Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) Reviews

• 
  Cara

  This is most possibly the WORST (or best depending what you go on) cliffhanger I have encountered in all my reading days. It leaves you more than just hanging, you are grasping for your life on a thread that is fraying and there is nothing to do but hold on (well metaphorically of course).
  
  One word that can sum up this book is intense . Everything is just felt more. The compassion, threats, action, betrayal, gestures, words all of it. This has to be the reason why it is so addictive. As expected from this series we are in for a ride. Some things are hinted out, but the full affect of what is going on isn't totally revealed till the very end. Though I felt frustrated at times this is a grand slam of a sequel.
  
  You know it's hard to hate Katniss for being the object of the whole love triangle. I usually get annoyed to no end and can't help wonder what people see in the person, but Katniss is different. Though you don't think that Katniss is particularly more special than others, but that is part of what you admire about her. Plus she is critical of herself so you don't necessarily get a good feel of what people think about her other than what is said with dialogue. I totally love this because frankly that is what it's like in real life. It's others that can show you who you really are when you aren't able to do it yourself. Peeta and Gale are both incredible guys and what makes them so great is that they both are good friends , something that is lacking in other books at times. Don't get me wrong there is a lot more to the series than the love triangle.
  Suzanne Collins gives us a lot to mull over till her much anticipated final climatic book
  Mockingjay.
  
  BTW Excellent Excellent covers!!!
  
  Later added: For those of you who didn't know there is a movie coming out for the first book
  The Hunger Games!
  Here is the link to the trailer. Now just to wait for the second movie trailer...and the second trailer has arrived! Click
  here to view it. I got the chills guys.
• 
  Jayson

  (A-) 82% | Very Good
  Notes: It's about futility, and dealing with the unintentional effects of compliance, pretense, decency, altruism, and kissing.
• 
  Kat

  oof CHILLS, y’all. CHILLS.
• 
  Meredith Holley

  I went to see Inglourious Basterds a couple of times this past month, and there is that scene where Eli Roth and Omar Doom are in the theater, and they dress themselves up to look like waiters and then whip around the corner and kill the two Nazi guards to some funny Ennio Morriconi(ish?), spaghetti-western sounding music. And everybody in the theater laughs, and then the film cuts to Hitler laughing, watching a movie of a Nazi soldier killing Americans. It’s one of those great story-telling moments where I’m nice and comfortable and morally superior, until I realize that actually I’m exactly the same as someone I think is Evil. There was a moment when I first saw
  Merchant of Venice that was like that, and I was depressed for a month after I read
  Notes from the Underground because of the same type of experience. I don’t know where you get that brand of story-telling ability, but
  Suzanne Collins has it coming out of her ears, in the sort of young adult variety.
  
  
  Catching Fire was maybe not as striking as the first book in this series,
  The Hunger Games, in making me disturbed about myself, but it definitely had its moments. Also, I was in my second week of law school and had just gotten back from an exhausting wedding when I read it, so I might not have had the capacity to self-reflect that I normally do. If you don’t know already, even though you should know, the premise of this series is a that in the future, post-apocalyptic world of the super-badass Katniss Everdeen, one rich city controls twelve poor-to-starving cities that produce all of the goods for the rich city. In order to keep the poor cities in fear, the rich city requires each of the poor cities to send one teenage boy and one teenage girl as tributes to play the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games the kids have to kill each other until there is one survivor, who gets to party for the rest of his/her life but never really feels like partying because everything’s so fucked up. Usually they go crazy, if they didn’t start out that way. It’s very
  Lord of the Flies, and yes it is the same premise as
  Battle Royale, but not as determinedly nasty as those two books. Also, girl action hero!
  
  Anyway, a couple of days after I finished this book, I was spacing off instead of briefing cases, and I started thinking about the description of the capital city that controls the other cities. There is a part where Katniss and another character have to go to a party at the capital, and there are as many amazing foods as they can imagine. It’s a big party, and they’re celebrities, and everyone loves them. They have one bite of every kind of food, so that they can taste everything, but unfortunately they get full. One of their entourage explains to them that there are puke closets, so that everyone can keep eating for the whole night, and our two characters suddenly step back from the party and remember their families and neighbors, who are starving while the capital lives in decadence. I was thinking about that and how the shallow people in the capital city were just as culpable for the evil in their society as the military that imposed starvation on the cities, and then, suddenly, I realized, duh, she’s talking about me. This story is really about the
  global economy, and (passive, consumption-driven U.S. citizen that I am) I’m not the hero.
  
  So, that’s about three times this month that I’ve been on the side of terrorists. I don’t know whether that means story-tellers are gettin’ pretty tricky, or if it just means I think there’s a problem with the way stuff is. Or that, like, I’m becoming a rager, or something. (FBI, if you’re reading this, JK about this whole paragraph. LOL!)
  
  When I was working my 8-5 job last year, I started listening to some iTunesU classes while I was doing my work so that my brain wouldn’t die. One of them was given by Carolyn Marvin at Stanford, and it was called “True Colors: Myth, Magic, and the American Flag.” The premise, to summarize very briefly, was that for any culture to stay together, the culture requires a blood sacrifice.
  This article goes into more detail about nationalism and blood sacrifice. She really convincingly pointed out how, civilized though we think we are, blood sacrifice in modern Western culture is not really significantly different than tribal human sacrifices. It’s a seriously creepy theory, but I’m not kidding when I say that she’s right. Really, listen to the lecture. So, I’ve spent a lot of time in the past couple of weeks doing a mental compare/contrast of the U.S. with this futuristic dystopia. We don’t come off looking too good, guys.
  
  Obviously these are really complicated topics, but nothing seems as simple as “violence is not the answer” or, on the other side of the argument, “destroy civilization.” I’m not positive what the right answer is, but I’d like to find out. I think Suzanne Collins’s books should be taught in high school social studies classes, so maybe we could get some young brains working on this problem. How do we effectively refuse to benefit from universally destructive and dehumanizing trade practices, but still live healthy and productive lives?
  
  So, go read everything Suzanne Collins ever wrote (including the episodes of
  Clarissa Explains It All because that show is awesome) and reflect on international trade and the global economy. I don’t know if you’ll be a better person for it, but I think so. Maybe after you do all that reading you can help me figure out some way for us not to be Evil.
  
• 
  Jayson

  (A-) 82% | Very Good
  Notes: A kiss goodbye to status quo, new dangers by the dozens: foes for friends, rebellious ends, and tantalizing "cousins".
• 
  Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies

  Binge reading? Me? Nah...
  
  >_>
  
  Ok, so to refresh the memory of recent events, I watched the final Hunger Games Saturday without a clue who the fuck any of those people are. I read Hunger Games #1 yesterday, and loved it. Now onto book 2.
  
  Loved it too, is it any surprise? It's awesome! I actually know more and more people from the movie now!
  
  So now that I've expressed my love for the book, allow me to rant. I HATE THE CASTING. Not all of it, of course, but Peeta, in particular. I'm sure Hutcherson is a fine actor. He's decent looking, that's not the point. The point is he's not right for Peeta.
  
  I loved Peeta in the first book, my love for him continued in the second. He's just so good. So pure, so nice. Self-sacrificial and genuinely well-meaning without being a martyr, and the on-screen portrayal of him ISN'T HOW I PICTURED HIM AT ALL. ARRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!
  
  /endrant
  
  Let's talk about the love triangle. If you guys know me, you will know that I absolutely can't stand love triangles. 99.9% of the time, they're useless. They add nothing to the plot, and they're only a device used to portrayl how ULTRA FUCKING SPESHUL AND BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT AND DESIRABLE THE MARY SUE MC IS.
  
  There's a love triangle in this book, and it was perfect. If a book has to have a love triangle, this is how it should be done. Gale is her long-time friend, almost a brother, for whom she naturally develops genuine feelings for. Their relationship is based on mutual respect; they take care of each other. They don't underestimate one another.
  
  Peeta is a tool. I don't say that in a bad way, like he's such a tool, man. I mean that he is a tool for Katniss' survival. Their "love" for one another ensured their survival in the Games. Despite Peeta's long-time crush on Katniss, she doesn't return his feelings, and in fact, held him at arm's length, under deep suspicion until he proves himself.
  
  So yes, I approve of this motherfucking love triangle. And I more than approve of this book.
• 
  NickReads

  Mags my girl you deserved better.
• 
  daph pink ♡

  4.25❤️
  
  Drums!Trumpets! Claps!
  Welcome the tributes of 75th Hunger Games and 3rd Quarter Quell from district 12 Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellarck.
  
  Wait! What? Again? How?
  
  I may not reveal this but I know I have already given a spoiler. When I first began reading this book after completing the first one I was stuck at ch 5 , I dreaded that my interest in the story might slip away from me. However as I continued to read every turn of the page seemed more enjoyable than the last and eventually it became clear to me that Collins has done a phenomenal job with sustaining readers attention and transitioning the story in new narrative.
  
  I will not talk about how much I love Katniss here I have already praised her a lot in previous review.
  
  But I want to take some time to appreciate my bae Johanna mason . OMG! Girl you rock . there was quirkiness missing in the book and thanks to her for filling it. I hope you get along with Peeta *winks*
  
  Yes guys I don’t ship Peeta and katniss and neither do I ship Katniss or gale then who ??
  
  Well I ship Finnick and Katniss I mean why not?
  
  
  
  Speaking of my fav scene when Katniss pull the arrow with wire into the sky and whole system crashed down I shouted like anything . I was like bitch{President Snow} on your face.
  
  Well full of roller coaster rides and twists this book is a must read.
  This second grittier,more confident round of hunger games thrills me into submission.
  Next time you want to look for a dystopian fantasy that reels you in wanting for more , pick up a copy of this.
  
  Beware you may not want this put this down
  read at your own risk
  May the odds be ever in your favour.
• 
  Khurram

  I have to say this book is much more than a step up from the first book. I thought the first book was ok at best but this book it better on an epic scale. If you are reading this I am assuming you have read the first book.
  
  Katniss & Peeta Controversially win the 74th Hunger games. Controversially because there is only supposed to be one winner of the games, but these two choose to kill themselves rather than kill each other. This act of defiance is the spark for a revolution. The evil President Snow (Leader of the Capital), tells Katness to either smother out this spark before it ignites, or people close to her will be killed.
  
  The revolution starts small and cases small disruptions in the capital, and ends up with the "Peacekeepers" (Capital police force), becoming more brutal in all districts (including District 12). This time the Hunger Games is the Quarter Quell (celebrating 25 years of the game), which allow special stipulations in the games. Can Katness defy the Capital again?
  
