "I need you." He looks upset, takes a deep breath as if to begin a long argument, and that's no good, no good at all, because he'll start going on about Prim and my mother and everything and I'll just get confused. So before he can talk, i stop his lips with a kiss.” One, Peeta is acting like those YA heroine who have nothing to live for except their love interest. Two, Katniss kisses him to shut him up. She admits it. Him talking makes her confused, so she basically uses sex to manipulate him. How's that different from Christian Grey using his dick to silence Ana?Nice Natalie: We don't know much about Peeta's family life since Katniss never bothered to find out. I'm not saying it's right, but she had bigger things on her mind, like President Snow and handling PTSD. I'm willing to admit that scene is little weird, but Katniss doesn't do it all the time. It's only a problem if she frequently uses her body to shut Peeta up. She's obviously overwhelmed and unsure of her feelings towards him, so she acts on instinct. Katniss isn't good with words, she's all about action.The ending:Nice Natalie: MY FEELS ARE RUNNETH OVER.Cynical Natalie: Why are you talking like you're in a Shakespeare play?After reading:Nice Natalie: Five stars. The writing's better, and Katniss has become a very complex character. The stakes are off the charts. Cynical Natalie: I concur. But if you ever tell anyone I agreed with you, I'll beat you with an orange in a sock.My review of The Hunger GamesMy review of MockingjayOther Nice Natalie/Cynical Natalie brawls reviews:A Girl Like YouIf I StayDreams of Gods & MonstersThe MartianMe and Earl and the Dying GirlThe Fault In Our StarsAll The RageAn Ember In The AshesHarry Potter & the Cursed ChildThe Hammer of ThorCaravalWarcross
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  • Jayson
    January 1, 1970
    (A-) 82% | Very GoodNotes: It's about futility, and dealing with the unintentional effects of compliance, pretense, decency, altruism, and kissing.
  • Bookdragon Sean
    January 1, 1970
    This book annoyed me so much. Not just because it was bad. No. But, because it made me want to storm through it to see what happened in the ending. I hated the effect it had on me because this books is terrible and not worthy of my enthralment. When I finished it, I looked back and realised how cheap the book was and how, essentially, it is the first book again. I hated the first book, and to have it repeated on myself again was frustrating and poor taste. Did I say cheap already? It was like th This book annoyed me so much. Not just because it was bad. No. But, because it made me want to storm through it to see what happened in the ending. I hated the effect it had on me because this books is terrible and not worthy of my enthralment. When I finished it, I looked back and realised how cheap the book was and how, essentially, it is the first book again. I hated the first book, and to have it repeated on myself again was frustrating and poor taste. Did I say cheap already? It was like the author had only one trick up her sleeve, so she reused it on me. The first book in disguise The capitol fears uprising in its districts. In the last games it was clear that they had accidently created a beacon of hope, though I don’t know why anybody would be inspired by Katniss Everdeen. The Capitol then, in an incredibly idiotic move, tours the beacon that they detest around the districts. The districts see their beacon and, quite naturally, are inspired by the flame. I just can’t understand why the Capitol would do this; it is completely self-defeating. They are fuelling the fires of the rebellion they wish to quench. Why not simply kill Katniss and make it look like an accident? It wouldn’t be hard to do; I’d fake a train crash. The Capitol is absolutely terrible at being an overlord, again. So, the first books’ tributes were picked at random; this time the tributes are the champions of previous games. Therefore, you would naturally suppose that this next batch of contestants would be quite effective killing machines. The reverse is quite true because most of them are weak and one’s completely deranged. They don’t seem to do a lot either when they’re in the games; they just hang around in a reluctant manner. It was quite surprising that any of these actually managed to win their respective games as they’re quite useless and get themselves killed in what is, quite frankly, amateur ways. These guys are supposed to be experts. The only ones that actually manage to do some killing are just characterised as generic brutes, so not really survival experts. Cheap writing Katniss really began to grate on me in this novel. I found her flat to begin with, but now I just hate her entire characterisation. She is so naïve and just plain unpleasant to Peter. Their relationship, at this point, is clearly for the stage, but she doesn’t have to be so mean to the poor guy. He is clearly in love with her. And she clearly will be in love with him eventually. This was such an obvious route to take with the story. I think it would have been much more interesting if Katniss has continued to have proper feelings for Gale. Or somehow fell in love with the enemy. I hate this predictable book. Her internal monologue is completely terrible; it’s like the author doesn’t know how to write down someone’s thoughts. Katniss seems to think in a series of questions at points. She has no meaningful thoughts or