Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy.
After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion.
The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Suzanne Collins continues the amazing story of Katniss Everdeen in Catching Fire, the second novel of the phenomenal Hunger Games trilogy.
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I kind of see why I had zero memory of this book compared to the first. There are two standout scenes I really, really love, but the rest of it has already turned into brain soup.
The Katniss vs. Snow scene at the beginning is great. I love the tension, the intense rose/blood imagery that Snow gets. He’s a fun villain!
I will be forever chasing that bombshell weight of that Peeta interview reveal line as well. That hit like a truck.
But everything else is just kinda… eh? I don’t like Gale. I couldn’t tell you why. He just sort of annoys me, so the love triangle between him and Katniss and Peeta doesn’t really give me much other than a dull yawn.
However, for a YA? The pro-direct action messaging is really nice.
I appreciate that the book has some more fun SF world-building, but it suffers from a lot of repetitiveness. I guess it is necessary to set the stage for the final book in the trilogy, but too much time is spent re-hashing plot points from the first one. The romance is a bit frustrating, but that is excusable since this is a children's book.
May 2014: 2nd reading, still 4 stars. I have since seen the first two movies. I hadn't realized how much the second film omits until I reread it. At least 2/3 of the book takes place outside the arena (in District 12, in the other districts on the victory tour, in the capitol, in the training center), with only a short section of the book taking place in the arena. Which makes sense, given that the time spent in the arena is so brief; only a few days, versus a couple weeks in a typical year, according to the book.
Whereas a much bigger section of the second film takes place in the arena. Which also makes sense, given that they assembled a pretty amazing supporting cast who needed something to do to justify their presence. It made for a very watchable film …
First read in November 2011. 4 stars.
May 2014: 2nd reading, still 4 stars. I have since seen the first two movies. I hadn't realized how much the second film omits until I reread it. At least 2/3 of the book takes place outside the arena (in District 12, in the other districts on the victory tour, in the capitol, in the training center), with only a short section of the book taking place in the arena. Which makes sense, given that the time spent in the arena is so brief; only a few days, versus a couple weeks in a typical year, according to the book.
Whereas a much bigger section of the second film takes place in the arena. Which also makes sense, given that they assembled a pretty amazing supporting cast who needed something to do to justify their presence. It made for a very watchable film -- I remember thinking it was a better film than the first one.
The sappy teenage love triangle is escalated to pretty ridiculous heights in Book 2. But with all the pre-arena time to fill, Book 2 also emphasizes a slow burn political plot, which (for me at least) is more interesting reading than Death Arena v2.0. It makes for a nice contrast with Book 1, which is essentially All Arena All The Time. The books are distinguished in a way that the films aren't.
If you haven't read Hunger Games, then stop now; you need to go back and read it! This book is a sequel to Hunger Games, and, unlike some sequels, it really depends on the previous book. That said… When I first started reading this, I wondered if I had rated its prequel to highly. As I got into it, I realized that I hadn't. But the two books really do depend on each other. This particular book helps complete the story from the first, although the cliffhanger ending of this reminds the reader that the third book is definitely needed to round out the story. I guess that'll be the next book I read… This book really does pick up at the end of Hunger Games with the continuation of the story. The personalities and characters follow and continue from the original; the characters are true. The story …
If you haven't read Hunger Games, then stop now; you need to go back and read it! This book is a sequel to Hunger Games, and, unlike some sequels, it really depends on the previous book. That said… When I first started reading this, I wondered if I had rated its prequel to highly. As I got into it, I realized that I hadn't. But the two books really do depend on each other. This particular book helps complete the story from the first, although the cliffhanger ending of this reminds the reader that the third book is definitely needed to round out the story. I guess that'll be the next book I read… This book really does pick up at the end of Hunger Games with the continuation of the story. The personalities and characters follow and continue from the original; the characters are true. The story itself is intricate and complex enough that it really is not the same story as is told in the prequel. At the end, several questions that were raised in the mind of the reader to during the story were answered, but I'm not yet convinced that the answer is totally satisfying (thus the need to finish the series…). This skill of the author to weave and tell a tale that's totally engaging is not quite as clear in this book as the previous, which is not to say that it's not worth the time. The intricacies of the game are intriguing and captivating, although it's clear that the point of the author in this book is quite different than her point in the first. It's clear that the point of this one is really to give a segue into the end. It's a reasonable segue, but it does feel more like a segue than a complete story in and of itself. I still found myself always anxious for more during each of my own forced breaks. I would like to rank it 3 1/2 stars as opposed to three or four.
Review of 'Catching Fire Movie-Tie-in-Edition [Paperback] [Nov 10, 2014] SUZANNE COLLINS' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
The second installment in the Hunger Games trilogy is exactly the same as the first. The style is as plodding and functional as the first novel and the narrative twists and turns as predictable. The concept is still interesting but the writing brings down a good idea.
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.
Review of 'Catching Fire (Hunger Games, Book Two)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
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.
Review of 'Catching Fire - Audio Library Edition' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
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.