  This book is less action packed then the first but a lot more emotional. Katniss is more herself in this book rather surly, bad tempered, emotional. Peeta is her polar opposite likable by everyone, managing to rally everyone with his words; I think Katniss even admits he would be a better revolution leader then she ever wood so she is determined to martyr herself so he can live.
• 
  Will Byrnes

  Sparks fly in the second volume of Suzanne Collins’ blockbuster Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire. Victory in the 74th games has not been all that sweet for surprise double-victors Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. And it is extremely sour for the reigning government. Katniss had shown them up big time when she publicly defied the gamemasters to keep from having to kill Peeta, an act of sedition as much as it was an act of courage and honor. President Snow burns with rage at Katniss for showing up the games, the Capitol, and him personally. He recognizes that it is necessary to give the subjects of his government some hope, but Katniss and Peeta have provided a spark to the tinder of popular resentment, and Snow needs to forestall a conflagration.
  
  
  The author
  
  Katniss is not in a good place back in District 12 after the games. Yeah, she has a nifty new house in the victor village, and her family is well taken care of, but she is experiencing a fair bit of PTSD. Collins describes Kat the victor.

  She has nightmares. She has flashbacks. And in the beginning you can see she’s practicing avoidance. She’s completely pushed Peeta to arm’s length, you know? She’s trying to stay away from him. Why? Because everything associated with him except some very early childhood memories are associated with the Games. She’s conflicted to some degree about her relationship with Prim because she couldn’t save Rue. So she’s dealing with all that, and her method of dealing with it is to go to the woods and be alone and keep all of that as far away as possible, because there just are so many triggers in her everyday life. - from the Time interview

  Part of the requirement for games winners is to go on a Victory Tour across all the districts. One of the soft spots in the logic of the story is that President Snow would think for a second that parading across the defeated districts the youngsters who had killed their children was anything but a guaranteed recipe for disaster. It is believed that Katniss' popularity and selling the lie of her death-defying love for Peeta would gain some love for the Capitol, and would dampen public unrest. Sure, whatever. Of course, Katniss manages to fan the flames of the people’s unhappiness with things as they are by her acts of kindness and respect for some of her fallen competitors and their families. As her popularity grows, the pin she wore in the 74th games, the mockingjay, spreads as a symbol of resistance. I am sure
  Emily Dickenson would approve. Time for Plan B.
  
  
  
  With his hopes for a palliative Victory Tour in ashes, Snow come up with another plan. How better to douse the embers of hope than to destroy all those who would fan the flame. So, for the 75th games, instead of a new crop of potential contestants, children between 12 and 18, from whom game contestants might be selected, he decrees that this time the tributes (those selected) will be chosen from the pool of prior winners. Hell-uh-oh, Kat and Peet, this means you-oo. Hell hath no fury like a president scorned. There is no law, only power, and Snow aims to char those caught, or even suspected, of playing with matches. And if crushing the Hunger Games victors from all twelve districts crushes the rebellious spirit of the people, well, may the odds be ever in your favor. Of course, we all know there is a third volume in the series, so I am giving nothing up by reporting that the plan goes up in smoke.
  
  
  
  There are many notions in play in Catching Fire, among them visions from the classical world of Greece and Rome. The whole notion of the games was taken from the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. King Minos of Crete had issues with Athens. There are varying accounts of how this came to be, but the accounts agree on the arrangement that was made. Athens was forced to send seven boys and seven girls to Crete every nine years to make a nice snack for a Minotaur, who resided in a labyrinth constructed by Daedelus. The kids are sent, but Theseus, an Athenian prince, wanted to get rid of the Minotaur, and thus the need for kid-burger specials, and so inserts himself in place of one of the young’uns. He gets some help from Cretan princess Ariadne, who offers a way for the children to escape the Minotaur’s maze after Theseus, hopefully, dispatches the beast. Her solution is significant here, beyond the classic story, as the unraveling of string, of a sort, figures large in Catching Fire in helping out the tributes.
  
  Katniss Everdeen grew from a raw teen in Book I to become a warrior. She grows stronger still in Book II, overcoming her fears and miseries, growing in strength, even while accepting that her fate was likely sealed. She is a gladiator, thrown into an arena to do battle for the pleasure and control of the rulers. And another classical notion comes in here, the slave warrior leading a rebellion. Katniss, by defying the Capitol in Book I and by her actions this time, has become the face of popular resistance, whether potential or kinetic.
  
  There are contemporary issues that resonate as well. Collins said:

  The Hunger Games is a reality television program. An extreme one, but that's what it is. And while I think some of those shows can succeed on different levels, there's also the voyeuristic thrill, watching people being humiliated or brought to tears or suffering physically. And that's what I find very disturbing. There's this potential for desensitizing the audience so that when they see real tragedy playing out on the news, it doesn't have the impact it should. It all just blurs into one program. - from Scholastic article

  And it is not exactly news that we are increasingly living in a world in which the one-percenters get to live lives of obscene luxury while working people are denied basic rights. The ancient Roman practice of eating to excess, then using a vomitorium to make room for even more indulgence is brought up in Collins’ vision as a very telling link between decadence old and new.
  
  And then there is the romantic element. Peeta is a wonderful guy, pure soul, gifted communicator, smart, strong as an ox, loves her, but, while she may find him attractive as a friend, does she find him attractive enough to throw over her childhood sweetheart, Gale? The pressure is unspeakable as the President, in order to save his own face, is insisting that she and Peeta make good on their cover story from their first game together. At the end of the 74th, Katniss had threatened pairs-suicide if the rulers insisted on having a single winner, and she prevailed. But the Capitol sold it as a manifestation of her love for Peeta, while the reality had been that she had stood up against the Capitol rulers. She agreed to help sell the lie after the games in order to keep bad things from happening to her family. Peeta and Katniss have to cope with the public lie of their being a couple, but must also contend with the fact that they really are very fond of each other. Add in another hottie in the shape of the studly Finnick Odair (a tribute in the 75th) and the potential for emotional imbalance is considerable.
  
  Some of Collins’ secondary characters get to spread their wings a bit, most particularly the District 12 mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, who gets to do a lot but much of his activity is told after the fact rather than shown. The president, Coriolanus Snow, gets to strut and fret his hour upon the stage, issuing threats mostly. I expect it is no accident that the president’s given name is the same as that of a Roman consul notorious for his low opinion of the ruled.
  
  Ok, I really enjoyed this book. I do have one gripe, though. Really, you knew there would have to be one. The Hunger Games story is really one long tale, and in order to keep from having to sell the book with its own set of wheels so you can tote it around, the publisher has divided it, like all Gaul, into three parts. (Unlike the greedy film makers who took it a step further and made four films out of a trilogy) And while it may make sense for this volume to have ended where it did, it seemed to me that it went from full on action to see ya next time in an awful hurry. That’s it. That’s my gripe. I had originally intended to make this a four-star rating, but on further consideration, in light of what Collins has done in terms of looking at real issues in a serious way, while offering top-notch entertainment, bringing in cultural foundations, and for making me root for a teenager to do something other than get a bad case of zits or run afoul of a serial killer, I am upping it to five. Catching Fire sizzles.
  
  =============================EXTRA STUFF
  
  An excellent
  cheat sheet to catch you up on what happened in the first book
  
  An interview on
  Scholastic.com
  
  My review of
  The Hunger Games
  
  Neat bit on Theseus and the Minotaur in an SC interview in the
  School Library Journal
  
  The five part Time interview

  
  Part 1
  
  Part 2
  
  Part 3
  
  Part 4
  
  Part 5

  SC’s
  site
• 
  Emily

  I think I wouldn't be feeling quite so disappointed by this book if The Hunger Games hadn't been quite so close to perfect. But there it is. Must be hard to compete with yourself when you set the bar so high.
  
  Where The Hunger Games is a tightly-plotted, fast-paced dystopian thriller heaped with romance and horror, this book is... well, a lot of the same. A WHOLE lot of the same plot. Redundantly similar at points, only slower moving and far less polished. Too much of the story is told rather than shown -- whole months can go by in just a few pages -- and yet the real action gets rolling about two thirds of the way through the book. There were times when the story actually seemed to PLOD.
  
  That said, this is an ARC and things could change. Here's hoping this one sees some revision before its publication this fall. Collins is obviously capable of great things. And all complaints aside, this is a very compelling read. Fantastic characters, and the setup is definitely there for an interesting conclusion. I can't wait to find out what happens next.
  
  THAT said, marks off for deus ex machina abuse.
• 
  Chelsea (chelseadolling reads)

  Re-read 5/18/20: This was so good. SO GOOD. Also, would die for Finnick Odair.
• 
  Cait Jacobs (Caitsbooks)

  I love how its canon that Peeta has done nothing wrong in his life and must be protected
• 
  Lyndsey

  Warning!! SPOILERS AHEAD...
  
  Well, kind of. No plot spoilers, just image spoilers.
  
  Don't read on if you do not want to see images of the actors cast in the upcoming Hunger Games movies.
  
  I am officially designating this review as my update central for casting on the Hunger Games. As new characters are cast, I will post the actor's pictures here along with the images I find that imitate how they might look as the character they will be playing.
  
  LATEST UPDATES ON CASTING
  
  WOWZA!
  
  The best photoshopped pic I have seen of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss:
  
  
  
  So we officially have our Peeta:
  
  
  
  Okay, I just want to say that, while Josh is not what I had pictured, I trust those in charge. And Suzanne Collins gave her approval, so that in itself speaks volumes. Bottom-line is: Josh is workable. As long as they work with him to LOOK the part, and give him the eyes and most importantly the hair, I think he could be good.
  
  And our Gale:
  
  
  
  A little too pretty for my image of Gale. I also didn't picture Gale so beefy but instead trim and slim. Although for me, I was never too concerned with this role anyway. Gale never stood out to me as much as Peeta did in these books, so I would have been fine with nearly any choice. Once again, as long as they work their studio magic on his looks, he should do just fine.
  
  Willow Shields as PRIMROSE EVERDEEN
  
  
  
  Paula Malcomson (of SyFy's Caprica) as Mrs. Everdeen!
  
  [image error]
• 
  Melanie

  1.)
  The Hunger Games ★★★★★
  
  Are we ready for another review breakdown in The Hunger Games trilogy? If you haven’t read my review summary for
  The Hunger Games, then I suggest you do so! Unless you just want a little fresher up in this second installment! I personally do not think that Catching Fire holds up as well as book one, but I still loved it a lot, and I’m very impressed with it, even in 2020. For some strange reason, I didn’t love the parts of the game in this book, but I loved the buildup, and the capitol, and the meeting of new characters (be still, my Finnick Odair heart). Ah, lets get into it before I start to gush! Also, again, this review will have spoilers, so use caution if you don’t want me to tell you what happens in each chapter of this book!
  
