Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

**SPOILER WARNING.** Contains some spoilers from first book, The Hunger Games. Would advise skipping this review if you've yet to read it!





"After winning the brutal Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen returns to her district, hoping for a peaceful future. But Katniss starts to hear rumours of a deadly rebellion against the Capitol. A rebellion that she and Peeta have helped to create. As Katniss and Peeta are forced to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. Unless Katniss and Peeta can convince the world that they are still lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying."

Catching Fire is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy and picks up a few months after book one. Katniss' life has changed a lot since she and Peeta were declared victors of the Hunger Games and arrived back in their home, District 12. She, and her mother and sister, now live in victors village and don't lack for food, clothing or money. But Katniss' problems are far from over. She doesn't like being in the spotlight, she doesn't like seeing her friends suffer still and she has a hard time knowing how to deal with Peeta and her best friend Gale, both of whom love her. But when they discover the unrest breaking out in the Districts, fueled by Katniss' 'trick' at the end of the previous Games, life becomes far, far more dangerous for them all and Katniss is forced to make some tough decisions.

Book one, The Hunger Games, completely blew me away. I wasn't sure if Catching Fire could really live up to the tension and emotion of it, but it did. I was grabbed just as quickly and just as hard by Katniss' continued troubles. All the characters grew on me even more through this book as things heated up and more was discovered about them all. I couldn't help feeling for Katniss as she tries to protect those closest to her, but not really knowing how to.

The tension builds from the start and there are some really good twists that caught me out. I could guess towards the end about something that was going to happen, and I willed Katniss to see it, but my figuring it out first didn't spoil it for me any. I couldn't help tears a couple of times when loved characters were hurt and I felt Katniss' fear and pain clear as day. As well as being a well told story of it's own though, this book is the set up for the final showdown in book 3, Mockingjay, and it does a great job of it. The ending was painful and brilliant leaving me desperate for more!

I can see why this series has become such a hit, and it's very well deserved. Collins does a great job of making the scene very real, and delivering the blows unflinchingly. The tension that begins on page one, doesn't end until the final words and all the while I just keep wishing things weren't quite so hard for Katniss. But I know it wouldn't be nearly the story it is if they weren't. There is a little more romance in this book than the previous one, but while I feel it adds to the story, it would also be just fine without it. I personally am rooting for a specific guy, because I am me and I must, but I find I'm not all that fussed about Katniss' romantic life. I'm far more interested in her survival and the rest of her story there is to be told. I am now desperate to read Mockingjay and it is easily in the top three of books I most want in 2010! 10/10

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

"Winning will make you famous, losing means certain death.

In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature."

Originally I was hesitant to pick this book up, despite it getting good reviews, it didn't sound like something I'd enjoy too much. But my friend pushed me lots to get it, so I of course did. And I'm really, really glad she pushed! This book is fantastic.

It only took a few pages of Katniss' voice to hook me in to her world, one where survival is tough, starvation a real possibility and where she, at 16, is (and has been) taking care of her mom and 12 year old sister for years. She's a hunter, taking out rabbits and other game to either feed her family or trade for other necessities.

The Hunger Games start with the reaping. Everyone must be present in town as the 'tributes' from each of the 12 districts, one girl and one boy between the ages of 12 and 18, are picked. This year, Prim's name is called and Katniss instantly steps up, volunteering herself in her sisters place. The boy called from District 12 this year is Peeta. He's not dirt poor like Katniss, struggling for every mouthful, but that doesn't mean life has been easy for him. They travel by train to the Capitol, the ruling city who keep the Districts in strict order. There they are given all the food they can eat, and more, whist going through interviews and training for the Games.

In the Capitol the games are a big event, one where a lot of money is bet and crowds love to back the tributes. But the arena is far from a game. Once inside it, it's every person for themselves. The last person standing is the victor.

The tension built from page one and never let up. You really feel for Katniss and the position she's in, and then as she fights for her life in the Games. Nothing is easy for her, but she's tough and smart, willing to do everything she can. She's not stupid, she knows how small her chances are but if she's going to go out, she's going to go out fighting.

I think it's the way this book is written that really sucks me in. You get a real sense very early on about how tough life is for Katniss, how bad it is in the games, why her friend Gale is always so angry at the Capitol where no one lacks for anything. I love Katniss' ability to adapt and think on her feet, her stubbornness and how she cares when really she wants to shut everyone out so she can do what she must. The world Katniss lives in is well described making it easy to visualise exactly what's going on and you can't help hoping that she'll just catch a break. Collins doesn't flinch away from the dark sides of Katniss' life or of the death that must be dealt in the Games either, making it all that more real.

A truly fantastic book that had me hanging on every word and desperate for more when I was done. I had a really, really hard time putting it down and I couldn't wait to read book 2, Catching Fire, which is equally as good. A must read that I'd highly recommend to both adults and teens. 10/10