observations of the world, and she comes across as quite detached and stoic when describing the games. I found this odd because she appears to be quite an emotional girl, nothing wrong with that, but it didn’t quite add up with her bland observations of the world. She really is a weak protagonist because she is written so badly. Moreover, the idea that she has become, essentially, a messiah and a leader of a rebellion is even harder to accept. I think her actions are completely uninspiring and are, of course, self-serving because she is just fighting for her own survival. The believability of her new status is very minimal and almost forced; it just didn’t quite work for me. Thus, I gave this novel a very low rating; it is essentially a verbatim repeating of the first book. I do not feel like believable progress was made nor has any of the characters has any believable development. For me, this is another terrible book by Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games1. The Hunger Games- A transparent one star2. Catching Fire- A cheap one star
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  • karen
    January 1, 1970
    me and teen fiction are now irrevocably bound. what started as some kind of screamin jay hawkins voodoo spell and me helpless to resist has blossomed into something - a magical love like between a child and a vampire... okay, so i still refuse to read that one. but this series is just too good. it doesnt read like teen fiction at all. the characters are well drawn, there is great tension and imagination - i cant rate this highly enough. when i got to the end of the first one and saw "the end of me and teen fiction are now irrevocably bound. what started as some kind of screamin jay hawkins voodoo spell and me helpless to resist has blossomed into something - a magical love like between a child and a vampire... okay, so i still refuse to read that one. but this series is just too good. it doesnt read like teen fiction at all. the characters are well drawn, there is great tension and imagination - i cant rate this highly enough. when i got to the end of the first one and saw "the end of book one" i got mad because i thought this would be one of those things that goes on forever and i have no desire for that kind of commitment. but now that i know it is going to be a trilogy and then stop, i am calmed. her other series (which i havent read) did something like 5 books and stopped, so i appreciate her understanding that when something is finished, it doesnt need to be milked forever. because with the teen market, they will keep buying them if they keep being written. i appreciate her restraint. but the book - i am actually excited to see how it all wraps up. i got this the day it came out, like some harry potter soccer mom, and now i have to wait (again) for the last part. maybe this will preserve my youthful glow. now i gotta go read an adult book, just so i know i still can...come to my blog!
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  • Kat Kennedy
    January 1, 1970
    So I've finished the book and all I can say is: wow! Catching fire has broken my heart with the events that have unfolded and I am desperately holding out for more. As usual, the writing is flawless, the characters beyond fantastic and the plot will leave you on the edge of your seat. This is, hands down, my favourite series... Ever!
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  • Kemper
    January 1, 1970
    Don’t you hate it when you accidentally start a political uprising?Katniss survived the Hunger Games, but she’s inadvertently become a symbol of defiance that is inspiring some in the twelve Districts to begin pushing back against the despotic Capital. After President Snow threatens her family and friends, Katniss tries to put out the fire she stated, but her efforts only seem to encourage more dissent. Snow’s revenge is to pull her back into another round in the arena to shut her up once and fo Don’t you hate it when you accidentally start a political uprising?Katniss survived the Hunger Games, but she’s inadvertently become a symbol of defiance that is inspiring some in the twelve Districts to begin pushing back against the despotic Capital. After President Snow threatens her family and friends, Katniss tries to put out the fire she stated, but her efforts only seem to encourage more dissent. Snow’s revenge is to pull her back into another round in the arena to shut her up once and for all.I was impressed with the first half of the book which did not try copy the first book’s pattern, but instead put Katniss into a new situation of reluctantly trying to carry out Snow‘s commands to help quash the burgeoning political discontent. There was a lot that could have been done with Katniss in that role, and the book seemed poised to follow through with that story. Unfortunately, Collins chickened out and decided that the readers wouldn’t be happy unless Katniss was back in the arena. So while the new death match is a bigger and badder version of what we saw in The Hunger Games, it ends up seeming familiar and a letdown kind of like The Hangover Part II. (“It’s the same story as before, but this time it’s in Thailand!!”)I was far more interested in the idea of Katniss evolving from terrified political pawn into the revolutionary that she seems destined to be than I was in seeing her once again fight for her life. Hopefully, that’s what I’ll get in the third book.