  ➽ Chapter One:
  I love it when a tale starts out with the sipping of tea. Katniss and Peeta are both home and they both are remembering everything that they were forced to endure during the games. It has been a year already, and they are getting ready for (gosh this feels like a bad word, but…) celebration. We also get to see Gale, who is incredibly stubborn and works in the mines most of the time now and refuses to take any of Katniss’s winning fortune. Yet, this is the real start of the Gale versus Peeta love triangle for me. And I’m not the only one who notices, because President Snow soon comes and lets Katniss know he is brewing is own pot of tea.
  
  ➽ Chapter Two:
  Snow proceeds to threaten Gale’s life and tells Katniss that she needs to make everyone (including himself) believe in the love between Peeta and her. And he also lets her know that they have a whole tour of all the districts, filled with opportunities to prove themselves and their love for one another.
  
  ➽ Chapter Three:
  This year will be the 75th games, and that is especially important because it means it is a Quarter Quell! Which essentially means they have an even more wild game every 25 years. And during the last one? Haymitch was the winner. Katniss is suffering from extreme PTSD from everything she was forced to endure, and she keeps seeing Rue and it’s haunting her. She is also quickly realizing that she is going to be forced to keep convincing the world of her love for Peeta forever, because they will always be in the spotlight for the rest of their lives. Oh, and Peeta has an artificial leg now, and it makes me wish so desperately that they included that representation into the movies!
  
  ➽ Chapter Four:
  Katniss feels like she is going to have to eventually marry Peeta, and again it is just giving her added pressure and stress on top of everything else that is to come. This is also the iconic favorite colors (green and orange) scene and I love it a lot, honestly. But Peeta and Katniss make their way to district 11 and they make their speeches to the people. And during Peeta’s speech he promises to give Rue’s family part of their earnings forever. After that grand gesture, an old man makes the whistle sound that Rue and Katniss made in the games, and he is promptly killed.
  
  ➽ Chapter Five:
  After the heartbreaking end of that visit, Katniss promises to always keep Peeta in the loop with everything, and she lets him know about what Snow has said to her. Katniss and Peeta cuddle each night and try to protect themselves from the nightmares, while they go on their full tour to all the districts while being engaged.
  
  ➽ Chapter Six:
  I’ll be honest, I had forgotten about the throw up drinks that the Capitol uses to take bites of all the food that they can’t possibly eat with their normal digesting stomach alone! I really liked this chapter, because it felt like Katniss and Peeta are able to slip into this world of winning for mere moments, when they are just abruptly forced to see these privileged people who don’t have a care in the world, while they remember how hungry and cold they had to grow up in district 12. Speaking of district 12, that is where they are going to end their tour, but Katniss finds her way into the mayor’s house where she secretly finds out that district 8 is uprising.
  
  ➽ Chapter Seven:
  Katniss was going to run away with Gale, and he was all like “I love you” and Katniss was just like *microwave noises* a bit and it sent me, truly. But after that, Gale gets whipped and I felt really bad.
  
  ➽ Chapter Eight:
  Katniss gets hit in the face while trying to get to Gale, but he gets medicine and stiches and is healing up as best as he can. Yet, they obviously are not going to run away any longer.
  
  ➽ Chapter Nine:
  Peeta and Katniss’s marriage is going to be soon. And Katniss starts to really believe that maybe an uprising can spark a revolution.
  
  ➽ Chapter Ten:
  In this chapter we get to learn about district 13, and how it was supposedly bombed and completely taken out. But we also learn about a conspiracy theory that they people are somewhere safe and waiting.
  
  ➽ Chapter Eleven:
  Katniss is trapped by an electric fence and hurts herself returning home. She also learns that they are hiding something in district 8 and showing the same television clip over and over.
  
  ➽ Chapter Twelve:
  Many districts start rebelling, and then the truly shocking twist of the special 75th games is announced: the victors of previous years will go back in to fight. Reminder that Katniss is the only girl who can go back, and Peeta and Haymitch are the only two boys.
  
  ➽ Chapter Thirteen:
  Katniss and Haymitch get very drunk together. And then Haymitch is picked, and Peeta volunteers to take his place like the good boy he always is.
  
  

  “The odds are never in our favour”

  
  ➽ Chapter Fourteen:
  Peeta and Katniss watch Haymitch’s competition and see how he outsmarted the game with the force field that held them inside.
  
  

  “He offered me sugar and wanted to know all my secrets”

  
  ➽ Chapter Fifteen:
  Finnick Odair!!! We get to really start to begin to see the sad truth of what it means to be a victor in the games. Finnick and Katniss meet for the first time, and its so heartbreaking and heartwarming in the same exact instant.
  
  ➽ Chapter Sixteen:
  We get to see a tiny bit more of Snow’s cruelty with the servant who is assigned to Katniss at a dinner. But Katniss and Peeta are meeting people and practicing their skills and abilities. Peeta, as always, is such a people person, who everyone loves, but Katniss just cannot bear getting close to anyone again. Even though her and Peeta put on very heartbreaking and memorable acts at the end of this chapter.
  
  

  “I have to kill them all to save Peeta”

  
  ➽ Chapter Seventeen:
  Peeta tells Katniss about his painting for Rue (I didn’t talk about this earlier, but I love how Peeta paints to heal some of his pain and trauma, while also remembering the story of what happened to them). Then Katniss and Peeta have a rooftop picnic where they just spend the whole entire day together. This is truly one of my favorite chapters, and just the calm before the storm. Or the calm before Katniss puts on the mockingjay outfit that Cinna has made for her.
  
  ➽ Chapter Eighteen:
  We get to see Caesar again, and Katniss and Peeta have an interview with him. Then… the most heartbreaking part of this entire book happens, and while Katniss is in the tube to go up to the game, she is forced to watch Cinna be beat and killed before her. I truly wonder if Cinna knew what would be his fate, when he made that dress and when he unapologetically believed in Katniss with a love so strong that it was his end.
  
  

  “Remember, girl on fire […] I'm still betting on you.”

  
  ➽ Chapter Nineteen:
  It is the start of the games and Katniss is supposed to be pretending like she is pregnant, but she can hardly even see what is going on after the events that she was just forced to witness.
  
  ➽ Chapter Twenty:
  Katniss, Finnick, Mags (who I said I would pay better attention too, because of the prequel, but honestly I didn’t and I feel a bit bad), and Peeta try to get away. Katniss believes Peeta to be dead. And then she believes Finnick to be kissing him, until she realizes he is saving him. Yet, that doesn’t stop the other tributes from dying all around them.
  
  ➽ Chapter Twenty-One:
  They are still running away, but they soon realize that this game is unlike any other. Katniss and Finnick are forced to carry the other two, until the weight is too much to bear, and the deadly fog is creeping closer and closer. Mags understands the severity of the situation and throws herself into it, in hopes that the others will get away, safely.
  
  ➽ Chapter Twenty-Two:
  Oh! And killer monkeys were in the last chapter too, because again, this year’s games is wild as all hell! But the three of them are still retreating when they stumble across another small group of Johanna, Beetee, and Wiress. You know, I haven’t talked about Johanna Mason in this review yet, but oh my word do I love her character and how she always keeps you guessing. But they are all somewhat injured (some worse than others), but Wiress keeps saying the famous like "Tick, tock. Tick, tock" which they have no idea what that means… yet.
  
  ➽ Chapter Twenty-Three:
  Okay, it is “yet” and Katniss figured out it’s a clock all on her own. Basically, the map is one big clock and each hour some deadly force happens. And Katniss now believes she is hearing Prim.
  
  ➽ Chapter Twenty-Four:
  She soon realizes it is a jabberjay, and she also learned seven of the hours so far! Also…. This is really sad foreshadowing of what is to come in Mockingjay and I gasped a little bit, truly. Oh, and Peeta is being really sweet and romantic to Katniss, because he refuses to let her sacrifice herself for him.
  
  

  “You're my whole life.”

  
  ➽ Chapter Twenty-Five:
  They are trying to survive the best that they can, and Peeta gives her a pearl for luck, and Katniss is just so sure that she is going to die.
  
  ➽ Chapter Twenty-Six:
  That is, until she makes the connection with this mysterious lightning tree, where she is able to also hit the game dome and break everything she knows and doesn’t know yet. And this time Katniss is positive that she is going to die.
  
  ➽ Chapter Twenty-Seven:
  Yet, she wakes up in a hospital, not understand anything. She heartbreakingly finds out that people knew and were part of a rebellion plan the whole game and used her without her consent or knowledge. And they chose to save Katniss, and not Peeta, because she is a symbol, even though she never asked to be one. Katniss feels so betrayed and helpless. And then the book ends with her finding out that district 12 has been firebombed and is gone.
  
  Trigger and Content Warnings for talk of loss of a parent, animal death(s), abandonment, depression, PTSD depiction, blood depiction, alcoholism, gore, violence, murder, talk of suicidal thoughts, talk of death in the past.
  
  
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  Buddy read with
  Lea! ❤
• 
  Sophie

  I can't review this without being spoilery, so...
  
  1. AAAAAAAAAAAAAH
  
  2. The one thing I didn't like about this book is the part where Katniss finds out she has to go back to the Hunger Games. I think there should have been more of a pause there--for disbelief, for Katniss maybe trying to think of ways out of it, ways to kill herself even. The book started moving at a really fast pace after that point, with Katniss and Peeta preparing for the next Games, and I was like "wait, what? hang on a minute!" It was hard for me to believe that Katniss would willingly go back to the arena, at least not without major depression. One night of drinking didn't seem to cover it.
  
  3. Everything else = awesome. The
  mockingjay imagery. The clock arena. The rebellion. President Snow being creepy as fuck. HIS BREATH SMELLS LIKE BLOOOOOOD!
  
  4. As soon as Wiress and Beetee started talking about the chink in the force field's armor, I knew the answer to the Games was BRING DOWN THE FORCE FIELD. I was yelling and yelling at them to do it, and then finally they did, and I was like "YES!"
  
  5. I find the love triangle a little annoying but mostly interesting. Katniss doesn't really know how she feels about either of them, because she doesn't have the freedom to feel on her own terms. I like that she has some makeout time on the beach with Peeta, though.
  
  6. This series is reminding me more and more of
  Scott Westerfeld's
  Uglies series. The evil oppressive government, the secret rebellion, the possibly-mythical place for them to escape to (The Smoke/District 13), hovercrafts, face tattoos, genetically modified plants/animals. I was hoping it'd go that way when I first read
  The Hunger Games. I was like, this government needs to be overthrown, Tally Youngblood-style.
  
