Catching Fire (Hunger Games 2) by Suzanne Collins ☆☆☆☆☆A lot of second books end up being nothing more than filler to get the reader from the excitement of book 1 to the finale of book 3, this book didn't follow that schema. Catching Fire was equally thrilling and well developed as Hunger Games, in some aspects perhaps more so. I expected to be entertained by this book, but I did not expect to be filled with more anxiety than the first book. If it was hard enough to put down Hunger Games, it was impossible for the sequel.
In Hunger Games, you ask a lot of questions involving "how is that possible" or "what if this happens instead" trying to get to the ending that our happily ever after wiring that has been programmed into us. And while those questions are answered, they come back ten fold in this book, just as puzzling and painstaking as before, with twists and turns no one could have anticipated. If I could give this book more than 5 stars I probably would. I can't wait to finally pick up the last installment!
Catching Fire isn't just a sequel, I thought it was an extension of all the pain and confusion in the first book. I liked how the characters continued to grow and develop; they don't just stay the same people they were at the beginning of The Hunger Games.
ReplyDeleteI'd agree with you, Loni, it really was more of an extension of the first book, though I can see how it could stand alone as well. While her trusts issues are a continuation of the trust issues from book one between her dad and the games, the trust issues in book two are also completely different. I do love how much more the characters develop and how naive Katniss still is about a lot of things. She's incredibly smart with Haymitch's clues, but so clueless about everything else.
DeleteOooh yeah, def deserving of 5+ stars!
ReplyDeleteI had a bit of a jaw-drop moment seeing a comment from you :) I've been following your blog religiously for over a year now, so you're sort of like a mini-celebrity to me! Very strange I know. I wish I had the time to read as much as you do, but it's only during summers that I can read a book a day. And I really wish that I could afford to go to AWP this year since it's in Chicago and then I would be able say hi in person :)
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