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  • Lyn
    January 1, 1970
    The Hunger Games trilogy continues with Catching Fire. This is a book that was hard to put down. I nibbled at it for a few days because I was busy with other things but once the weekend came, I did little else until it was finished. Taking up where The Hunger Games left off, author Collins continues using the first person, present tense narrative but the story is expanded as Katniss gets to see more of the behind the scenes action in other districts and in the Capital. Excellent characterization The Hunger Games trilogy continues with Catching Fire. This is a book that was hard to put down. I nibbled at it for a few days because I was busy with other things but once the weekend came, I did little else until it was finished. Taking up where The Hunger Games left off, author Collins continues using the first person, present tense narrative but the story is expanded as Katniss gets to see more of the behind the scenes action in other districts and in the Capital. Excellent characterization, especially the ongoing dramatic irony of getting the story from Katniss’ paranoid, reclusive perspective. Collins also throws in many twists and turns, some expected, and others completely taking the reader off guard. This is excellent story telling not just in how it is told but in Collins' exceptional imagination. I joined the millions of others who went on to read Mockingjay and finish the series.
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  • Kiki
    January 1, 1970
    Is it just me, or is anyone else really starting to like Haymitch?Bet you didn't see this coming. Moi, Kira, reading Catching Fire and giving it four stars!The Hunger Games earned an uneasy 2.5 stars from me. The most annoying part? I wasn't 100% sure why. Katniss, probably. The almost absurd seriousness of her voice and her behavior toward Peeta tipped me (though I did have to give her kudos for being absolutely kick-ass). The cavalier treatment of Haymitch's alcoholism, the total lack of sensi Is it just me, or is anyone else really starting to like Haymitch?Bet you didn't see this coming. Moi, Kira, reading Catching Fire and giving it four stars!The Hunger Games earned an uneasy 2.5 stars from me. The most annoying part? I wasn't 100% sure why. Katniss, probably. The almost absurd seriousness of her voice and her behavior toward Peeta tipped me (though I did have to give her kudos for being absolutely kick-ass). The cavalier treatment of Haymitch's alcoholism, the total lack of sensical world-building and the sentence fragments grated on me. I enjoyed it, yes; but love it, I did not.I was all set to throw in the towel with this series. It's been a year since I read The Hunger Games, and I wasn't on any kind of tenterhook to find out what happened next. I'll admit, when I picked up Catching Fire it was with a sort of do-I-have-to groan, because it was practically thrust into my hand by a friend who is totally batshit crazy about these books and demanded I keep reading or die. So I cracked it open on pain of death and started reading.The first seventy or so pages are ridiculously boring. Katniss and Peeta literally do nothing but travel around and eat. It was during this time, when there was no violence or gratuitous nudity or mildly sexual romantic tension to distract me, that those absolutely heinous sentence fragments really caught up with me. Look, this book is obviously intended to be written as a stream of Katniss's consciousness, so I absolutely understand an abundance of fragments. But these fragments are nonsensical. I literally had to read some sentences five times just to understand what Katniss was trying to say, and let me tell you one thing: that's a fantastic way to totally alienate your reader from the narrative. The fragments would cut a perfectly comprehensible sentence into two incomprehensible halves. Welcome to Logicville. Population: none.So why'd I give this book four stars? Because I read it in something like two and a half days, and although the plotline felt repetitive, half-hearted and sort of a caper, it was just great. So much better than the first book. Let me say something: Suzanne Collins must be a brilliant dressmaker, because she has an uncanny talent for embellishing obnoxious things and making them seem 100% less ridiculous than they actually are.This is the plot of this book. Katniss and Peeta hear rumblings of uprising among the Districts, meanwhile President Snow, for some strange reason, is still not satisfied with Katniss's show of fake love for Peeta (even though EVERYONE else - literally EVERYONE - is. Like, how much more convinced does he think the people need to be?). So this creates a lot of unnecessary conflict, while Katniss bounces between Gale and Peeta, even though she knows herself that she's not sexually attracted to Gale and at this point the reader is already fully aware that in the end, she's going to pick Peeta. How could she not? He practically has "I am a non-threatening love interest" tattooed across his forehead. This series is a lot of things, but unpredictable it is not.So anyway, a Quarter Quell is announced, in which