  7. "This is why we don't let you make plans." HA!
  
  8. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! WHEN IS BOOK THREE COMING OUT!!!!!!!
• 
  Kai Spellmeier

  One taught me love. One taught me pain.
• 
  Ahmad Sharabiani

  Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2), Suzanne Collins
  
  After winning the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark return home to District 12, the poorest sector of Panem.
  
  Six months later, prior to Katniss and Peeta's "Victory Tour" of the country, President Snow visits and tells Katniss that her televised acts of defiance in the previous Games have inspired rebellion among the districts.
  
  Snow demands that Katniss convinces the country that she was acting out of love for Peeta, not against the Capitol, or her entire family and best friend Gale Hawthorne will be executed. Katniss reveals this threat to her mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, but not to Peeta.
  
  The tour’s first stop is District 11, home of Katniss' Hunger Games ally Rue. Peeta announces that he will give part of his winnings to the families of Rue and fellow tribute Thresh, and Katniss delivers an impromptu, heartfelt speech expressing her gratitude to the fallen tributes. An old man salutes Katniss, joined by the crowd; to her horror, the old man is immediately executed.
  
  Katniss tells Peeta of Snow’s threat, and they continue the tour as normal. Hoping to placate Snow, Peeta proposes to Katniss during a televised interview in the Capitol. Katniss accepts, but Snow is dissatisfied with her performance, leaving her fearing for her loved ones. ...
  
  عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «اشتعال - عطش مبارزه - کتاب دوم»؛ «بازی‌های گرسنگی: آتش‌سوزی»؛ نویسنده: سوزان کالینز؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: از روز پنجم ماه آوریل سال2014میلادی تا روز دهم ماه آوریل سال2014میلادی
  
  عنوان: اشتعال - عطش مبارزه - کتاب دوم؛ نویسنده: سوزان کالینز؛ مترجم: شبنم سعادت؛ تهران، نشر افراز، چاپ اول سال1389، چاپ دوم سال1392، در407ص؛ شابک9789642433179؛ چاپ دوم سال1392؛ چاپ چهارم سال1395؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 21م
  
  عنوان: بازی‌های گرسنگی: آتش‌سوزی؛ نویسنده: سوزان کالینز؛ مترجم: شهناز کمیلی‌زاده؛ کرج در دانش بهمن‏‫، سال1392؛ در363ص؛ شابک9789641741459؛‬
  
  پس از آنکه در رمان پیشین «کتنیس اوردین» و «پیتا ملارک»، توانستند در هفتاد و چهارمین دوره ی بازی‌های گرسنگی، به پیروزی برسند، به خانه‌ هاشان در منطقه دوازده، فقیرترین بخش کشور پانم، بازگشتند؛ همانروز که «کتنیس» و «پیتا»، تور پیروزی خود را در سراسر کشور آغاز می‌کنند، رئیس‌ جمهور «اسنو»، ناگهانی به آن‌ها سر می‌زند، و به «کتنیس» می‌گوید، که نافرمانی او در پخش تلویزیونی، موجب شورش‌هایی در مناطق شده‌ است؛ «اسنو» از او می‌خواهد، که در تور پیروزی، با مردمان دیدار کرده، و آنان را باورمند کند، که به خاطر عشقش به «پیتا»، نه برای ایستادن در برابر خواسته ی کاپیتول، تهدید به خودکشی کرده‌ است
  
  نخستین توقف در منطقهٔ یازده، زادگاه «رو»، دوست و متحد «کتنیس»، در بازی‌هاست؛ در این مراسم «کتنیس» متن آماده شده را کنار نهاده، و سخنانی می‌گوید، و با ابراز احساساتش، از «رو» و «تِرِش»، که در بازی‌ها کشته شدند، یاد می‌کند؛ در پایان سخنان او، پیرمردی، به همان شکل که «رو»، برای نجات دادن جان «کتنیس»، برایش سوت زده بود، سوت می‌زند؛ پس از آن او و همه، با همان علامت دستی که او در خداحافظی از «رو» انجام داد، به او درود می‌فرستند؛ در حالیکه ترس «کتنیس» را فرا گرفته‌، صلح‌بانان (نیروهای انتظامی وابسته به کاپیتول)، پیرمرد را، جلوی چشمانش اعدام می‌کنند؛ «کتنیس» و «پیتا»، به دیگر مناطق و کاپیتول هم سفر می‌کنند؛ «پیتا»، به امید جلب رضایت رئیس‌ جمهور «اسنو»، در یک برنامه ی تلویزیونی، از «کتنیس» تقاضای ازدواج می‌کند؛ «کتنیس» هم می‌پذیرد؛ اما «اسنو» همچنان ناراضی است، و «کتنیس» را با تهدید جان عزیزانش می‌ترساند؛ مدت کوتاهی پس از بازگشت به منطقۀ دوازده، «کتنیس» می‌فهمد که شورش منطقه هشت، از کنترل خارج شده‌ است؛ سپس دو مهاجر از آن منطقه، به نام‌های «بانی» و «تویل»، را می‌بیند؛
  
  آن‌ها به «کتنیس» می‌گویند، که قصد دارند، برای رسیدن به منطقه سیزده تلاش کنند، و امیدوار هستند که داستان‌های کاپیتول، در مورد نابودی کامل آن منطقه در سال‌ها پیش، دروغ باشند، و ساکنان آن در پناهگاه‌های زیرزمینی، هنوز زنده باشند؛ هفتاد و پنجمین دوره ی بازی‌های گرسنگی «سرکوب یک چهارم سده» نام دارد؛ کاپیتول می‌گوید این مسابقات هر بیست و پنج سال، به گونهٔ متفاوتی از دیگر بازی‌های گرسنگی، برگزار می‌شوند.؛ همچنین اعلام می‌شود که پیشکش‌های بازمانده در دوره‌ های گذشته، بایستی در این بازی‌ها به رقابت بپردازند.؛ «کتنیس» باید به همراه «پیتا» یا «هیمیچ» برای دومین بار در این بازی‌ها رقابت کنند (چون این سه نفر تنها پیشکش‌های قهرمان و زنده در منطقه ی خود هستند).؛ «کتنیس» تصمیم می‌گیرد دیگر به خود اهمیت ندهد، و تنها جان «پیتا» را حفظ کند
  
  او «هیمیچ» را متقاعد می‌کند، که اگر قرعه به نام «پیتا» افتاد، او داوطلب شده و به جایش مسابقه دهد؛ اما قرعه به نام «هیمیچ» می‌افتد، و راهی برای متوقف کردن «پیتا» نمی‌ماند (که سعی دارد برای محافظت از «کتنیس» در مسابقه شرکت کند)؛ در کاپیتول «هیمیچ»، به «کتنیس» می‌گوید که او و «پیتا»، در این دوره نیاز به متحدانی در میان پیشکش‌ها دارند، اما از میان گزینه‌ های «هیمیچ»، ضعیف‌ترین‌هایشان را برمی‌گزیند
  
  میدان مسابقه، جنگلی در حول یک دریاچه ی آب شور است؛ «کتنیس» و «پیتا»، با «فینیک ا��دِیر»، جوانی خوش تیپ و بیست و چهار ساله از منطقهٔ چهار، که دهسال پیش، جوان‌ترین برنده ی بازی‌ها شده بود، و «مَگس»، مربی هشتاد ساله ی او، متحد می‌شوند؛ در جنگل «پیتا»، با لمس کردن میدان نیروی تقریباً نامرئی، و محدود کننده ی میدان دایره‌ ای مسابقه، آسیب می‌بیند؛ «فینیک» موفق می‌شود او را به هوش آورد؛ در حالیکه «فینیک»، «مگس» را بر کول خود حمل می‌کند، با انتشار مه سمی، این گروه پا به فرار می‌گذارند
  
  هنگامی که «پیتا» به قدری ضعیف می‌شود، که قادر به گریختن از مه سمی نیست، «مگس» با فداکاری، به درون مه سمی می‌رود، تا «فینیک» بتواند، به جای او به «پیتا» یاری کند؛ پس از مرگ «مگس»، گروه «کتنیس»، «پیتا» و «فینیک»، به پیشکش‌های دیگری می‌پیوندند؛ «یوحانا مِیسون»، قهرمان نیش‌دار و بی‌رحم از منطقه ی هفت، و «وایرس» و «بیتی»، زن و شوهری از منطقه ی سه، که گفته می‌شود «فوق‌العاده باهوش» هستند؛ «وایرس» در این بین متوجه می‌شود، که میدان مسابقات، همچون یک ساعت طراحی شده، و در هر ساعت، حادثه ی تازه ای، تنها در محدوده ی ویژه ی خود رخ می‌دهد، و از همین راه، رخدادهای بازی را میتوان پیش‌بینی کرد؛ «وایرس»، در یورش پنهانی گروه «کریر» (گروهی از پیشکش‌های مناطق یک و دو و چهار که از کودکی برای شرکت در بازی‌ها آموزش دیده‌ اند)، به قتل می‌رسد، اما تلفات «کریر»ها بیشتر است، و آن‌ها معرکه را ترک می‌کنند؛ «بیتی» پیشنهاد می‌دهد، تا با مهار انرژی رعد و برق، «بروتوس» و «انوباریا»، دو پیشکش بازمانده ی منطقهٔ دو را بکشند؛ «کتنیس» و «یوحانا»، دیگر اعضا را ترک می‌کنند، و «فینیک» و «پیتا»، در جنگل نگاهبان «بیتی» می‌مانند
  
  کتنیس؛ و «یوحانا» وظیفه دارند، از محلی که قرار است، رعد و برق فرود آید، تا دریاچه کابل بکشند، اما گروه رقیب، مانع عملی شدن این طرح می‌شود؛ پس از درگیری‌هایی میان دو گروه، «کتنیس» به محل رعد و برق برمی‌گردد، تا «پیتا» را بیابد، ولی تنها «بیتی» مصدوم را، در آنجا می‌بیند، که کابل را به دور محل رعد پیچیده‌ است؛ در این زمان، با مشاهده ی آغاز غرش رعد و برق‌، متوجه وجود میدان نیرو، در آسمان می‌شود، بنابراین انتهای کابل را به پیکان تیرش می‌بندد، و آن را به سوی آسمان نشانه می‌رود؛ با اینکار تمام میدان مسابقه از هم فرو می‌پاشد، و او هم در اثر انفجار بی‌هوش می‌شود
  
  آنگاه که «کتنیس» به هوش می‌آید، متوجه می‌شود که به همراه «هیمیچ»، «فینیک» و «بیتی»، به منطقه ی سیزده منتقل شده‌، و «پیتا» و «یوحانا» توسط کاپیتول دستگیر شده‌ اند؛ همچنین آگاه می‌شود، که نیمی از پیشکش‌های مسابقه، برای نجات او، که نمادی از شورش، در برابر کاپیتول است، همکاری کرده‌ اند؛ «گِیل»، دوست و دلداده ی «کتنیس»، نزد او می‌رود، و او را آگاه می‌کند که منطقهٔ دوازده نابود شده، و او خانواده‌ اش را به منطقهٔ سیزده فراری داده‌ است. و ...؛
  
  تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 15/09/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 05/08/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
• 
  Ash

  Oh, snap. She DID NOT just do that. This is not a cliffhanger people, this is inhumane. Like hanging on for dear life by a spider web thin thread totally butt naked (you know that makes it worse)! It's so worth it though.
  
