Katniss Everdeen; dystopian teen-heroine extraordinaire won The Hunger Games. She also managed to save the life of fellow district Tribute, Peeta Mellark and stick one in the eye of the sadistic Capitol. Never in the history of the fiendish Games have there been two winners. But Katniss, with her now famous “poisonous-berries” moment achieved the impossible and had The Capitol impotent with fury.
While Katniss and Peeta should now be enjoying the life of well-deserved luxury, they soon learn that rebellious gestures cannot go unpunished. President Snow is convinced that the grand Katniss-Peeta Love Story is a sham and he’s waiting for Katniss to trip and make that one fatal misstep. If Katniss intends to keep her family, Gale, Peeta and the rest of her district-folk alive, she has to pitch in an Oscar-worthy performance.
But the scent of rebellion lies heavy in the air. Unbeknownst to her, Katniss’ grand gesture has sped up the flickering flame of hope in the people of Panem. In varying districts, the sufferers are rising up…ready to take on The Capitol and it’s ruthless regime. And for this, Katniss has to pay…In a cruel and unforeseen twist in the gut, Katniss and Peeta find themselves smack-dab in the middle of The Games yet again.
Catching Fire is a pacy sequel to The Hunger Games. While it does tend to plod and hop along in the first bit, the second half hits you like a punch in the gut with a burst of adrenaline. Survival, despair, improbable decisions weigh heavily on Katniss as she fights it out yet again in the arena of the Games.
Suzanne Collins has the ability to make you empathize with a beautiful, talented teenage-girl who has two handsome and worthy boys waiting in the wings for her. Never at any point do you resent Katniss for all that is being offered on her plate, because just as quickly you realize that there’s a softly softly catchee monkey hand waiting to snatch it all away.
In all, the book is a worthy middle-child of the trilogy. Collins keeps the action constant, drops in a few startling surprises and leaves you with a truly frustrating cliff hanger.
Kudos to her for getting it right, yet again
2 comments:
I am currently reading Catching Fire, I am still in the first half and I find myself losing attention (unless Gale is around), I read the first book in 48 hours but I am bit struggling with this one
God Bless Gale!...I really wanted to know if they would explore the Katniss-Gale angle further...but it was back to Peeta-land.
Having said that, am still looking forward to the third instalment. Have a good feeling that Gale will get his due...
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