Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Blurber Blabber Review: Buy it used or on sale!
Blurb: This is the second book of a trilogy, so see my review of the first book The Hunger Games here or if you're ready for it, check out the third book here. Catching Fire picks up 6 months after the first book ended and we learn more about what happens after you've won The Hunger Games and pissed off the Capitol. We rejoin Katniss and crew just before the Victory Tour through the districts and await the start of the Quarter Quell Games, an extra special version of the Games held every 25 years. After the cliffhanger at the end of book one, be prepared to enter back into the story slowly in book two. It can seem almost a bit too slow if you're jumping into book two immediately after finishing book one, but it’s still an interesting read as we continue to learn more about Katniss, the people in her life, and the crazy dynamics of Panem and the districts. While Katniss was the star in book one, I found her to be least interesting element of book two because there's not much new to Katniss here as she flits between indecision and survival mode. Instead, the real focus in book two is the growing force moving Katniss to the forefront of the rebellion. The stage is being set for the third and final book where real changes can shake things up and Katniss will be tested as to whether she's simply a good survivor, or capable of more. And I hope so because she was pretty pffft in this one.
Series: Second book in a completed trilogy.
Language/Writing Style: Third person narrative. Mix of dialogue and internal thoughts/memories of the main character, Katniss.
Adult Content: There is some violence and disturbing imagery (blood rain - ew) similar to, but not as bad as, the first book. Deaths galore of course.
Rereadability: This is a fast read, maybe faster than the first one, but I wouldn't say this is as rereadable. I think if you haven't read this recently before starting the third one, you'll want to reread it of course, but I won't go back to this book just for the hell of it on its own.
Published: 2009
Length: 391 pages
(Read on for the more detailed and SPOILER-filled "blabber" review)
After finishing the cliffhanger at the end of book one, I immediately purchased book two on my e-reader during the wee hours of the morning and then fell asleep soon thereafter midway through chapter one. Book two starts off a bit slow again. I think I'd be less disappointed in the loss of momentum if I hadn't been chain reading The Hunger Games trilogy. And to be fair it's nice to have a reintroduction to the characters and premise. Patience is a virtue I'm still working on. Collins does a good and evenhanded job of reminding you what happened in book one without it feeling like those horrible recaps you find at the beginning of each book in some other series.
So 6 months have passed since the end of book one and Katniss and her berries trick in the Hunger Games have sparked a few small uprisings in the districts and now Katniss, with her mockingjay token, has become a symbol for the new rebellion. President Snow is not pleased and makes it known to her all while reeking of blood and roses (seriously? How does one even smell like blood? Vampire? Are we in the wrong YA series?). Some of the refugees from the uprisings are making their way to District 13, the district supposedly obliterated at the end of the rebellion 75 years ago. The rumor is that District 13 went underground and is left alone by the Capitol because their principal industry was nuclear development, and you don’t want to piss off people with nuclear weapons.
As Katniss wavers back and forth between running away and fighting, she also wavers back and forth between Gale and Peeta. On the one hand, Katniss and Peeta are reestablishing their friendship privately, while staging a public engagement during the Victory Tours for their love story. On the other hand, Katniss seems to want Gale and yet when Gale tells Katniss he loves her she replies with a simple, “I know.” Ouch. Since Katniss can’t make up her mind and is pretty much doing nothing, Snow moves the story along by announcing that the tributes for the Quarter Quell Games will be reaped from a pool of previous victors. This of course means Katniss will be the female tribute and Peeta will be the male tribute since Peeta wants to go in to protect Katniss. I have to say, stupid move on Snow's part. What better way to incite more uprisings than to create a martyr? Or in this case, two martyrs who are engaged star-crossed lovers?
The pre-Games stuff is kept to a minimum which is fine by me. During the interviews, Katniss is forced to wear her wedding gown (again Snow, why?) and of course twirls again (is that all she can do during interviews?), as her dress burns up and reveals Cinna’s creation, a second coal-colored wedding dress made of feathers. Cinna, understanding the importance of Katniss’s role as a symbol of the rebellion, has turned Katniss into a mockingjay, and will later pay for that act of rebellion (tear). But Peeta’s the one who lays the real shocker on the table by revealing that he and Katniss are secretly and informally married (lies) and that Katniss is pregnant (more lies). Of course this causes a ruckus and the interviews are quickly shut down but not before all of the tributes join hand in a fleeting instant of solidarity among all of the districts. See Snow, this is why you're stupid and your plan is backfiring.
Before entering the Games, Haymitch gives his usual advice to stay alive, along with a new piece of advice for Katniss to remember who her enemy is. So we return to the Games but the second time around isn’t as surprising or exciting - been there, done that. I have to say though that this year’s arena is a much cooler concept. The arena is in the structure of a giant jungle/saltwater clock, and every hour a certain segment of the jungle or water unleashes some horror (e.g., blood rain, nerve gas fog, and jabberjays that scream in the voices of your loved ones). Katniss and Peeta quickly team up with Finnick and Madge from District 4, after Finnick indicates that Haymitch has chosen him as an ally for them. Haymitch has been apparently busy playing matchmaker. As the Games progress and they struggle to stay alive, other tributes keep sacrificing themselves to save Peeta. Katniss kinda notices this but doesn't think too deeply about it. Instead Katniss is back in survivor mode and is focused on keeping herself and, more importantly, Peeta alive. I know Katniss is in survivor mode, but it's kind of hard to feel for her when she's constantly contemplating her allied teammates' deaths and sending mixed signals to Peeta. This version of Katniss isn’t so different from Katniss near the end of book one and I expect more from her in book two.
