The second book in the ground-breaking HUNGER GAMES trilogy. After winning the brutal Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta return to their district, hoping for a peaceful future. But their victory has caused rebellion to break out ... and the Capitol has decided that someone must pay. As Katniss and Peeta are forced to visit the districts on the Capitol's Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. Unless they can convince the world that they are still lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying. Then comes the cruelest twist: the contestants for the next Hunger Games are announced, and Katniss and Peeta are forced into the arena once more.
I am ashamed to say that I didn't read the first Hunger Games book before watching the film. However, I enjoyed the first film so much (and as the books are always better!) I decided I wouldn't watch the second until I had read Catching Fire. What a good decision it was too because the book is amazing!
I had a lot of ideas in my head as to what could possibly happen in Catching Fire as The Hunger Games was something that you could never imagine, so I couldn't wait to see if any of my ideas were right. I was also sightly worried thinking there was no way it would live up to my expectations or beat The Hunger Games. It's safe to say I was far off and the plot was so much better than I could of imagined. and it did outdo it the first! I have never been happier to be so wrong! I couldn't of imagined the story would go the way it did or that President Snow could be so despicable as to decide what he does about how to get revenge on Katniss and ensure a most intriguing 75th Hunger Games. I think Catching Fire was just so aptly named - I had already fallen for the characters hard, and my desperation at wondering how they could all survive was just ridiculous. Catching Fire took everything to another level.
Although I think most people will of read this by now, as I am incredibly late to it, I am not going to give much away because there's probably still a few of you that haven't! President Snow announces something which completely blows anything you are imagining out of the water, and makes you fear for Katniss and Peeta who we have become to adore. It also makes the next Games and set of tributes extremely interesting and if the Games weren't already dangerous and exciting enough it takes it to a whole new level.
The new tributes were a really diverse set of characters - even more than the previous reaping's set - and this time you get to learn a lot more about them and their names which were only briefly touched on in the last Games, I think Suzanne Collins uses this to get us to feel for them and their deaths a lot more. I liked the way we got to see Finnick go from smug and loving himself in a way, to a man of surprising emotional depth. As in The Hunger Games, it was good to see Katniss snub the 'careers' and make friends with the under dogs. I loved the mad mutterings of Wiress, and the babblings of Mags, an eighty year old woman who volunteered to be reaped for this, the 75th Hunger Games.
The arena was so different and yet again, wildly inventive. There was a moment when everyone realizes something about the arena which just blew me away with how clever it was and indeed how clever the tributes are, as they continue to work out what the Capitol are trying to do.
If you haven't yet read this book I would highly suggest you do! Even if you have seen the film as the book draws you in, in a way no film ever could. I cannot wait to start reading Mockingjay!
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