438 pages
English language
Published April 4, 2013
By winning the annual Hunger Games, District 12 tributes Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have secured a life of safety and plenty for themselves and their families, but because they won by defying the rules, they unwittingly become the faces of an impending rebellion.
Loved the first one, and wondered if the second could be as good. It was.
This was a close call between a 3, 3.5 & a 4. Mixed feelings. XD
Fair warning: Major cliffhanger ending. If you can't handle that, don't purchase unless you have this and the next book waiting for you. Otherwise, carry on!
It's the life of a Victor for Peeta, Katniss and District 12. The first half of the book focuses on adjusting to life back home with a new head Peacekeeper, Gale and Peeta competing for Katniss in their own passive aggressive ways, A Victory tour of all Districts, Wedding plans, and of course: President Snow. The second half takes us back into the games the series is known for & more light on the rebellion.
Just going to get this out of the way: Didn't like this one as much as the first. If we're being honest? I was almost a little bored up until we got to the …
This was a close call between a 3, 3.5 & a 4. Mixed feelings. XD
Fair warning: Major cliffhanger ending. If you can't handle that, don't purchase unless you have this and the next book waiting for you. Otherwise, carry on!
It's the life of a Victor for Peeta, Katniss and District 12. The first half of the book focuses on adjusting to life back home with a new head Peacekeeper, Gale and Peeta competing for Katniss in their own passive aggressive ways, A Victory tour of all Districts, Wedding plans, and of course: President Snow. The second half takes us back into the games the series is known for & more light on the rebellion.
Just going to get this out of the way: Didn't like this one as much as the first. If we're being honest? I was almost a little bored up until we got to the games portion of the book after the 60% marker.
I know it served the purpose of set up--giving us hints at more going on with the rebellion, the Mockingjay set ups, the conspiracies, Katniss' feelings for Gale and Peeta, etc.--for the final book, but it was still a bit flat. I can't put my finger on 'why' either, other than while it was well written, and interesting to a degree, it didn't capture my attention as much as preparing for the games did in the first novel.
Once they got to the games though, and introduced all the new folks--it picked right back up into the good stuff & I breezed through it. It was almost better than the first novel in that we got to see Katniss and Peeta interact with a larger group of people, in and out of the stadium. Finnick & Beejee in particular were fun and stood out the most to me.
I also enjoyed where the Peeta & Katniss romance went, and how it developed. Between the wedding, both of them trying to be selfless, and just the natural attraction and potential between them--not to mention determination to keep the other alive during the game--was probably the most interesting part of the book. Again--I'm fairly certain The Hunter Games series is a romance (possibly a tragedy depending on the ending) with a little dystopia on the side to distract you. :P
And then of course we end on our cliffhanger--and a confirmation of what I figured out, but it was about time for them to tell the main character, too. One word: Communication. It's a good thing. Spoiler:Not telling Katniss & Peeta about the escape plan was well, kinda jerkish on everyone's front. Especially when characters like Johanna lead me to believe they thought Katniss was in on it--when she had no clue what was going on. What if she had just decided to kill everyone? Then what? I can kinda see their reasoning (Haymitch: "This is why no one lets you make the plans."), but it soured my opinion on a few of our major players.
Either way, on board for [b:Mockingjay|7260188|Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)|Suzanne Collins|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1294615552s/7260188.jpg|8812783] and seeing how that's going to turn out.
This ends in a serious, serious cliffhanger. That's all I'm going to say, other than the fact I am glad I got all the trilogy at once.
I think I'd be doing a lot of shouting otherwise.
A fast read, pleasant, somewhat intriguing "post-end-of-the-world" society.
I wrote a review of the first book of the series, but will do a combined review of the second and third books when I've finished both of them. The second one had its ups and downs, but the were neither as far up or as far down as the first volume.
Genuinely better than the first!
One of my chief criticisms of the first installment was the complete lack of pacing and sense of time. I don't know if Collins improved on that front or I just accepted it and moved on.
The characters are really engaging (though the whole Gale/Peeta thing feels a bit too much like a Edward/Jacob relationship). The effects of violence in the society are really felt by the characters and the turmoil of the characters comes across better than most attempts in young adult fiction.
This is the sort of series that if you've made it through the first book, you'll want to see how it ends. The second book doesn't disappoint in that respect.
Catching Fire is the aftermath of the Games and, as a victor, Katniss gets to tour in all the districts. But by doing so, the rebellion that was already stirring becomes a reality - and Katniss get blamed for it, obviously. And, cherry on the cake, the 75th Games take place that year, and every 25 years... something special is planned.
The first book was in my opinion quite good, and the second keeps delivering - it's also quite good. The secondary characters (or maybe tertiary, at that point?) are maybe a bit more confusing, but apart from that, I liked it as much as the first one. The end is kind of shocking, and gives a good feeling about the third one.
While the majority of this book was engaging, a lot of time was spent in everyday life discussion and set-up for the conclusion, and that just wasn't as interesting as the Games themselves. Overall a strong read.
This book was so much more emotional for me this time around. I think because I had time, since my last read of it, to really think about what the book was saying. Having read all three, knowing the outcome, it gave me such a clear picture about what was going on. Every moment was more meaningful.
This was a nice follow-up to the Hunger Games. As a bridge between Hunger Games and Mockingjay, it begins to explore the price of victory and the various costs of publicity. The supporting characters introduced also help add nuance to those main themes. I read this back-to-back with Mockingjay, which says a lot about the easy readability, but Mockingjay sticks out better in my mind, so the majority of my review will be there.
There are some predictability issues here.
-When Katniss came home and found a scary guest in the study, I had guessed it would be President Snow.