  Quick overview: Catching Fire starts up not far from where The Hunger Games ended. Katniss is living in the Victors Village with her family. You'd think she could finally be able to relax and live the cushy life. Well that wouldn't make a good book. There are rumors of rebellion and since Katniss and Peeta won the Hunger Games in defiance they have become the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol, particularly President Snow, is not happy with them. Now Katniss has to worry about looking as in love with Peeta as possible to quiet down the rebellion, but is that what she really wants?
  
  It’s really hard to summarize a book when you’re afraid that everything you say will give away the twist. If you have not read the book DON’T read a whole bunch of reviews or comments! You’ll figure stuff out! Figuring out what’s going on and the twists is part of what makes this so good. You think you’ve got everything and everyone pegged only to find out that you only got half (if any) of it right.
  
  I wasn’t sure what the second book was going to be about but now looking back I think “Of course! How else would it have worked?” The book starts off a little slow, but it’s important for what Collins is trying to set up. I love Katniss and I hate her. She frustrates me beyond belief, but you have to love her. I love how you see and know everything from Katniss's point of view. You’re just as confused and unsure as she is. It never feels like she’s not a real person. You feel just as scared for her family. You feel her confusion and doubt. You just really feel. I could probably name off a bunch of things that bothered me about the book (I think I mentioned how I HAAAATE love triangles with a burning passion) but you really care about the characters. You can't even hate Katniss's team of stylists, who are selfish Capitol dwellers. The book deals with so much more than who she’s going to end up with.
  
  At first I really didn’t want to read it because I know how I am with these books. I get totally immersed, constantly trying to figure it all out. I can’t believe the twists in this book! The ending is just so…epic! How everything just falls into place and makes sense. You see the characters in a whole new light. And then you’re left with the whole butt-naked-spider-thread thing. I’m pretty sure it’s not good for my health, but they say the same thing about oreos and fried chicken.
  
  So what do you read after a book like this? Well, you could look for a book that’s just as addictive and gripping as this (Yeah, good luck with that), or read a book about kittens chasing after butterflies in a open meadow. Then you’ll probably start thinking that there is a secret underground society of kitties just waiting for the right moment to emerge, and you find out that the butterflies are their spies! You see, this is the type of thinking you have after reading the book. It’s beyond epic. Until the third book finally comes out I’ll be hanging butt naked by a spider thin thread.
  
• 
  mark monday

  and now let's play the wildly popular RPG
  
  ADVANCED HUNGER & GAMES 2.0: CATCHING FIRE EDITION
  
  Our Players
  
  Katniss
  
  
  
  
  HIT POINTS: 25
  ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good
  SYMBOL: Middle Finger
  STRENGTH: 15
  INTELLIGENCE: 10
  WISDOM: 5
  DEXTERITY: 20
  CONSTITUTION: 15
  CHARISMA: 25
  FIGHTER: 10th Level Archer
  ASSASSIN: 9th Level Assassin
  SPECIAL ATTACKS: Resentful Attitude
  SPECIAL DEFENSES: Defensive Attitude
  
  SUMMARY OF PLAYER SKILLS:
  
  despite the inherent restrictions of living in a YA novel, Katniss is a remarkably well-developed and complex character. although she's drawn from the familiar tough girl/outsider/square peg template, Collins resists softening her - her temper, her understandable but often misdirected suspiciousness, her frequent inability to empathize with others are never underplayed. her appearance at the end, where she appears to be slipping into depressive, semi-crazy, unreasoning mulishness, is very well-done and psychologically astute.
  
  i also love how her strengths are so nonchalantly illustrated - she is something special, but never a superwoman. her character's changes and growth and weaknesses and skills are carefully gradual and feel real - the reader is made to truly understand her, all of her. two sequences in Catching Fire particularly impressed me. the first one comes almost mid-way: Katniss' slow, painful revelation about the nature of oppression and the need for revolution, at one point moving from fear for her sister's safety and potential death if revolution occurs to understanding of her sister's life as a kind of living death already, if revolution does not occur. a great example of realistic character development that highlights Collins' sophisticated yet pleasingly transparent and straightforward writing style.
  _________________________
  
  Gale
  
  
  
  
  HIT POINTS: 15
  ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good
  SYMBOL: Pouty Scowl
  STRENGTH: 20
  INTELLIGENCE: 15
  WISDOM: 5
  DEXTERITY: 15
  CONSTITUTION: 10
  CHARISMA: 20
  FIGHTER: 9th Level Ranger
  SPECIAL ATTACKS: Che Guevera Eyes
  SPECIAL DEFENSES: Come Hither Eyes
  
  SUMMARY OF GAME STRUCTURE:
  
  i love how Gale’s appearances bookend the first two novels. it is an elegant way to illustrate this character’s importance to both Katniss and the narrative itself – Gale sees two different kinds of Katniss in each novel; his reactions to her are different as well, and despite his own somewhat static characterization, it is through Gale that the reader is able to truly mark Katniss’ changes in status and mind and spirit. even better, by saving him for the beginning and end, he gets put out of the way for the duration of most of each novel’s action. although Katniss wastes a rather inordinate amount of time obsessing over him for a good portion of both novels, once she’s in the arena, time spent mooning over her backwoods boyfriend is happily curtailed. i really like how Collins divides the time Katniss spends on each of her love interests; the romantic elements of the novel are as sharply structured as the novel itself, with its neat division into (1) the tour of districts and the burgeoning of revolution, (2) back home in District 12 and accepting the need for action (or, perhaps, flight), and (3) the game itself.
  
  just a few words for the game itself: AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. the game that takes up much of the final third of the novel is my other favorite thing in Catching Fire. the tension and danger, the pacing, the confusion of who should trust who and what did that person mean when they said that, the puzzle of what is happening in each deadly and differentiated section, the clock-like structure of the arena, and the immense difference between this game and the game depicted in Hunger Games... awesome! almost as awesome: the interview with the contestants, Katniss & Peeta's new look, Cinna's rebellion. really, i could go on and on.
  _________________________
  
  Peeta
  
  
  
  
  HIT POINTS: 15
  ALIGNMENT: Lawful Good
  SYMBOL: Big Spoon
  STRENGTH: 15
  INTELLIGENCE: 20
  WISDOM: 15
  DEXTERITY: 5
  CONSTITUTION: 10
  CHARISMA: 20
  FIGHTER: 9th Level Bread Baker
  BARD: 10th Level Public Speaker
  SPECIAL ATTACKS: Debilitating Guilt-Trip
  SPECIAL DEFENSES: He Actually Loves You
  
  SUMMARY OF GAME PLATFORM:
  
  i don't know how popular the character of Peeta is, probably because i am far from being a young adult - but i think his characterization is another wonderful achievement. it is not such an easy task to make A Good Person and Voice of Your Conscience without turning that character into a two-dimensional
  Marty Stu. Collins is able to accomplish this with ease (and this is a character whose every other line is practically I Love You Katniss), in scenes where mawkish sentimentality and eye-rolling cliché are conspicuously, happily absent. her handling of Peeta's character is a hallmark of Collins' overall success. she writes of a dire world, one full of death and despair and undying love and family tragedy and trials & tribulations both romantic and violent. and she does it in way that is clean, polished, graceful, direct, and terrifically moving.
• 
  tee

  Spoilers? Oh boy am I going to spoil the SHIT out of this for you! So I got bored about halfway through and because I was bored I started focusing on the irritating things.
  
  So, Katniss asks a lot of fucking questions. This book should be titled Curious Katniss and the Game that she should play is "How long can Katniss go without asking a question before we blow her skull to smithereens?" Not very long! It'd be a really, really short booK and people like me would either rejoice, or be sad because then we would have to find something productive to do with our time. You know, other than WRITE A LIST OF EVERY QUESTION KATNISS ASKS IN THE BOOK. I did that!
  
  See, along with other people asking questions (I didn't compile these) along with the slew of 'maybes' (please refer to a rundown of this later in my review) and the lack of anything interesting happening - this novel is a prime candidate for, I don't know, being used as toilet paper. Except I have too much respect for my arse to do that.
  Just because it's YA, it doesn't mean you get to get away with being shit.
  
  Katniss asks questions in her head and as a reader, we are privy to the inanity of her thoughts.
  
  

  Then I turned and as Gale and Haelle and all the kids waiting for me, so what could I do but go along?; Who is here? What do they want? Why is my mother so pale?; What could he be doing here?

  
  Perhaps I wouldn't have had such a problem with the questions if Collins didn't frequently go on a mad, frenzied self-questioning rampage, like so:
  
  

  If he knows this, what else does he know? And how does he know it? (...)loaded down with game? Haven't we for years? (...) Or have they> Could we have been followed? (...) Cameras? (...) what have they seen?

  
  
  Those questions were all in one paragraph. IT WASN'T A ONCE-OFF.
  
  And here's the rest of Katniss' internal monologue, for your reading pleasure.
  
  

  (...)what have I done?; What does he do? Drink it?; And who knows who else will pay for my actions? And how?; What would he do with the information, anyway?; (...)but how do I bein that coversation? Hey, Peeta, remember how I was kind of faking being in love with you?; (...)if I'd been raised in the Capitol?; Who else will I fail to save from the Capitol's vengeance? Who else will be dead if I don't satisfy President Snow? That really isn't the point, though, is it? (...) two victors chosen for the arena?; (...)than risking the alternative?; What would they do if I simply vanished? Disappeared into the woods and never came out? (...) start a new life deep in the wild?; What does this mean?
  
  (another barrage of questioning in chapter 4); Do what? Blow my lips up like President Snow's? Tattoo my breasts? Dye my skin magenta and implant gems in it? Cut decorative patterns in my face? Give me curved talons? Or cat's whiskers? (...) Do they really have no idea how freakish they look to the rest of us?
  
