The Fuse Has Been Lit

The title of a novel is sometimes a very hard thing to choose. In Suzanne Collins’ book, Catching Fire, the title fits perfectly. The second installment of the Hunger Games series truly does catch fire, inspiring readers to blaze through it in one sitting. The book follows Katniss Everdeen as she adjusts to life after becoming the co-champion of the Hunger Games in a very dysfunctional dystopia society. It picks up a little while after the first book in the series, The Hunger Games, left off.
Katniss and her fellow champion Peeta Mellark are back in their home, District 12. They are adjusting to becoming wealthy and trying to deal with the events that took place in the first book. There has always been only one winner of the Hunger Games; it is a fight to the death after all. After Katniss threatened to kill herself out of her ‘love’ for Peeta, the officials of the Games intervened, letting them both live. As this event sparks a revolution among the other Districts, Katniss and Peeta must decide whether to run or fight for their lives.
To the public, Katniss and Peeta have to be the incredibly in love couple that the whole country adores, though in private Katniss sees him only as a friend. Throughout Catching Fire, they must keep up this false pretense of love to appease a revolting country. The president has threatened Katniss with her and her loved ones’ lives. He will kill them, he says, unless the uprisings cease. As Katniss and Peeta tiptoe along this precarious line, they discover another horrible piece of news.

The 75th Annual Hunger Games is no small deal. It is not just an ordinary Hunger Games; it is the third Quarter Quell. Every 25 years a Quarter Quell takes place, and with it something even more tragic than usual. This year, the tributes that will be sent to the Games will be chosen from the pool of existing winners. Katniss and Peeta will surely have to go again. Katniss vows to protect Peeta at all costs, even if that price is her life.

Catching Fire is one of the best sequels I have read in a long time. The determination and heart that Katniss possesses are inspiring. Her conflicting feelings between Peeta and the boy she left behind are very true to a teenage girl’s emotions. I read this book in two days because I simply could not put it down! If the first novel was found to be entertaining, I would definitely recommend the second one as well. The entire series is a very unique take on the common dystopia. I cannot wait to read the third book in the series, Mockingjay.

Suzanne Collins lit the match with The Hunger Games, lit the fuse with Catching Fire, and will surely set the world ablaze with Mockingjay. National bestsellers, these books are hot items. I have been pulled in to Katniss’ world, and cannot wait to see her fate in the next novel. Katniss Everdeen’s struggle to survive has entranced me, and I am sure that it will put a spark in many other young minds as well.