Book Review | Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

The perfect combination of angst, love and all things dystopian, Catching Fire is another fire read by Suzanne Collins.

Catching Fire is the second novel in The Hunger Games series. If you haven't read it, you can check out my review of The Hunger Games here!

About Catching Fire

After surviving the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen has been subjected to a life full of glory. She has all the wealth she'll ever need, her family always has food on the table, and she's finally safe from the Games. Or so she thinks.

The nightmares haunt her in her sleep, Gale keeps her at a distance, and Peeta has avoided her. There's talk of a rebellion happening against the Capitol amongst the Districts—a rebellion that Katniss unknowingly sparked.

The 75th Hunger Games is a special one as it's also the third Quarter Quell. The theme of the Games? The male and female tributes reaped for the Games will be from the existing pool of Victors. As the odds aren't on Katniss's side, being the only female Victor from District 12, there's no choice for her but to come back to the Games.

Catching Fire Review

The 75th Hunger Games was action-packed.

The layout and premise of the Games is more interesting than the one in the first novel.

While The Hunger Games focuses more on the morality of killing fellow tributes for the sake of one's own survival, Catching Fire is made up of intelligent, seasoned killers. They've all won the games before and are basically pros at this. Therefore, the dilemmas faced by the characters are surrounded by the harsh dictatorship of the Capitol, rather than the morality of their actions in the Games.

The baker's boy and the "cousin".

The romance in Catching Fire is phenomenal.

Katniss is caught in a love triangle between her long-time best friend, Gale Hawthorne, and fellow victor, Peeta Mellark who won when they feigned a relationship of being star-crossed lovers in their games.

She loves Gale as one loves their best friend but when Gale starts expressing romantic feelings for her, she's unsure how to feel about it. On the other hand, Peeta, the boy who saved her life by loving her, is the kindest soul. Katniss thinks Peeta's act is just for the cameras but after going through such a traumatic event together, Katniss can't help wondering if Peeta is being true about his feelings towards her.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" he says.

Because I can't handle the nightmares. Not without you, I think.

If you ask me, there is very obviously a clear winner in this love triangle...

More interesting characters are added to the mix.

In The Hunger Games, we didn't get the opportunity to get to know the other tributes from the other Districts. However, since these new tributes are already famous Victors and beloved in the Capitol, there's more depth and information about them. That being said though, it makes it a lot harder to say goodbye to them when you find yourself adoring these fictional people.

There's also more bonding between Katniss and the other tributes in the Games, something we rarely saw in the first novel.

Someone I loved finding out more about was Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta's mentor, and how he won his Games.

Another person I adored is the charming Finnick Odair. He might be the Capitol's sweetheart, but he has my heart.

"Better not exert yourself. Not in your condition," he says, and reaches down and pats my abdomen. [...] "Cover me," he says. He disappears with a flawless dive.

Imagine blushing at words on paper; That's the Finnick Odair effect. He's so swoon-worthy.

World-building perfection.

Catching Fire also develops on the world-building developed in the first novel. While The Hunger Games focussed more on District 12 and its inhabitants, Catching Fire delved more into Panem as a whole. There was also more talk about the other districts and the roles they play in the Capitol's success when Katniss and Peeta went on their Victory Tour.

You’ll definitely love Catching Fire, if you liked The Hunger Games.

For those who have not read The Hunger Games yet, you'll be able to go into Catching Fire without reading the first one since a lot of the jargon is explained again. However, you might miss out on some of the sneaky references and will be spoiled by what happened in the first novel.

The cliffhanger at the end of Catching Fire has me at the edge of my seat. I am ecstatic to get started on Mockingjay, the last in the The Hunger Games trilogy before it's prequel.

★★★★★ (5/5)

About Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins is the author of the best-selling Underland Chronicles series, which started with Gregor the Overlander.

Her groundbreaking young adult novels, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay, were New York Times bestsellers, received wide praise, and were the basis for four popular films. She returned to the world of Panem with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Year of the Jungle, her picture book based on the year her father was deployed in Vietnam, was published in 2013 to great critical acclaim. To date, her books have been published in 53 languages around the world.