Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)

by Suzanne Collins

[Angie]

Even though they're out of the arena, the games are still not over for Katniss and Peeta. They must now go on tour and keep up their lovers routine, in order to placate the Capitol, who views their triumph as an act of rebellion. And Katniss is now the face of this rebellion even if she didn't mean to.

Catching Fire didn't immediately draw me in like the previous book did. Katniss' life is so different, with the endless supply of food, money, and luxuries. She's still her same fierce self, for the most part, but now she's being dragged down by uncertainties. Can she keep up her charade in front of the cameras? Can she keep her family and Gale safe? Can she even keep herself alive? While the conflict in this book is much different than the previous, it was still interesting. It didn't have that same wow factor, or make me cringe with the violence, and at times it just felt slow. That is until around the halfway point...

I had a feeling Katniss would be thrown back into the arena. It didn't seem right that this book would lack the excitement and violence of the games. It definitely didn't disappoint. This Hunger Games is so different than the last one. Not only is the scenery completely different, but so are the other tributes and their strategies. Katniss is determined to stay alive as long as possible, but not to win, to make sure Peeta wins! I'm actually not sure how I feel about Peeta. He's a sweetie, but he's also kind of bland. I was cheering on Katniss to protect him though.

This book was much more emotional than the first. I felt horrible for Katniss and Peeta having to reenter the arena after such a short time. Again, I couldn't figure out how this was going to end, other than Katniss surviving (or who else would narrate the last book?!). I definitely wasn't expecting things to go the way they did, so now I must jump straight into Mockingjay!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.