  How far south have we come in a day? If I had a bow and arrows, would I just keep going? What do they do? Have preliminary drawings? (...)make sure they're in the crowd? (...) offering to take her place?; Is it because I didn't save Rue?; (...)leaving all the words to Peeta?; Is she Thresh's grandmother?; (...) salute to the girl that defied the Capitol?; Who was that? Thresh's grandmother? One of Rue's little sisters?; How on earth did I cause so much trouble? (...) has that question actually been preying on him? How did I not know that?; Did I do it? Was it enough? (...) promising to marry Peeta enough?; but who would know? BUt what can he do?; (...) what's it like at the other houses?; But why? Have I? But will he even come? Didn't I do the same thing to my mother? (...) dismiss this as foolishness?; Why should I?; Why doesn't he see what's so undeniable?; Anything they made in the Capitol? Was that directed at me? (...) therefore something untouchable?"; Pr won't she?; What happened? Did he try to come to Gale's aid before I got here?; Where was he from? District 3? From the Capitol itself?; (...) but what is the worst pain?; Who could it be at this hour of the night?; What am I angry about though?; Does everyone look younger asleep?; (...) of his life to see it?; (...) districts are right? (...) conscious one?; (...)I have to try to fight? (...) so evil that there is no choice? (...) have been treated?"; Was it even planned, or something that simply erupted out of years of hatred and resentment? How could we do that here? Would the people of District 12 join in or lock their doors? (...) and have no idea what to do?; who am I to question her?; But what kind of love does she mean? What do I mean when I say I love Gale? (...) does he?; (...) with bricks and torches?
  Is he really planning to go through with it? What, in his twisted brain, will that achieve? Is it for the benefit of those in the Capitol? (...) And then he'll kill us? As a lesson to the districts?
  Who else would I be?;
  
  What if they're right? Could it be true? Could there be somewhere to run besides the wilderness? Somewhere safe? (...) instead of waiting here for my death?
  
  (...) persuade the crowd of my love for Peeta?; I have people on my side? What side?Am I unwittingly the face of the hoped-for rebellion? Has the mockingjay on my pin become a symbol of resistance?;
  What is going on? Has Thread turned on the fence as an addition security measure? Or does he somehow know I've escaped his net today? Is he determined to strand me outside District 12 until he can apprehend and arrest me? Drag me to the square to be locked in the stockade or whipped or hanged?
  
  I thought no one saw me sneak under the fence, but who knows?; Could there be surveillance cameras? (...) knows about the kiss?; But what choice do I have? (...)who knows what I'd be jumping into?; (...)invited by the Peacekeepers? (...)is he carefully instructing Thread what to do? Or is Thread acting on his own?; What is?; What can he do with that? What does it mean? Existing pool of victors?; Where? Where to go?; Why?; (...)written down seventy-five years ago?; What just went through my mnd?; How did I even get to this place?; What did I come for? What could I possibly want here?(...)who knows what he could get me to agree to?; (...)if it weren't for Peeta? (...) kissed him bac had I been free to do so?; (...)under different circumstances?; What else could it be?; Lover?; And why should I?; (...)doing with flaming belts? Broiling themselves?; (...)am I wrong? Or do I see the president fixated on me as well?; What did I do now?; What would we say, anyway? That we're sorry for the other's lot? That we ache for the other's pain? That we're glad we had the chance to know each other?; What's to discuss?; Only who could I trust? (...)only to possibly kill her later?; What did Peeta do? Something to upset them?; But how did he upset them?; Do you have any idea how much I hate you? You, who have given your talents to the Games?; (...)he's the head Gamemaker?; will this help Peeta stay alive?; Was it to conceal something they were unable to wash away?; What better way to give hope to the rebels? Are they jealous of its beauty? The power it might have to manipulate the crowd?; (...)why doesn't he change the Quell?; What has he done?; What can it mean? Keep a secret from who?Where on earth is he going with this? And me? vthe loss of my children to the Games? And it could be true now, couldn't it? (...) suggestion of marriage or a family?; How real are the tears?; Is this an acknowledgment that he has been stalked by the same fears that I have? That every victor has? Every parent in every district in Panem?; Do we sleep?; Why are they delaying this?; But move where?
  
  Where is he now? What are they doing to him? Torturing him? Killing him?Turning him into an Avox?;
  
  Where are you?; Where are you?; Why didn't he tell me about this arrangement before?; Could this all be a ruse? For Finnick to win my trust, and then swim out and drown Peeta?; Well, what did I think? (...)universal truce in the arena? (...)what? Restraint?; I wait? Know him better? Owe him more?; And how long did I take to turn deadly? But to what end? And who knows what the night will hold? So how can I kill him in his sleep? Why didn't he just let him die?; Why could he possibly have wanted to save Peeta? And why was he so determined to team up with me? (...) and what was it doing?; What is it?What does that signify? One ring for each district? Maybe. But why? "Mean anything, do you think?"; (...)how would I have gotten Peeta out of here alive? Was it because she was so old her days were numbered anyway? (...) and me as allies?; Do the various attacks stay within the confines of the jungle?; But why would he?; But what are my options?; Where is it? Where is it?; (...)knife in his leg?; So why have they chosen Peeta to protect?; (...) Peeta's life above their own?; (...)to choose him over myself?; Has Haymitch convinced the others of this?; (...)the rest of us could claim?; (...) decided effots to keep him alive?; Where is she? What are they doing to her?; How did she get here? Why is she part of the games?; Above me? Do they have her up in the trees? Why didn't Peeta come to help me? Why did no one come after us?; Why?; But as I stretch out on the sand I wonder, could it be more? (...) have kids with Gale?; How long can we keep up this alliance?; What if I am wrong about the others protecting Peeta?; I don't understand what's actually going on?; (...)but what does it matter now?; because who knows what Chaff's up to?;
  
  But why? I've set thousands of snares. Isn't this just a larger snare with a more scientific component? Could it work? (...) trained to gather fish and lumber and coal? What do we know about harnessing power from the sky?
  
  How can I protect him from a distance?; Stay down? I think. What? What is happening?; Am I?; Am I as good as dead?; This, in itself, can't be a sinal to kill, can it?; I can still hear the insects, but are they starting to fade?;
  
  What did Beetee do? Did he actually try to drive the knife into the force field the way Peeta did by accident? And what's the deal with the wire? Was this his backup plan? (...) into the force field? What would that do, anyway? Nothing? A great deal? Fry us all? ;
  But what is he doing?; (...)will Peeta survive the rest? Why would I need reminding?; what did he call it that day?; Will they let anyone survive? Will there be a victor of the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games? (...) read from the card?; Save him?; Where are the others, then?; (...)and... one more, right?; But where have they taken them? Moved them from hospital to prison?; (...)he'll be excused his crimes? Or did he really have no idea what Beetee intended? what else has he lied about?; Do I really want him dead?; But will Peeta now that or will he keep fighting?; Does he think he has a chance of surviving?; Does he even care if he does?'; hat has happened to him? How is he even here?

  
  But Katniss doesn't keep her questions to herself; she annoys everybody else with them! I couldn't bear to NOT share the following with you.
  
  Katniss takes it upon herself to question everybody, everywhere
  
  

  "You're hideous, you know that right?"; "Walk?"; "Did Cinna come early to help me get ready?"; "There have been uprisings?"; "Why don't you just kill me now?" "Who says I'm not?"; "What do you mean? How can I aim higher?"; "Did I design my outfit?"; "Why?"; "Where's everyone else?"; "Doesn't he need prepping?"; "What's yours?" "Orange? Like Effie's hair?"; "How do remember these things so exactly?"; "Does it help? To paint them out?"; "Want to see my talent?"; "Did you choose me, Haymitch?"; "Why?"; "...is there? Not being straight with each other?"; "About what?" "So, you're the Head Gamemaker this year?"; "Are you plannin the Quarter Quell Games already?"; "What?"; (...)"having a nightmare?"; "Are you sure you don't want it back?"; "Where did you get it anyway?"
  "Really? You don't think I'm mad? You'll go with me?"; "You're sure?"; "Do you think I'm making this stuff up?"; "What about your family?; "Going to town?"; (...)"would you?"; "You will?"; "What?"; "No, but can you get Hazelle? SEnd her over?"; "Can you save him?"; "Can't you give him another shot?"; "What did you do in the arm months?"; "Why didn't you put this on him last night?"; "Where's Peeta?"; "Did he get back all right?"; "Have you seen Haymitch today?"; "Then what's your plan?"; "What's he want that for?"; "Ypu closed down too?"; "What is it? What does that mean?"; "Who are you?"; "Where'd you get the uniforms?"; "What's that about?"; "What are you going to do?"; "Thirteen?"; "What's wrong with your leg?"; "Anyone after you?"; "Making tea?"; "Out of food?"; "So, what's your story?"; (...) expect to find in District Thirteen?"; "Really?"; "See what?";
  "You're going to District Thirteen based on that? A shot of a bird? You think you're just going to find some new city with people strolling around in it? And that's just fine with the Capitol?"; "Why haven't they helped us? If it's true, why do they leave us to live like this? With the hunger and the killings and the Games?"; "Can I help you with something?"; "When did you say that?"; "You have a message for me?"; "Didn't it already?"; "How was school?"; "Why couldn't you get shrimp? Is it out of season?";

  
  Katniss continues to be inquisitive (and I lose my patience with using quotation marks but believe it, it's still her asking these questions! Out loud! Exclamation point!
  
