Yes, yes, I know. I’m not supposed to be reviewing books on Friday. But my brain just doesn’t seem to be doing poetry today for some reason (it hasn’t been for a while, actually) and I have quite a few books lined up to review … so I’m posting it today anyway.
Just so you know, I’ve decided to relax my posting schedule a little. I’ll post when I feel up to it and have time from now on. If I’m not able to get a post out some day, I’m not going to stress over it.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games, #2
Sparks are igniting.
Flames are spreading.
And the Capitol wants revenge.
Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol – a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.
Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.
In Catching Fire, the second novel in the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before … and surprising readers at every turn.
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Well … it was sure exciting, that’s for sure! And the Capitol’s so filthy! I just can’t believe they would … well, I can’t tell you what they did without giving you a spoiler, but they did something inexcusable! Of course they did, you idiot. That’s the whole point.
The end of The Hunger Games was the inciting incident of the rebellion, if you will … and Catching Fire is the rising acting. Things are going to change or someone’s going to burn.
Once again, I was caught up in the excitement.
Surprisingly enough, very little time was actually spent on the Victory Tour. At first, Katniss was willing to play along with the Capitol, even if it meant giving up every ounce of the little freedom she had left. But … well, she’s Katniss, guys. It isn’t a spoiler to say she couldn’t play along forever.
One thing I’ve noticed about both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire is that you actually become the main character. Well, technically I didn’t notice it … but friend Bay did, but I’m taking the credit, muhahaha. You are Katniss. You do and feel everything she does and feels. Isn’t that fantastic? I hope the secret to that kind of power in writing doesn’t lie in the POV/tense, as I’m going to be writing 1st person, present tense any time soon.
I wish there was more in these books about the actual characters Katniss is trying so hard to protect – her mother and Prim, especially Prim!
I think I liked this book a little better than The Hunger Games. There was something in this book that The Hunger Games didn’t have. Maybe the Arena bored me a little at times during the first one. Especially since the Arena in the first one didn’t have quite so many twists …
I’d better stop now before you know the entire plot of the book.
Content
Violence, obviously. Probably not good for younger teens. A couple kisses, not detailed.
Rating
Though I give it 5/5 stars, this is probably not the kind of book I will be reading a lot of. It’s not really my thing.
~Kellyn Roth
p.s. What do you think of the way I did my review today? If you like it, I may keep doing it like this … with less formatting, just commenting on the things I want to. Your thoughts?
11 Responses
I love your review, it was very nice! Catching Fire is my favorite.
Thanks! I think it’s my favorite so far, too, of The Hunger Games trilogy. But then I haven’t read Mockingjay, so ….
First-person POV and present tense verbs do help your characters get inside the character’s head. But you can do the same thing in Third Person and Past Tense. You have to bury your readers in the brain of one of your characters and in that scene and only understand what he can understand. Avoiding words like felt, smelled, saw, heard, and just replacing them with the sight, sound, smell, should also help.
I was never good at really personal POVs. I always tend to go for a … what’s it called, a kind of omniscient POV?
Yeah, that’s what its called. Reveille is omniscient-ish, but now I’m trying to write in a deeper POV.
Well, for the most part it was restricted to Ben, wasn’t it? That shouldn’t be too hard to change. For The Dressmaker’s Secret, however, if I wanted to change it, I’d have to do a complete overhaul! 😀
True, though it wasn’t as deep as I’d like. One more thing I’m trying to improve for the next book. 😉 What else are sequels for?
To improve on the first book, of course! 😀
Lovely review! I may read the Hunger Game series sometime, although (like you, I think) I’m usually not into post-apocalyptic-violent-world stuff.
The way you did this review was great, I think! I usually just do a summary and my personal thoughts on the book. 😉
-Lily
Thanks! I may do it this way from now on.
🙂