Catching Fire Review

by Brittany Geragotelis

Thanks to all who logged on yesterday to read all about the super-fab Deborah Gregory! Told you it would be worth it!

Now, for a book review. I just finished reading Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. And although I was on the fence about liking The Hunger Games, due to the horrifying violence between the children in the book, I've now grown to be a full-fledged fan.

photo credit: Scholastic

In the second book of the series, imperfect Katniss is having a hard time adjusting back to civilian life. She's having nightmares about the things that happened in the games, the people who died and those that she killed. She also finds herself stuck between her rock (Peeta) and a hard place (Gale), as the common denominator in a love triangle. Not that she has much time to think about her complicated love life though, because the President visits her in her new home (she won this and other riches for surviving in the arena) and threatens to hurt the people she loves if she doesn't try to diffuse the rising rebellion between the districts that he claims she started.

Everyone but Katniss is surprised when the Capital announces that this year's quarter games (anniversary games every 25 years) will include a past male and female victor from every district—meaning that Katniss will be heading back into the Hunger Games.

Like I said before, I've grown to be a fan of these books. The pacing of this second book was a little slow at first and the new Hunger Games didn't really begin until the late middle of the book. The games themselves seemed to take a lot less time to get through than the first and by the second book, much of the shock of the first book has worn off. As a reader, you begin to almost ignore the fact that these normally nice people are killing each other—sometimes with little to no remorse.

I grew to love Peeta even more in this book. Suzanne Collins does a great job setting him up as the one innocent, pure character in the book. And his love for Katniss is beautiful. I also loved the tone of defiance that this book took. As the reader, we know that what these characters are being forced to do is unthinkable, and there's a certain amount of satisfaction in seeing them begin to stand up for themselves and the districts in general.

So, although it wasn't as jarring and unique as the first book, I quite enjoyed the second one. And now I have to wait until August to read the third and final book, Mockingjay! Booooo! Why didn't I wait to read these until then!

photo credit: Comedy Central/
The Daily Show

On another note, Matt and I are heading to watch a taping of "The Daily Show" today. The guest isn't one I'm exactly excited to see, but it's gonna be really cool to see Jon Stewart live and in action! I'll tell you all about it in tomorrow's blog!


5x5,
B.