-When they did the whole marriage proposal thing, I had seen that coming from a mile away as well. -The uprisings in the other districts, I had seen those coming already during the victory tour.
-The quadre quell rule of tributes being picked from those who had already won before, I had guessed that already the first time it was mentioned that there would be something extra-special about that.
-The mockingjay symbol of the resistance, I guessed that as well at first go.The only surprise about that was exactly how long it took Katniss to realise that the new head gamemaker showed her that very same symbol in secrecy while they were dancing.
-The fact that there was a plan to escape the arena …
There are some predictability issues here.
-When Katniss came home and found a scary guest in the study, I had guessed it would be President Snow.
-When they did the whole marriage proposal thing, I had seen that coming from a mile away as well. -The uprisings in the other districts, I had seen those coming already during the victory tour.
-The quadre quell rule of tributes being picked from those who had already won before, I had guessed that already the first time it was mentioned that there would be something extra-special about that.
-The mockingjay symbol of the resistance, I guessed that as well at first go.The only surprise about that was exactly how long it took Katniss to realise that the new head gamemaker showed her that very same symbol in secrecy while they were dancing.
-The fact that there was a plan to escape the arena instead of playing the game
-Peeta's claim that he and Katniss were already married. (I guessed that particular revelation verbatim)
-The training scores.
I hadn't, however, guessed Peeta's claim about Katniss expecting, or Cinna's outing himself as a member of resistance movement. I did suspect he was involved or at least disapproved of the Games in general, but I didn't think he would out himself so obviously.
Being able to predict all those things so quickly was a little annoying, but other than that, I liked this book as well. And when it comes to romance, I find myself rooting hard for Peeta, based almost entirely on the fact that I find Gale's character irritating and possessive.
Part 2 of the Hunger Games trilogy, in which the victorious tributes deal with the aftermath of the games and the start of a rebellion they unknowingly fueled. Katniss is a little annoying in this book with her stubbornness, but still enjoyed it.
I don't know if, after reading these books so long ago, I could write a review for each one...so I'm going to write and all-encompassing review of The Hunger Games Trilogy.
The Hunger Games (Book #1) - The best of the three.
Catching Fire (Book #2) - Gets better from about the half-way point on.
Mockingjay (Book #3) - Not that great. Probably the weakest of the three. Then the ending sucked HARD.
The Hunger Games is a story about North America after a horrific war has wiped out life and government as we know it. The survivors have banded together to form the Capitol City and various outer Districts, each with its own jobs/manufacturing tasks. The Capital City controlled everything to the point that the Districts rose up and revolted. And they were crushed. To remind the Districts that they must never revolt again, the Capital initiated The Hunger …
I don't know if, after reading these books so long ago, I could write a review for each one...so I'm going to write and all-encompassing review of The Hunger Games Trilogy.
The Hunger Games (Book #1) - The best of the three.
Catching Fire (Book #2) - Gets better from about the half-way point on.
Mockingjay (Book #3) - Not that great. Probably the weakest of the three. Then the ending sucked HARD.
The Hunger Games is a story about North America after a horrific war has wiped out life and government as we know it. The survivors have banded together to form the Capitol City and various outer Districts, each with its own jobs/manufacturing tasks. The Capital City controlled everything to the point that the Districts rose up and revolted. And they were crushed. To remind the Districts that they must never revolt again, the Capital initiated The Hunger Games. Each District must deliver one boy and one girl to fight to the death against the other District children for food.
All this happens before our story begins...
We begin with the 74th annual Hunger Games and our main character, Katniss Everdeen from District 12, is competing in the Games. While it won't shock readers to know that the main character wins the Hunger Games, there are still surprises, twists, and gut-wrenching scenes of loss and heartbreak. This is the first book. It was fantastic and an exceptional read. The Hunger Games could stand alone without the other two books and still be a knock-out first novel. In fact, I kinda wish I stopped reading here.
The second book picks up with the Victory Tour that follows the Hunger Games. Katniss, am anti-authoritative rebel, ended up pissing off the leaders of the Capital City with her actions in the 74th Hunger Games. So during the Victory Tour, she has to deal with the consequences of her actions from her Hunger Game win. This part really seemed somewhat repetitive and boring, especially after all the excitement of the first book. Then, everything changed from the middle of the book on. And it was almost as good as the first book. Definitely full of unexpected surprises until the cliffhanger ending...
The third book picked up from the cliffhanger ending of book two and completely different than the other two books. Mockingjay deals mostly with Katniss Everdeen being the figurehead of a District-wide revolt against the Capital City. The difference in plots alone doesn't make the book bad, just not as interesting as the other two. Then came the surprise "dramatic" conclusion to the trilogy and...IT SUCKED HARD. The ending was SO BAD it pretty much ruined the entire trilogy for me. I don't think I'd ever read these books again, cause I know how it ends and IT. IS. HORRIBLE.
My advice to anyone...Read "The Hunger Games" book #1 and THEN STOP.
This time I tried the audio version. The narrator isn't the most dramatic, but it is still an engaging read. That is despite the fact that Katniss Everdeen is supremely dense, and is wrong about everything. Maybe I am looking at this with too adult eyes. She is however loyal and honourable, almost to a fault, and that is what makes her endearing.
The only other criticism I have about this book is that Collins almost completely ignores the viewing audience during the Games. Last time the characters actions were driven by the audience. This time it seems like Collins remembered the audience 3/4 of the way through the Games.
Still going to get the 3rd one.
An improvement over the first book, probably due to it being less naive. The plot "twists" (I've seen them coming again) were a bit, -er-, "uncreative", maybe. She has to go through everything again? Seriously?
Well I also expected a higher amount of revolutionary vibe, but I guess that'll be the next book, then.
