
This review is spoiler-free, but I recommend that you do not read it unless you have read The Hunger Games!
Catching Fire picks up a few months after Katniss and Peeta return home to District 12 with fame and riches. They are both happy to have survived and brought wealth to their District, but barely speak to each other anymore, except when the cameras come around to keep up the ruse that they are madly in love. Katniss is horrified to discover that her victory has become a symbol of resistance, and finds herself unable to do anything about it. She watches helplessly as violence is inflicted on innocent people, all the while kept under the thumb of the president of Panem. She begins to wonder if there is life outside of oppressive Panem, but doesn't have time to think about it for long, because her worst nightmares are about to be brought to life.
Catching Fire is all that it promises to be and more. Fans of The Hunger Games will devour this second, intense installment. Suzanne Collins begins by showing readers life for Katniss and Peeta once they return home, brings back all the memorable and good characters from the first book, and works at developing her characters and revealing how they act while under extreme pressure. Despite her fame, uncertainty, and heavy conscience, Katniss is still tough as nails, fiercely protective of those she loves, and as resourceful as ever. There is one stretch of the book that moves slowly, but readers won't mind too much once Collins drops her first bombshell (figuratively speaking, of course) in the form of an unexpected plot twist, which will overwhelm readers with a flurry of questions and what-ifs, and the book speeds up once more. From then on out, the book is a heart pounding, exhilarating, and even agonizing race to the climax and ending that will leave readers desperate for more. Catching Fire is an intricate web of lies and secrecy, injustice and rebellion, and danger and hope that will keep readers dreaming long after the final page.
Cover Comments: I like the design concept for The Hunger Games trilogy. The mockingjay on the front is a neat touch, as it does have significance in the book. It's simple, but straightforward. The orange-ish red color is pretty awesome too! Great, great cover!
Catching Fire will hit shelves on September 1st, 2009!
26 comments:
Awesome book!!! And great spoiler free review. Thanks!
Aren't you just about to die waiting for Book 3 now?
Aack. Catching Fire sounds so amazing. I really want to read it. Thanks for the fantastic review. It's spoiler-free but gives enough away to get me excited. :)
- Alex
I can't wait to read this book, thanks for making it spoiler free! I'm glad it lives up to its expectations.
Can't wait for this one to come out...and thanks for the review and spoiler-free comments! I'm always just a tad afraid to read too much about a book I've been anticipating, but you balanced it well while not giving anything away.
Great Review!!
hi there. i love your review. its very informitive and as Carrie said at the top, "spoiler free" :) well i have been surfing around the web finding many review of people who have already read the book Catching Fire. if im not mistaken it is not released until September of this year (09). Not that i am looking for a way to read it earlier, i am just curious as to how these people have read the book before it has been released. thanks again for the review, hannah:)
Thanks, everyone!
Hannah: Many received copies at Book Expo America, and others (like me) received ARCs from the publisher.
Great, great review. I loved the ARC and totally love where it sets up the final book - one that looks like it'll have to be totally different from the first two. I agree with all your points, and you did a much better job than I would have not spoiling anything.
I am so excited for this book!
Thanks so much:) I have never heard of the things before. Well i learned something new today!
Thanks for the review! Like many others, I really want to read this. :D
I'm only half way through but this book is great! Can't stop reading. And now i'm already anticipating the third book. and sorta hoping that it won't just end at book three.
um i'm uber jealous of you!!!!!!
i'm dying to read this!
can i borrow your copy?! ;)
Nice to meet you today at the Borders video book club with Suzanne Collins. Glad to know there's lots of company waiting for book three. I'll be adding your blog to my feed.
I live in Malaysia so I don't even know if it really will be released on Sept 1 here. But I really hope it does! I just have to wait for a few days to see...
I love Catching Fire! ...Can't wait for book three. Good review!
Can't wait for the third book. I think Hunger Games should become a movie. Great series! Catching Fire was as good as The Hunger Games.
Anon: It is being made into a movie, with Suzanne Collins writing the first few drafts of the screenplay. It's slated for a 2011 release.
I finished this last night and it was amazing! I'm already dying for book 3 (and the movie, but more book 3).
Does anyone know when the 3rd book is coming out?
What is ARC?
Anonymous: Sometime next fall would be my guess. And an ARC is an Advances Readers Copy, it's like the first draft of a book distributed to reviewers and booksellers and some librarians before the final copy is out.
Great book i just finished it tonight at 11 o clock i never really liked to read before but i could never really put this book down. It was an amazing book.That was the way with both books. I can't wait for book 3 and possibly a movie! i would get midnight tickets for that showing any time!!!
It was nice reading your review. It's pretty concise but plenty enough to know exactly what the book is about. I really liked this one, maybe even more, than I did The Hunger Games. I'm having a hard time reading the third book. Here is my take if you want to see it:
http://personalliterarybookfrenzy.blogspot.com/2012/03/skimming-surface-catching-fire-by.html
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