The group later teams up with Johanna, Beetee and Wiress, as they fight off the other tributes (with ridiculous names like Gloss and Cashmere) and the horrors built into the Games. In the final battle, a disoriented Katniss is about to kill the remaining Career and Finnick when she remembers Haymitch’s advice and realizes that her real enemy isn’t any other tribute, it’s the Capitol. It’s Snow. Well, duh. So instead Katniss destroys the arena and is slipping into unconsciousness as she's airlifted by a hovercraft.
So what the hell is going on?! Katniss wakes up to find the Head Gamemaker, Haymitch and Finnick all talking. Apparently there has been an ongoing plan to break out the tributes ever since the Quell was announced. Most of the tributes were aware of the plan and were charged with protecting Katniss, because she's their symbol of rebellion (“while you live, the revolution lives”), and Peeta, because without Peeta Katniss would completely shut down and never ally herself with the others. Neither Katniss nor Peeta were told for their own protection, and Peeta's going to need that innocent ignorance because he, along with Johanna and the last Career, was captured by the Capitol. Upon hearing about all these covert plans and the loss of Peeta, Katniss flies into a rage, attacking Haymitch. Crazy Katniss is sedated and when she wakes Gale tells her that Prim and her mom are alive and safe but District 12 has been bombed and no longer exists. End of book two. Ooh good cliffhanger!
So I wouldn’t say that this is a sophomore slump, but there’s definitely some slouching going on here. While I thought this version of the Games was more interesting, we’ve already been at the Games and I wanted more progress. It doesn’t help that Katniss is no longer as engaging of a main character as she wavers back and forth in a constant state of indecisiveness. Katniss is no longer the driving force behind the action and plot development, rather she’s become a figurehead or puppet that others use and manipulate. I wanted Katniss to be more a part of that fight. I wanted Katniss to make up her damn mind. And I wanted to see a more human Katniss. There’s no emotional volunteering to take her sister’s place in the Games and there’s no Rue in this book to humanize Katniss. While Katniss is devoted to saving Peeta's life, that relationship is complicated by the uneven affection. And while Katniss is not yet ready to embrace her role as the figurehead of the rebellion (and who can blame her?), I kinda think less of Katniss for not taking a stand, especially given what’s at stake both personally and more globally. I know that it’s not fair to be so harsh and to demand so much from a scared 16 year-old girl, but this is fiction and she’s supposed to be the freakin hero of this book and it’s time she starts acting like one. We’re already at the end of book two people, it’s now or never.
I must confess that while I think all this now on my second rereading, the first time I read this book I was more on Katniss’ side and pissed at Haymitch at the end. I think part of why I’m so hard on Katniss now in this book is that I am not just speeding through the trilogy to find out what happens and I’m thinking more about what I like and don’t like about each book individually. I liked Katniss so much better in book one and was rooting for her to grow and develop and become the awesome kickass mockingjay of the rebellion in book two. I think one of the most important elements of a main character and hero is growth and development. And here, Katniss falls a bit short.
Another part of the problem is that Katniss and Peeta were kept in the dark for the most part. As Haymitch explains to a rageful Katniss, "See, this is why no one lets you make the plans." Katniss is not a good planner. For Katniss there is no bigger picture than survival for herself and her loved ones. Katniss only takes a stand and makes meaningful decisions in spontaneous moments (e.g., volunteering to take Prim’s place in the Games, decorating Rue's body with flowers, and here destroying the arena), when she doesn’t have time to overthink things or get all angsty. Also, sidenote - how stupid were the rebellion people in not securing Peeta during the rescue, especially when they made such a big effort to keep him safe throughout the Games? Do you think Katniss is going to happily go along now that you abandoned Peeta? No, she’s going to bitch slap you and claw at your face and eyes like she did with Haymitch. Sheesh.
I think The Hunger Games is definitely a buy it now book because it’s awesome and the first book in an amazing trilogy. Let’s be honest, if you bought the first one, there’s no way in hell you’re going to just stop and not read the rest of the trilogy. But by now there should be plenty of Catching Fire versions on sale or used, and this one, while great, was not on par with the first book. It did it’s job of continuing the story and throwing in some changes, but I think we’re all ready to see Katniss become a part of the overarching plan, and not just a pawn getting pushed around by both sides. And I think we’re done with the Games and want to see District 13. I mean it’s not like we have a nostalgic connection with the Games - they’re no Hogwarts. As much as I enjoyed Catching Fire on it’s own, I say let’s move on. Bring on Mockingjay!
Where to find Catching Fire?
Go to your local book store or library!
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