  

  I begin to question them casually (...) I want to ask them more (...) "Do you still think it won't work here?"; But maybe at some point?; What do you think they'll do, Haymitch? To the districts that are rebelling?; So you think Thirteen was really destroyed?; What are you going to do?; It'd be bad for you in the arena, wouldn't it? Knowing all the others?; What's done?; "You what?"; What business is it of yours what he does?; What?; What are you going to do?; What's with him?; Who's next?; Is this the person who won twenty-five in here? (...) do you?; (...) did he?; So what are we wearing for the opening ceremonies? Headlamps or fire?; How did you do this?; What do you spend all yours on, anyway, FInnick?; Then how do they pay you for the pleasure of your company?; Have you seen your suit turned on?; Are we supposed to hold hands this year?; The families?; What?; Why?; So why bother?; You mean you want us in the Career pack this year?; (...)is that what you're saying? Why does that not surprise me?; What about you?; How are we going to kill these people, Peeta?"; Why did Haymitch want us to get to know them?; You painted something didn't you?; Why would he paint a picture of me, Effie?; Is it a secret?; Have they ever given a zero?; Why did they do that?; (...)piece in their Games?; So, what should we do with our last few days?; You?; What?; Then you'll allow it?; So, what am I wearing tonight?; Was this heavy?; Will I be twirling again?; the most beautiful thing?; The others went home?; What?; What do you think?; Sun?; Each take one side?; Remind me, did we make deals with anyone else?; What?; Peeta?; Peeta?; Is this your token? Can't you hear it?; Whose is it?; What is it?: Can you fish with it, Mags?; Can you take them both?; Finnick?; Where did they go?; Think it's safe to try for the water again?; Why don't you two get some rest?; (...)haven't looked pretty?; What now?; What does she mean? She got them for me?; What do I have to work with? Seawater?; So what were you doing with Nuts and Volts?; Are you thirsty?; Did you notice anything unusual in the others?; Prim?; At the final eight?; No?; You really believe that?; Do you believe it, Finnick?; Who?; Was that the earthquake year?; Did she get better after?; I mean, her mind?; Do you think they figured out about the clock? Why not?; Guess who I'm not fooling with that story?; Ready?; Peeta?; Peeta?; Who cut you?; The first one? Why?; What?; Where is Peeta?; Like bait? Like how they'll use Annie for bait, Finnick?; Prim?; They're not in District Twelve?;

  
  If the questions weren't enough; Katniss, or Collins herself, is also plagued with self doubt. Uncertainty! Oh the horrors> There were at least 125 maybes mentioned in this book, which may not seem like much but once you're aware of them, they're fucking everywhere. Here's a great example from Chapter 15;
  
  

  Maybe he's too pretty, or maybe he's too easy to get, or maybe it's really that he'd just be too easy to lose.

  .
  Yep, that was altogether! Here's a few more, Maybe she expected it. Maybe they can even confirm my suspicions of an uprising there. Maybe some fishhooks.
  
  Maybe you're a Class A irritating fuck, that's what.
  
  Some of Collins' sentences are also horrific;
  
  

  Then I'm at a party where everyone wears masks and someone with a flicking wet tongue, who I suppose is Finnick, stalks me, but when he catches me and pulls off his mask, it's President Snow, and his puffy lips are dripping in bloody saliva

  
  Yeah, by horrific I don't mean the content. Check out that eyesore. Sheesh.
  
  AND she starts a lot of sentences with conjunctions. Which I do continually. Which, in my opinion, is fine if you are stating something emphatetically or are not a published author. Perhaps it's even okay to let the odd one slip if you do so happen to be so lucky as to get your shitty novel published. When that odd one adds up to the point where it's actually noticable and fucking annoying, then you've got a problem. Just when I was starting to get really irked at this flaw, I stumbled across this gem from chapter 16 to prove to you exactly what I mean.
  
  

  "And the more I come to know these people, the worse it is. Because, on the whole, I don't hate them. And some I like. And a lot of them are so damaged that my natural instinct would be to protect them. But all of them must die if I'm to save Peeta."

  
  
  So, in conclusion, I am really glad I don't own this as an actual IRL paperback and I could just delete it thus disappearing it back into the void where this whole book should have stayed in the first place.
  
  TL;DR: This book sucked balls.
• 
  brian

  i'm gonna dangle some bait here:
  
  catching fire is the sloppy follow-up to hunger games, which seems to have been written in the frenzied fever of the author's realization that she had a megahit on her hands. the pacing is way off, the plotting is mechanical, the characterization is lazy, and the 'game' section is just lame. and the big reaping twist at the mid-point? it just sits there. it just happens and we're rushed in, totally pushing aside anything genuinely interesting for the sake of plot! plot! plot!
  
  it's actually kind of a shame b/c collins is terrific at coming up with story & plot elements, she's just kinda inept at assembling and executing 'em. yeah, i'm in the minority in this opinion... but i'm right.
  
  well, (as if you didn't see this coming), on to book 3.
• 
  ✨ A ✨

  I stand by the fact that this series would not be half as great if Finnick did not exist.
  
  Yes, victors are our strongest. They're the ones who survived the arena and slipped the noose of poverty that strangles the rest of us. They, or should I say we, are the very embodiment of hope where there is no hope.
  
  
  
  Katniss Everdeen has survived The Hunger Games. But the Capitol is not happy with her. Katniss and Peeta have unknowingly become the spark of rebellion when they decided to not play by the Capitol's rules.
  
  

  It's an awful lot to take in, this elaborate plan in which I was a piece, just as I was meant to be a piece in the Hunger Games. Used without consent, without knowledge. At least in the Hunger Games, I knew I was being played with.

  
  
  
  
  Our victors, though filthy rich, now have to face the fact that there will be no end to what they had to endure. The scars of what they had to do will always be with then for the rest of their lives. The Capitol will not let them forget.
  
  In revenge, President Snow and The Capitol set events in motion that will ensure that everyone's favourite couple – The Star Crossed Lovers of Panem – will never have their happily ever after.
  
  
  
  
  I think the writing really improves with this one. There is more emotion in it and even though the real action only begins in the last 150 pages, the rest of the book is still filled with intense moments that has you catching your breath.
  
  
  
  Most of book 1 was set in the Capitol or the arena — it was really interesting to see more of how things worked in District 12 while reading this book. I also enjoyed exploring other parts of Panem and reading about the conditions the other districts are in.
  
  

  Life in District 12 isn't really so different from life in the arena. At some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead. The hard thing is finding the courage to do it.

  
  
  It still astounds me how well thought out this world is!
  
  Okay let me talk about the romance. I know most people hate love triangles. I don't mind them as long as they're well done. And I do think that this one was. What I really like is that Katniss doesn't spend all her time drooling over each of of them (Peeta & Gale) or have cringy internal monologue about how she can't decide who she likes more. Our girl has other problems to attend to. Her feelings are conflicted but ultimately she'd prefer to be alone (I respect that even though I'm a Peeta stan) but she also can't help how she feels for them both.
  
  I love the bond between Peeta and Katniss. The moments they have together are so wholesome. *clenches fist* I love them so much 😭😭😭
  
  

  I look up into those blue eyes that no amount of dramatic make-up can make truly deadly and remember how, just a year ago, I was prepared to kill him. Convinced he was trying to kill me. Now everything is reversed.

  
  
  Some of my favourite things about Catching Fire:
  - getting to meet more great characters like Finnick (swoon 😍) and Johanna
  - finding out more about Haymitch's past
  - Peeta's stellar performance during his interview
  
  That ending, as expected, was intense! I stayed up late into the night reading – knowing what was coming was going to break me – but needing to just get through it so I could start my reread of Mockingjay immediately!
  _______
  Check out my other reviews:
  The Hunger Games trilogy
  01:
  The Hunger Games
  03:
  Mockingjay
• 
  Heather

  Catching Fire was one of my most anticipated books of 2009. I loved it's predecessor, The Hunger Games and was so hopeful for this intstallment. I wasn't disappointed per se, but it did fail to meet my expectations. Here's a few reasons why...
  
  I don't know what it is with authors and their recent need to load up their books with a hundred or so pages of filler, but I really wish they would cut it out. There is lieterally about a hundred and some odd pages of this book that should have died on the editing room floor. The 9 months that Katniss spends in District 12 only serves to let us know that uprisings are occuring and she has been targeted by The Captial, all of which could have been summed up in a chapter or two.
  
  Second, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that about 90% of those of us who read and loved Hunger Games were team Peeta all the way. Though we knew Gale would be an issue, we were hoping Katniss would "wake up" and realize what a worthy, fine specimen she has in Peeta, well, it doesn't happen that way, and to say I'm bummed is an understatement. I'm kinda pissed.
  
  Katniss doesn't grow in this book at all. She is still a brash reacter, instead of a logicl thinker. I didn't mind it so much in the first book, because who wouldn't be, but the Hunger Games taught her nothing it seems, in either the way she responds to situations or in reference to how she really feels about the people in her life.
  
  Next, I get that Peeta was never much of a badass, but was it really necessary to injure him 10 seconds into the games? That irked me like nothing else. In hindsight, Peeta is one of the strongest characters, menatlly, if nothing else, and yet Collins reduced him to an invalid so that Katniss could rise up to the challenge. Please. It only made me roll my eyes and steam over the fact that I was going to have to read Hunger Games part duex, which wouldn't have been bad except for the fact that I was expecting something more.
  
  Which leads me to my last complaint, the games. Though I could see everything in this book coming, I thought it was rather brilliant to send them back to the games. What wasn't brilliant however, was the games themselves. They started out well enough, but after the crazy fog and freaky monkeys, Collins sort of lost me. Who cares if there is death traps all over the place if you know how to predict it and can avoid it? Not scary.
  
  Basically, this booked lacked the magic of the first, and failed to wow with new material as nothing new really happens. Yeah we learn a little more, and the last few pages shake things up a bit, but I shouldn't have to wait until I've read to the end to finally learn something interesting. There were moments where I would catch a glimpse of what made me love Hunger Games, and for that I give this book three stars. But I can't in good conscious give it more for it lacked character development and basically just served as a pit stop between books one and three. Hopefully the third will be better.
  
• 
  Charlotte May

  Freaking yes!!!
  
  This reread was a fantastic idea!
  
  So The Hunger Games is over. Katniss and Peeta face the Victory Tour throughout the districts, with President Snow watching their every move.
  
  But what they don’t expect, as the 75th quarter quell hunger games looms the terrible decision the capitol game makers have made.
  
  Once again Katniss and Peeta are in the arena, with a whole new set of tributes - all experienced killers.
  
  I love this one because we get loads of new characters, including Finnick and Johanna. The political struggle between the districts and the capitol becomes even more dangerous, and it seems everyone is keeping secrets.
  
  Read this series if you haven’t - I highly recommend it! There is something for everyone.
• 
  Jesse (JesseTheReader)

  JUST AS GOOD THE SECOND TIME AROUND! I'm really glad that I got the chance to reread this before the film. I hadn't realized how much of it I had forgotten. Such a great sequel!
• 
  Tatiana

  Peeta who?
  
  
  
  This time, I again felt like the 1st part dragged a bit, but as soon as the Quarter Quell is announced, it's a non-stop action perfection.
  
  ______________
  
  I'll keep this review short, mainly because I don't want to give out any spoilers. After all, I didn't read any before opening the book and I am glad I didn't, many events in the book caught me by a complete surprise and I loved it! "Catching Fire" is a sequel equal in quality to "Hunger Games." The writing is superb, action-packed, and emotional. It did lack the perfect pacing of the first book, the first half was a little slow and for some time I wasn't sure where it was going, but it picked up immensely in the later part.
  
  What else can I say? This book was all I wished for and even more (and my expectations were very high after rereading "Hunger Games"). I am dying to get my hands on the last 3rd book!
  
