Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic
Year: 2009
ISBN: 9788184774009
Rating:

The sequel to the hugely popular The Hunger Games, Catching Fire is another gripping young adult novel from Suzanne Collins. Before you catch the movie, take a look at what the book is all about!

“Sparks are igniting, flames are spreading and the capitol wants revenge.”

Against all odds Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games and has also managed to save her fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. Now back home, Katniss can feel the changes that her winning the Hunger Games has caused. An uprising is brewing and President Snow is hot on her heels. With people tracking her every move she has to feign her relationship with Peeta. Her family has shifted to the Victor Village but though her family’s condition has improved considerably, the situation with Gale and Peeta is still blemished and so the love triangle continues. But this book is so much more than just this…

Catching Fire shows a very different Katniss from what we have seen in the first book. She has always been a tough heroine but the games have hardened her in new way. She has a different outlook toward things now. She feels for the people, not just of her district but of all the twelve districts. The relationship between the characters has further been explored. With the advent of many new characters the plot has become all the more absorbing. As Katniss and Peeta head back to the games, Katniss knows that she has started something that she is afraid she cannot stop and she is not entirely convinced that she should try.

In this stellar follow up to The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins meets the expectations of the readers of the first book. Catching Fire is not your usual young adult read. The book was ‘intense’ to say the least. Whereas The Hunger Games was gloomy and a bit slow in its pace, Catching Fire is anything but. There is an exhilarating energy running throughout the book which makes putting it down impossible. Whether it’s the love story or the revolution or the games itself, everything is very intricately detailed.

When you look at cliff-hangers, Catching Fire doesn’t disappoint! Collins knows how to end a book well. The ending can make you literally scramble for the next book. With some out-of-the-world turns and twists which no one can see coming, this sequel to The Hunger Games is one solid read which is recommended to all Hunger Games fans.