Catching Fire
Ben Pike
For the first time in history, two children have won the inhumane Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen. And even more less likely, both champions were tributes from District 12, the poor, coal mining area. Suzanne Collins has created yet another exciting masterpiece in the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy called Catching Fire. Katniss has survived, but what now? It is time to go on the Victory Tour, in which the winner, now winners, of the Games visit all the districts, where the winner must be celebrated, even in districts where their tributes were killed by that same winner. On the day of the tour, everything changes. President Snow, the dictator ruler of all of Panem comes to Katniss’s house in the Victor’s Village and threatens death upon Katniss’s friends and family. Apparently, Katniss’s act of suicidal defiance to the Capitol during the previous Hunger Games has created a spark of rebellion in the districts, and now she must stop it, … or else. Yet when Katniss tries to halt this rebellion on the victory tour, she seems to only make matters worse. Will Katniss extinguish the spark of rebellion? Or will she allow the flame to grow, spread, and burn the Capitol to ash.
Some may say that Catching Fire was even better than the first book in the series, The Hunger Games. Catching Fire is a great sequel to The Hunger Games, but some readers may find it a little confusing. Personally, I really liked book, and many aspects about it, such as character, plot, theme, and setting. The theme of loyalty is definitely a recurring and major theme throughout the story. Katniss is always extremely loyal to her family and friends, and is not loyal to the cruel Capitol and menacing President Snow. In the book, Katniss has to make decisions for the good of her friends and family, even if it means that others in the Districts will suffer the consequences. This makes Katniss think about where her loyalties lie, and even if her friends are loyal to her. Although many characters are in The Hunger Games, many new people are introduced that are very diverse in their character. These new people are all past victors of the Games, and it is interesting how Katniss interacts with them, and it is even more interesting how she chooses which victors she befriends. Catching Fire’s plot is similar to the first book’s plot in some ways, but it is different enough to keep it interesting. Throughout the book, there were many twists and turns in the plot that always kept me on the edge of my seat. It was suspenseful the entire time. Even after finishing, I was interested in finding out what happens in the next book. Like the first book, Catching Fire is written in first person, so the reader can really know what Katniss is feeling. When I read the book, I felt like I was right there with her the whole time. Collins painted a clear picture in my mind of all the things Katniss was seeing with her wonderful writing style. I would recommend this book to anyone who read The Hunger Games, which should be read prior to reading this book or else many aspects of the book will not make sense. Young adult fans of dystopian science fiction, adventure, or survival will enjoy this novel and its predecessor. I immediately wanted to read the final book in the series, Mockingjay when I finished this one.