*Disclaimer: My book reviews are my own impressions from my daily readings and are by no means “sponsored” or “influenced” by any company, organization or individuals. I don’t even get money through any referral program, so rest assured that my review is not biased. If you do, however, want me to review a book for your company or organization, feel free to contact me via the comments section and we can work something out. :)*
Shortly after I finished reading “The Hunger Games" (here’s my review in case you’ve missed it) I decided to move on to the second book of the trilogy to see if this popular Young Fiction could get me excited.
“Catching Fire" is the so called "informational" segment of any trilogy where the author sheds some more light into the main characters' history and insights as to what led them to make certain decisions.
The book starts off fairly slowly with Katniss and Peeta returning home to District 12 after having just outsmarted the designers of the Hunger Games. But they were mistaken to think that they could just go back to their normal lives, as their final act was viewed by many as an act of defiance, and Katniss unwittingly becomes the symbol of rebellion for the other districts.
Though they get to move to a new house in a much nicer neighborhood, plenty of food and amenities, as the current victors they have to go on tour across all of the remaining districts to serve as a reminder to others that the Capitol is very much in control of their lives.
As Katniss struggles to understand her real feelings for Gale and Peeta, she is one day surprised by a visit from President Snow who stops by to let her know that the Capitol has not taken lightly her actions and that there will be consequences if she doesn’t perform well during the tour. Her instructions are very clear: quiet down all talks and ill feelings from the districts toward the Capitol or suffer the consequences!
The tour ends up causing more harm to her already precarious situation and by the time Katniss and Peeta are back home the damage is already done. But the Capitol doesn’t take too long to react and comes back with another twisted plan: A “commemorative edition” of the Hunger Games where all of the still living previous victors are “invited” back to compete against each other.
Once again Katniss and Peeta have to compete for their lives against a much more mature and experienced crowd. Alliances and enemies are formed and broken up at a fairly fast rate and it gets harder and harder to figure out who is really helping whom.
I must admit that the traps are more intriguing this time and the closer you get to the end of the book, the harder it is to stop reading it. The end is just as twisted as some of the characters' personalities and… Well, I won’t spoil it for you this time! Go get the book from your public library and let me know what you thought of the second book. :)