AUTHOR: Suzanne Collins
STARTED: November 21, 2009
FINISHED: November 22, 2009
PAGES: 391
GENRE: Juvenile
FIRST SENTENCE: I clasp the flask between my hands even though the warmth from the tea has long since leached into the frozen air.
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] 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.
THOUGHTS: I rejoiced with much Woohooing when this book finally came up in my queue at the library. As I was home for the Thanksgiving holiday, I devoured this book much in the manner I eat stuffing. (God, I love stuffing.) I read and read, ignored my family, and read and read, and looked up to watch some football plays, and read and read. I was generally happy, but partially disappointed.
Catching Fire is a very good book, but it was not nearly as exciting as Hunger Games. The pacing threw me off. It was very slow in the first half, but way to fast in the second half. Part of me wonders if Collins wrote the book that way on purpose to make the reader feel what Katniss feels - a sense of foreboding followed by a flurry of action and drama. If that was her goal, kudos, she succeeded; too bad I found it a tad bit annoying.
Luckily, Catching Fire retains all of the perfectly written relationships and creative plot lines of the first book in the series. Collins has done a fabulous job of pulling the story apart one layer at a time. She reveals secrets and twists that make sense for the plot, surprise me, and don't come out of left field. I am already incredibly anxious for the third book because I genuinely do not know where the plot is going, how the story will end, and who will end up with whom.
RATING: 7/10 [Very Good]
Comments
Keep writing!! It's great!