a male and female tribute from each District will be selected from the existing pool of victors, ergo, the folks who won will be in the arena again (and that, ladies and gentlemen, is what makes this book fucking great. The feeling of sheer betrayal from the Capitol's decision to haunt the victors with another Hunger Games is what carries this whole book). Yadda yadda, lots of violence, and then a bad guy turns out to be good and Katniss and Co. are all rescued from the arena, save for Peeta, who's been horribly abducted by the Capitol (tears for that).Let's start with the love triangle, which this book pretty frequently relies on to supply tension. I've been pretty hard on the love triangle, but I really shouldn't have been: it doesn't convince me at all and to be honest I never felt any chemistry between Katniss and Gale or Katniss and Peeta, but at least it didn't feel tacked on. It felt premeditated and it does forward the plot, so kudos for that. Plus, the Katniss in this book is much more human, a Katniss I could better relate to. She's tough but emotional, self-assured yet apologetic, compassionate but practical. Her voice held a little note of sarcasm which I just loved, because I always felt that the maudlin narrative of the first book really did border on angsty and I can't deal with that shit. You feel me? I better felt who Katniss was in this book, and as such, I felt like I could grow to care about Peeta and Gale as characters, though not as love interests - like I said before, I could've cared less who Katniss ended up with because none of the romantic relationships ever really interested me. Note that it is true what they say, that Gale and Peeta are practically the same character, except Gale tends to be irritatingly convenient in his reactions and tends to jump to the most nonsensical conclusions, so I do tend to prefer Peeta. I don't know what it is; Peeta's just lovely. And he's a little clumsy and awkward, which I find incredibly endearing. Catching Fire sees Katniss and Peeta forced to participate in a second round of the Hunger Games. It's a Quarter Quell, which occurs every twenty-five years, and means the Gamemakers toss in a curveball to freak everyone the fuck out. These Games were nowhere near as threatening as those in The Hunger Games. That was mainly what warmed me to the first book: the terror of entering the arena blind, unsure of what was going to happen next. In this book, the reaping happens in one paragraph, there are two pages of meals and dresses, and then they're straight into a particularly creative arena which was thrilling, but not frightening. My problem with these Games was that everything felt like it was moving very slowly. After the gong sounds, there wasn't the jump of the heart that occurred with Katniss's first Games. There was just Katniss falling, Katniss running, Katniss swimming, Katniss doing this and that. After she reaches the Cornucopia, there's time for some witty dialogue between her and the unspeakably fabulous Finnick Odair, and then they mosey on over to Peeta, pick their weapons with strategy, then wander into the jungle. Urgency? Oh, please.So why was this book such a success, in comparison to the previous and more tense installment? Well, because the character development in this book is far superior to that of first one, in that each character feels more complex, each exchange of dialogue feels more natural, and somehow, for some reason, Peeta and Gale began to actually interest me as separate people in their own right. They felt necessary, like humans rather than big cardboard cut-outs of Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson*. In the first book, all of the characters go through the entire book without changing at all by the end. Katniss was already a hunter, Peeta was already a baker and painter, and Gale was already brooding and angsty. By the end of the games, nothing inside the characters had really changed. Katniss was still a hunter, Peeta was still a wet rag, and Gale...blah. Who cared about Gale at the end of the first book? Whatever. There wasn't a single character arc to be found. Just people doing stuff and that stuff causing other stuff.So while The Hunger Games excelled in candy gore and adrenaline-charged action, this book has more substance. I felt like it mattered.*Don't flame me, you little bitches. I read the book like a year before the movie came out, okay? In essence, I felt like a lot of this book was kind of a caper. Well, maybe not quite a caper, but it was more like an adventure novel than a terrifying thriller. I loved the twists, especially Plutarch Heavensbee, which I did not see coming, not for a second. There was a lot of clothing description, which was great fun (hurrah for Katniss's mockingjay outfit! That was dope) and while a lot of the arena time felt sort of Tomb Raider-esque, it was wildly entertaining. That's the essence of Collins' writing, at least for me. Technically, it's kind of lame, but she knows how to put across a story with just enough heart to convince the reader to give a shit. Despite the somewhat sweet-shoppish atmosphere of the Games, there were plenty of darker areas to this book. The Capitol's