Catching Fire is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. If you have not read Hunger Games (book 1) yet then do not read this review as it will contain spoilers.
Katniss Everdeen is 16yrs old and has just survived the 74th annual Hunger Games in Panem. She and Peeta, her partner from district 12, became the first ever couple to win and in doing so have upset the balance of a very unstable government. Their final act in the Hunger Games has been viewed as rebellion by the other districts and has led to many whisperings of uprisings and all out rebelling against the suffocating government that is keeping them all in a constant state of ecomonic depression.
Katniss is now faced with many decisions. She and Peeta have to convince the world they are truly in love and in order to do so the president wants a wedding... soon. But she is torn because of the feelings she might have for Gale. She also has the Quarter Quell coming up, the 75th annual Hunger Games. Now that she and Peeta are victors they will become mentors to the next 2 Tributes from District 12 and that may be even harder for her than when she was in the games fighting for her life.
Following along in the same fashion as book one, Catching Fire is a fabulous dystopian novel that follows one of my favorite protagonists, Katniss. There are few characters from novels that I enjoy as thoroughly as I do Katniss, one of my other favorites is Jace from the Mortal Instruments series. Throughout these novels there is such an intensity and urgency in all of the decisions and actions that can be felt through the pages. I couldn't wait to pick this back up again to continue reading! This is a series that is high on my list of favorites and will definitely be on my reading list every year!
As I said with The Hunger Games, this series is not for everyone. It can be very dark and is about subjects that can be tough for more sensitive people to read. People are put into an arena and told to kill or be killed in order to win a game that the rich find entertaining. I highly recommend this series but have also had friends that have not been able to handle them and didn't like them much at all. They found it a bit too dark for their tastes. I, personally, am extremely glad that I read this gem of a series!
