Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Source: Purchased
Genre: YA Dystopian
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
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Caution: May contain spoilers

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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 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.

~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Oh my. I don’t know what it is about me, but I have this tendency to like the second of a series better than the first. The Hunger Games was amazing, but Catching Fire left me breathless. There was a newness to the first book that made it incomparable to anything else. The second book, while it features another Hunger Games, had a focus on the politics of Panem. This focus might bore some people, but to me, it was the most brilliant portrayal of good versus evil.

Katniss goes through an array of emotional ups and downs, not only romantically between the feelings she struggles with over Peeta and Gale, but also with President Snow and the uprising. I’ve said it before, I’m usually an advocate of romance between two people who have known each other for awhile or grown up together. Despite everything I learned of and saw of Gale, I am still all for Peeta. With Gale, you just know that he’ll always love Katniss more than she’ll ever love him. With Peeta, he’s so full of selflessness and willing to take a stand no matter the consequences.

Speaking of taking a stand, I have to say, the private training sessions. Brilliant. Katniss and Peeta stepping out there and making a point, one that could have severe consequences. And those interviews… oh the interviews with Katniss and with Peeta. Again, brilliant. Just freaking brilliant. Cinna’s ability to stun the crowd with Katniss in her dress, and then Peeta. I swear, what he said, the most shocking of all confessions, it made me love him. I was staring at the page in disbelief and my heart filled with admiration. That. That is the type of person I could spend the rest of my life with.

Once we reach the Quarter Quell, I’m already so full of overwhelming feelings. And then I’m given Finnick. Wonderful Finnick. If it weren’t for the undying love I have for Peeta, Finnick would definitely be number one. There was just something about him, something deep and unknown. Although he is quite full of himself, there’s still a redeeming value when you learn something personal about him. There’s also Johanna--her boldness was definitely something to love. The end, of course, was intense and the last page was not what I anticipated. I mean, it makes sense, perfect sense, but I didn’t expect it.

Catching Fire was outstanding. I was up late the one night reading the part where the Quarter Quell begins and had to force myself to stop. If I didn’t I’d be up until four again, and then dreaming about it off and on all night. Even though I did stop reading to go to bed, I still had a dream that I was in the Quarter Quell and it actually did terrify me. And yes, I was Katniss. How can you not be when you’re in her head? Anyways. Suzanne Collins kept me on my toes and made me fall in love all over again with her books. The message alone has me taking my own stand for the underdog, but the story and the love between the characters is so emotionally charged. Needless to say, I cannot cannot cannot wait for Catching Fire to hit the big screen. And I certainly cannot wait to dive into the last book.

My Rating:

Exceptional: Stay up until at least 1 AM