killing gentle Cinna, Katniss's hopeless entrapment in the Quarter Quell, Mags's death in the arena, the morphlings, Finnick's love for Annie and, most pungently for me, the glimpse of Haymitch's time in the arena. It was sickening, really; to throw back to teenage Haymitch, his connection with Maysilee, and his victory in the games after a disgustingly bloody battle with his final opponent. Guys, his intestines were literally hanging out and the girl was killed with an axe to the head. How anyone can still not like Haymitch after this is beyond me. This is the reasoning behind his alcoholism, his anti-social personality, and eventually (view spoiler)[his rebellion as he collaborates with Plutarch Heavensbee to get Katniss out of the arena and into District 13 (hide spoiler)]. Oddly, Katniss was one of the very people who expressed no sympathy whatsoever for Haymitch, despite witnessing his disturbingly awful stint in the arena when there were twice as many tributes as usual (Haymitch competed in the 2nd Quarter Quell). She's horribly judgmental, and apathetic toward him, and frankly, it left me irritated. I may be the only person on the planet who actually likes Haymitch, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.Needless to say, I absolutely fell in love with Finnick. Do I even need to say why? Nah. No need. It's Finnick. That's why I fell in love with him. Because he's Finnick.The cliffhanger at the end of this book bothers me. I suppose it's that ingrained disgust for cliffhangers their sneaky little money-grubbing ploys, and the creepy marketing strategies behind them. You're literally trapping people into buying the next book. How about relying on the actual quality of the story to invite in readers for the next book in the series, rather than inadvertently begging them to line up at midnight for the release? It's just really, really jammy.For shame, Scholastic. P.S. The blurb for this book is a lie. Gale does not have an icy exterior, and Peeta does not, at any point, ever, turn his back on Katniss. Nobody ever turns their back on Katniss. They all love her too much.Seriously. Everyone loves Katniss. Everyone.BONUS TIME!This is disgustingly good. Prepare to have your mind blown.
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  • Tatiana
    January 1, 1970
    I'll keep this review short, mainly because I don't want to give out any spoilers. After all, I didn't read any before opening the book and I am glad I didn't, many events in the book caught me by a complete surprise and I loved it! "Catching Fire" is a sequel equal in quality to "Hunger Games." The writing is superb, action-packed, and emotional. It did lack the perfect pacing of the first book, the first half was a little slow and for some time I wasn't sure where it was going, but it picked u I'll keep this review short, mainly because I don't want to give out any spoilers. After all, I didn't read any before opening the book and I am glad I didn't, many events in the book caught me by a complete surprise and I loved it! "Catching Fire" is a sequel equal in quality to "Hunger Games." The writing is superb, action-packed, and emotional. It did lack the perfect pacing of the first book, the first half was a little slow and for some time I wasn't sure where it was going, but it picked up immensely in the later part. What else can I say? This book was all I wished for and even more (and my expectations were very high after rereading "Hunger Games"). I am dying to get my hands on the last 3rd book!P.S. If before reading "Catching Fire" I was concerned whether I would be able to stay on Team Peeta with more time given to Gale, I am not any more...Update 8/23/10. Still love it. The first half is still slow - even though a lot of horrid stuff happens in it - but intensity goes over the roof once the Quell's terms are announced. The ending left me with a feeling of sadness, but different from the sadness I felt after finishing The Hunger Games. If the 1st novel ended tragically in a personal way - Peeta's broken heart and Katniss's renewed fear for her life, the 2nd makes you think about a tragedy of a bigger proportion - will the districts be able to defeat the Capitol and how much many lives will it cost them?I love the wider scope of this second novel - we slowly learn (along with Katniss) about what goes on in Panem. The girl hardly knows her own importance, her worldview is definitely very limited and locked onto her own and her family's survival. I can relate to that. My opinion about the love triangle has changed, however. Really, this book is not about which boy Katniss will pick. It's about much bigger issues. Katniss can figure out who is right for her, when she is finally in a position to stop worrying about both Gale's and Peeta's safety. The genius of this series (so far) is that I have no idea what will happen in Mockingjay. Whatever it is, I hope my favorite characters will make it, although I am sure Suzanne Collins is not the type of writer who is afraid of killing off her own creations. We shall see. My only qualm about Catching Fire is that it's a tad heavy on dressing up. Editing one or two gown descriptions wouldn't have hurt IMO.