  P.S. If before reading "Catching Fire" I was concerned whether I would be able to stay on Team Peeta with more time given to Gale, I am not any more...
  
  Update 8/23/10. Still love it. The first half is still slow - even though a lot of horrid stuff happens in it - but intensity goes over the roof once the Quell's terms are announced. The ending left me with a feeling of sadness, but different from the sadness I felt after finishing
  The Hunger Games. If the 1st novel ended tragically in a personal way - Peeta's broken heart and Katniss's renewed fear for her life, the 2nd makes you think about a tragedy of a bigger proportion - will the districts be able to defeat the Capitol and how much many lives will it cost them?
  
  I love the wider scope of this second novel - we slowly learn (along with Katniss) about what goes on in Panem. The girl hardly knows her own importance, her worldview is definitely very limited and locked onto her own and her family's survival. I can relate to that.
  
  My opinion about the love triangle has changed, however. Really, this book is not about which boy Katniss will pick. It's about much bigger issues. Katniss can figure out who is right for her, when she is finally in a position to stop worrying about both Gale's and Peeta's safety.
  
  The genius of this series (so far) is that I have no idea what will happen in
  Mockingjay. Whatever it is, I hope my favorite characters will make it, although I am sure
  Suzanne Collins is not the type of writer who is afraid of killing off her own creations. We shall see.
  
  My only qualm about
  Catching Fire is that it's a tad heavy on dressing up. Editing one or two gown descriptions wouldn't have hurt IMO.
• 
  emma

  last week or last month or 17 days ago or something like that (if time was ever real, it isn't anymore), the world celebrated the eighth anniversary of the peak of cinema.
  
  on november 20, 2013, the hunger games: catching fire was released, the universe shifted, and we all had to participate in the bittersweet acknowledgment that, even though it was kind of a bummer we would never get a better movie, perfection being achieved on film was pretty cool too.
  
  in the wake of this global parade, i am ready to make a confession.
  
  i saw this movie in theaters five times.
  
  that's not the end of the confession.
  
  i drank enough extra-large cherry cokes during those viewings to collect every variation on the plastic souvenir soda cup they gave you if you paid, like, $23. and i don't even know where those cups are now.
  
  if i'd invested all that money in dumb stuff then, i'd be rich enough to hang out with those lizard-looking tech bros and finally achieve my dream (launching a low-level bullying campaign subtle and lengthy enough to destroy their self-confidence until they lose all their money and i have abolished the concept of a billionaire).
  
  but seeing this movie 5 times on the big screen was a good consolation prize.
  
  this is honestly a near-perfect book to me: it improves upon the concept of the first, it has an excellent romance, the background characters are fun and the protagonists are kind of annoying but only because you care about them, resulting in a fun little-sibling energy.
  
  in my head, the hunger games series looks like this:
  - the lead up to this book
  - this masterpiece
  - nothing else
  
  living in delusion is fun. y'all should try it sometime.
  
  part of a series i'm doing in which i review books i read a long time ago, except this time i only got 2 hours of sleep last night, can you tell
• 
  Mohammed Arabey

  الشـــرارة التي اشعـــلت الثــورة
  هناك سبب يجعلني أعشق ذلك الجزء...تصاعد الأحداث والقمع به كان مشابها لحد كبير لثورة مصر في 25 يناير 2011
  
  وحتي ابرزها الفيلم في اعلانه بعبقرية بحق في رسم الاحداث
  
  هذه الجزء بالأخص أرشحه كحكاية ثورية شبهة واقعية
  بالرغم من ان الثورة كانت في خلفية الاحداث بدءا من الجزء الاول
  فأهل "بنما" المقهورين يعملون كعبيد للكابيتال، العاصمة..أهل المال والنفوذ..يعيشوف في قهر والأخرون في رخاء
  بل ويضحون بطفل وطفلة في كل عام من كل مقاطعة ليتقاتلوا بعضهم بعضا لامتاع اهل الكابيتال
  
  و ليتذكروا ثورتهم التي "انخمدت"من 74 سنة...عندما حاولوا الثورة علي"اليد التي امدت لهم بالخير".."اليد التي تحمل الخير لبنما"..ليتذكروا جحودهم
  
  في هذا الجزء ستري كيف تقوم تلك الحكومة التي تحمل الخير لبنما بالقمع والتعتيم الاعلامي علي اي معارضات ..ثم كيف تشتعل الثورة من مقاطعة لأخري فالثورة التي تشتعل في بضع المقاطعات لتستمر السنتها وتقوي الي ان تصل للمقاطعه 12
  
  ستشعر بالفعل انك رايت تلك المشاهد المكتوبه بحرفيه رائعه في ثوره مصر التي اخشي ما اخشاه ان تتحول مستقبلا لـ
  Hunger Games
  
  وربما..قد كان
  ******************
  البدايه كانت هادئة...زواج مرتب من قبل..زواج بقرار جمهوري
  احداث هادئة ولكنه الهدوء الذي يسبق العاصفة
  
  وتخللها الثورة..بدات من شرر..هنا وهناك ..التي اشعلتها الفتاة علي النار كاتنيس
  ولكنها لا تعلم بسبب التعتيم الاعلامي
  
  والنهايه كانت
  رهيبه,مريعه فعلا بالكاد ستتماسك لمعرفه ما سيحدث لاحقا في الجزء الثالث والاخير
  
  
  هذا الجزء بتمتع بميزه لم تكن موجوده بالجزء الاول..فقد اضافت المؤلفه عنصرا جديدا يضاف للاثاره,الدراما وحتي الرومانسيه ..هذا العنصر هو "الغموض"..ستشعر ان هناك امرا ما يخفيه البعض..خطة؟ربما...ولكن لصالح من؟
  
  فالمؤلفه بدات الاحداث بعد مرور بضع الشهور من العاب الجزء الاول البدايه قد تكون بطئيه شيئا ما الا ان الكثير من الاحداث والمفاجأت المهمه حدثت فيها..
  
  فكره الهروب مع جيل
  صراع البطله في مشاعرها تجاه بيتا
  الاستعداد لجوله الفائزين للمقاطعات
  والزياره المفاجأه للرئيس
  الجوله نفسها بالمقاطعات
  ومشاهد القمع والغضب الذي أدي لشرارات الثوره
  والحفله بمقر الرئاسه
  صراع كاتنيس بين الهرب و الوقوف للثوره...القمع
  الاعلان الرهيب لطبيعه جوله الالعاب الخامسه وسبعون..الذي لا يهدف الا للانتقام
  الاشاعه حول وجود المقاطعه 13
  وخطه اللعبه والغموض الذي يحيط يها وبالشخصيات المشاركين
  
  بالنسبه للاحداث المكرره من الجزء الاول
  ***********************************
  نجحت بالفعل المؤلفه في جعل الاحداث التي قد تتشابه مع احداث الجزء الاول ان تكون مختلفه تماما في طبيعتها..فمثلا الاستعدادات للعبه جوها مختلف تماما عن الجزء الاول وذلك نتيجه لمستجدات الاحداث..المقابله مع المرشحين كانت قويه جدا في مفاجأتها .
  
  حتي جوله الفائزين مرت بطريقه لا تشعر معها بلملل فلم تستفيض في وصف الجوله الا في المقاطعه الحاديه عشر"التي بها رو".
  الاحداث نفسها ازدادت كميه الاثاره بها..وكما قلت الغموض الذي كان يحيط اللالعاب طوال هذا الجزء..فهناك غموض في الشخصيات ودوافعها كله يؤدي لمفاجأه تلو الاخري حتي تأتي نهايه هذا الجزء والذي تم كتابته بذكاء لجعلنا علي "حافه الترقب"للجزء التالي
  .
  بالنسبه للشخصيات:
  ***************
  هناك تطور في الكثير من الشخصيات القديمه مثل كاتنيس والتي صارت اعمق وايضا اعجبني جدا الصراع الداخلي لديها والذي كان اصعب بكثير من الجزء السابق.. كذلك شخصيات الام,هايمتش,ايفي,سينا ازدادت بعض العمق وربما ايضا تشعر بتعاطف اكبر معهم
  اما بالنسبه للشخصيات الجديده فهي مثيره ايضا وغامضه في بعض الجوانب ربما ابرزها فينيك و جوانا وبالاخص جوانا اعتقد انها من الشخصيات المثيره الغامضه جدا.
  
  هذا الجزء بالفعل يثبت عبقريه المؤلفه في جعل الجزء الثاني يفوق الاول
  
  وفي انتظار الجزء الثالث
  
  
  محمد العربي
  من 13-1-2013
  الي 1-2-2013
  
  
  The ending is .....
  Real SHOCKING
  
  Now without spoiler ,and to cut this review short
  Catching Fire tops the first part
  The Hunger Games by adding to the thriller, drama and the semi romance theme that were at the first book a new element "Mystery"
  The story here start after few months of the Games,slow beginning with how the life became, the preparing for the tour..then the President visit.. the capital festival.. The straggling ideas at Katniss mind between the fleeing away or stand for the rebellion.. The consequences of her talk with Gale.. The rumors of the last hope.. The Quarter Quell ..The shock..the 75th Hunger Games itself ....and finally the most shocking cliffhanger ending ever.
  The Power Points of the books:
  The repeated Events
  The author did a great job in here to not repeat herself,and when necessary since some of events that must be happening again as the first book it's different,deeper,got real meaning and emotional than the 1st book.
  For example the tour was very detailed at Distract 11 -which it should be since it's Rue's from P1- and then the next ones are brief.
  The Games itself got a new element as I've said at the beginning which is the Mystery of the characters ...was really very well written.and that lead to the surprising ending.
  The Characters
  Katniss : Now she's struggling since becoming in the spot light ,The pressure President Snow makes on her, her feelings for Peeta and Gale. It's real deep at this part and very confused..and that's really normal for her condition.
  The Mother,Effie,Haymitch are getting deeper this book..and I really loved the deeper the relationship between Kat and them in this book which is more emotional.
  And the new characters Finnick Odair ,Johanna Mason are the best add.. also the rest of the new characters are really important
  The Plot
  Very tense,and as I said Mysterious which wasn't at book one,The thriller is doubled and also the emotional scenes.
  Every chapter end with a cliffhanger make u "What the ..."or "Oh My God"...and that last until the very end..
  
  
  
• 
  Alex.andthebooks

  To może nie być popularna opinia, ale zawsze kochałam drugi i trzeci tom bardziej niż pierwszy. Dziwne? Być może! A jednak polityczne zagrywki za pierwszym razem jak i przy tym rereadzie budzą we mnie tyle emocji! Sprawiają, że NIE MOGĘ oderwać się od tekstu.
  
  Kocham tę serię