Monday 4 November 2013

Catching Fire [Hunger Games #2] by Suzanne Collins **Review**


Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Series: Hunger Games #2
Pages: 480
Publisher: Scholastic UK
Release date: 1st December 2011 (this ed)
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Waterstones

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Goodreads synopsis:
This is the second book in the trilogy. If you haven't read the first book, this synopsis and review will contain spoilers.


Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are still alive. Katniss should be relieved, but now there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

As the nation watches Katniss and Peeta, the stakes are higher than ever. One false move and the consequences will be unimaginable.
This trilogy is a strange one for me, because I read the first book about two years ago, and really loved it, and because of that, strangely, I put off reading the second two books - because then I'd have read them, and they'd be over. But then, of course, is the opposite side to that, in that, if I don't read them, then I will never know the story, so what's the point in fretting and putting reading them off?
It's silly, I know. So I'm really glad that I have finally picked up the second book in the trilogy (and will be immediately picking up the finale).

Because I found the first book in the trilogy so exciting, I had expected Catching Fire to have the same kind of pace to it, and the same level of excitement all the way through. However, at least to begin with, I found it a little slower than I'd hoped, and not quite as gripping. It did pick up fairly quickly, but I wasn't as immediately drawn back into the story as I'd hoped. Fortunately that didn't last long, but I did find that I was getting a little (and only a little, really) bored and was hoping for some proper action.
Eventually though, of course, the action did arrive, along with no end of surprises and plot twists that I didn't see coming at all! I lost count of the amount of chapters I finished with my hand covering my mouth in shock. I couldn't believe what was happening. And by the time I was around 40% of the way through, I was totally hooked. I read most of the rest of the book in one sitting, and I can't wait to launch straight into Mockingjay, to find out how the trilogy will end.

I noticed things while reading this book that I don't think I'd really noticed before (or if I did, I don't remember noticing them). The one big thing that I noticed was how Katniss acted. I don't remember her being the same way in the first book as she is in Catching Fire, but as certain points, I felt as though I didn't quite understand her character. But maybe that's just me. As the book went on, and things started happening to her and Peeta, I found myself falling for her all over again, though, and the strength she found (however unwillingly) is incredible. I found I could relate to her a lot more too, that I understood how she felt and why she was reacting in the ways that she did - I think my thought processes would have been very similar if I was in her position.
I can't wait to see how she will handle all the new challenges she faces going into the final book.

Obviously, with so little written in the synopsis for this book, I don't want to say too much and give things away to those of you reading this that may not have read the books yet, but I do want to mention new characters that we get to know in this book. One in particular is Finnick (I feel it's safe to mention him a little, seeing as I was aware of his existence - though not his role - before I started reading). I was a little bit confused about how to feel about him at first. Part of me was looking forward to getting to know him, but part of me also didn't trust him in the slightest. But then we do get to know him a lot more, and I found that the more I saw him, the more I liked him, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what else he will do, and how his relationship with Katniss and the others will change as we launch in the nerve-wracking final instalment.

Overall, I absolutely loved Catching Fire. Despite what I thought to be a slow start, it did pick up a lot, and eventually I was so hooked that I didn't want to put it down (thank goodness I was reading it on the night the clocks were going back - I gained an extra hour of reading time!).
I'm sure I'm probably one of the last people to be reading these books by now, but if you haven't already picked the trilogy up, you absolutely should. The reputation speaks for itself - these books are incredible.

4.5 stars


2 comments:

grace crawford said...

Catching Fire is easily the best book I have ever read, and if I was every to write something, I would wish for the gift of a style similar to Collins. I just can't get over how well it's worded, how every statement has me reeling.

Tell you what, I definitely recommend it.

Grace Crawford Maui Wedding Planner Deanne Nakamura

Unknown said...

One thing I have to say, I was deeply satisfied with the ending of this book. The first book ended in such a way that I was bothered by it and itchy for the next book. With the end of Catching Fire, I felt it was absolutely right and thrilled with the conclusion. But I'm still DYING for the third and final book of this amazing book series.

Mica
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