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  • P
    January 1, 1970
    “My nightmares are usually about losing you. I'm okay once I realize you're here.” Catching Fire is the best of the series even though I re-read it this time, I still insist that it's such a gut-wrenching story to read. What happens in CF is beyond cruelty, Katniss is not supposed to return to the nightmare she once escaped. I pitited her so much from the start; I could sense something deep inside her heart waiting to crumble. The story had dragged me along until the end and I was satisfied by “My nightmares are usually about losing you. I'm okay once I realize you're here.” Catching Fire is the best of the series even though I re-read it this time, I still insist that it's such a gut-wrenching story to read. What happens in CF is beyond cruelty, Katniss is not supposed to return to the nightmare she once escaped. I pitited her so much from the start; I could sense something deep inside her heart waiting to crumble. The story had dragged me along until the end and I was satisfied by the twist that left me hanging there.Everyting in this book was improved from the first one. Quarter Quell is ruthless, Katniss knows it's hard to conquer the game but she doesn't give up easily. I loved her spirit so damn much at this point. “The bird, the pin, the song, the berries, the watch, the cracker, the dress that burst into flames. I am the mockingjay. The one that survived despite the Capitol's plans. The symbol of the rebellion.” President Snow also has a big part in this book, I could see he's not a normal person with posion dripping from his heart. I literally favored his character and how he manage to get rid of Katniss made this book more interesting. “We had to save you because you're the mockingjay, Katniss," says Plutarch. "While you live, the revolution lives.” The writing is powerful, I felt every bit of power coming from each chapter through my brain while I was sitting and reading. The quality of the movie is no less than the book, too. Katniss being the field is the best scene ever! I almost cried many time for CF alone.This song is everything https://youtu.be/_mll1XD7LzU
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  • Dan Schwent
    January 1, 1970
    In the wake of The Hunger Games, insurrection brews, an insurrection Katniss has unknowingly become the symbol of. President Snow expresses his displeasure with Katniss in the only way he knows how. Can Katniss and the other victors of the Hunger Games survive the Quarter Quell?Here we are, the middle book of the Hunger Games trilogy. In a lot of ways, it feels like a transitional book. In some others, it feels like a rehash of the first one.I liked seeing how the Hunger Games changed the lives In the wake of The Hunger Games, insurrection brews, an insurrection Katniss has unknowingly become the symbol of. President Snow expresses his displeasure with Katniss in the only way he knows how. Can Katniss and the other victors of the Hunger Games survive the Quarter Quell?Here we are, the middle book of the Hunger Games trilogy. In a lot of ways, it feels like a transitional book. In some others, it feels like a rehash of the first one.I liked seeing how the Hunger Games changed the lives of Katniss, Peeta, and the rest of District 12. Katniss' relationships with Gale and Peeta both moved along. Seeing the other districts as the Victory Tour moved along was a nice bit of world building. I also liked that Haymitch's past was explored a bit. President Snow and his controlling of Katniss made my skin crawl. I can't wait until someone settles his hash in the third book.Of the new characters introduced, I have to say Finnick is by far my favorite. The carnage level was ramped up significantly in the death match part of the story. The combatants were a lot more capable and the threats were much much worse. The nerve gas in particular is going to stick with me. The growing unrest really makes this feel like a transitional book. It almost feels like the Empire Strikes Back at times. Instead of the whole "Ben, why didn't you tell me?" at the end, it's (view spoiler)[Haymitch. (hide spoiler)]Still, I didn't like it as much as I did the first book. It was a little been there, done that, especially in the end. Also, Katniss seems to have taken a step back. She seemed very strong in the first book but not so much in this one. Also, I know the whole Katniss/Peeta/Gale love triangle is supposed to be a big part of the story but Gale doesn't get developed enough for me to really care about him and Peeta's feelings for Katniss are a little on the unbelievable side given Katniss barely gives him the time of day most of the time.Three stars, possibly 3.5. On to Mockingjay! Time to boat this bass.
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  • Alex ☣ Deranged KittyCat ☣
    January 1, 1970
    What do you write about the perfect book? That it's perfect? You already know that. Or maybe you think it's a bad book, and that's ok, too. Catching Fire is whatever you consider it to be. For me it's perfection. Or as close to perfection as a novel can be. It made me tear up and it made me smile. It made me wonder how can a YA book have so much depth, and its characters be so complex. And I love them all, good or bad.I love Katniss and Peeta.And I love Johanna and Finnick.And Beetee and Wiress. What do you write about the perfect book? That it's perfect? You already know that. Or maybe you think it's a bad book, and that's ok, too. Catching Fire is whatever you consider it to be. For me it's perfection. Or as close to perfection as a novel can be. It made me tear up and it made me smile. It made me wonder how can a YA book have so much depth, and its characters be so complex. And I love them all, good or bad.I love Katniss and Peeta.And I love Johanna and Finnick.And Beetee and Wiress.Haymitch and Effie, too. And Cinna. And the prep team.Funny thing is I really disliked the movies and I found the characters boring and annoying. I only watched them because they were so popular. But I've been rewatching them as I'm reading the books. And I've completely changed my mind. I cannot get enough of them. I hate myself for not being able to read as fast as I can watch a movie. I feel I need more and more. And I dread reading Mockingjay because then it would all be over. And I don't want it to be. What would I do then, when I'd have finished the only truly good YA series I have ever read?
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  • Kristi
    January 1, 1970
    I think I'm probably the last person to finally get around reading this. The book has like 600 some five star reviews on amazon, the debate of Team Gale vs. Team Peeta reigns supreme on my twitter. It's the series that just won't go away.And now I understand why.I must admit, when I read the summary, I wasn't intrigued, when I saw the cover... still not intrigued, saw all the positive reviews still not.... went to ALA Chicago, where the coveted Catching Fire arcs flew off the table like million I think I'm probably the last person to finally get around reading this. The book has like 600 some five star reviews on amazon, the debate of Team Gale vs. Team Peeta reigns supreme on my twitter. It's the series that just won't go away.And now I understand why.I must admit, when I read the summary, I wasn't intrigued, when I saw the cover... still not intrigued, saw all the positive reviews still not.... went to ALA Chicago, where the coveted Catching Fire arcs flew off the table like million dollar bills (is there million-dollar bill?)... I didn't get one, and I really didn't care. (I KNOW! Don't judge)But I finally sat down to see what all the hype was about, I didn't think it would be able to live up to it all, but it did and then some. I'm not going to a conventional review, because honestly I don't have anything to add to the discussion, just look at this as another reason why you should read it if you haven't.I'm not sure what makes this book such a great one. It has all the elements of a great literary work, alluring characters, riveting plot, remarkably written.... but what makes it so great? I wish I knew.It was addicting, and I was the unsuspecting victim.Read it.That is all.
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  • Mary ~Ravager of Tomes~
    January 1, 1970
    This was just as much fun the second time around! Easily my favorite installment in this series. But now all I have left is The Mockingjay & I distinctly remember my disappointment in the finale. *grimaces as ominous music plays*RTC.Buddy read this with Chelsea & Wren! 🙌🏽💕
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