Catching Fire | Suzanne Collins | Book Review

Catching Fire

PLOT: 4.5/5
CHARACTERS: 4.5/5
WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5
CLIMAX: 4/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 4.5/5

The second book of The Hunger Games series – Catching Fire is as captivating and gripping as its prequel.

As the young fighter Katniss Everdeen yet again proves her mettle in the Hunger Games arena, so does Suzanne Collins proves her worth with her words.

As the readers of The Hunger Games may recall from the first book, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games and has come back to District 12 with her co-victor Peeta Mallark.

After the nightmarish games, things should have been better. But that is just not the case with Katniss.

Gale maintains a fair distance from his former best friend and Peeta Mallark, having discovered her real intention behind the ‘star-crossed lovers’ façade decides to turn his back on her.

Having lost the company of her two closest friends, Katniss is as lonely as ever. But loneliness is not the only problem she is battling with.

Along with the glory and relief of winning the games, has come the wrath of President Snow, who has branded the Peeta-Katniss berry episode as an act of rebellion and is suspecting Katniss’s act as a medium to fuel the recent uprisings, experienced with the various districts under capitol’s control.

Katniss’s assurance does not help, and the only thing that can now save her family and friends from President Snow is Katniss’s marriage to Peeta, arranged by the Capitol to support the façade of “the star-crossed lovers from District 12”.

As Katniss unwillingly starts preparation for her marriage to Peeta, she is faced with yet another life-changing truth.

It is the 75th year since the dark day’s rebellion and it is the time for the 3rd quarter quell and the surprise in this version of the quarter quell is that all the tributes are to be chosen from the existing pool of victors.

In other words, Katniss and Peeta are again to be the District 12 tributes in the 75th Hunger Games.

So what will Katniss do? Will she survive another arena of the brutal Hunger Games? Will she be able to save Peeta again? What will become of her arranged marriage? Will she able to protect her family and Gale from President Snow? And what about the rebellion, will the rebellion continue to go strong? Or will it be crushed down by the Capitol?

With such great unfolding to look forward to, Catching Fire becomes absolutely spellbinding towards its latter half.

What I particularly like about this sequel is that it has maintained a uniqueness which in most other cases gets shadowed over by the first book. Katniss appears at her deadliest best and with a good amount of action and thrill does not disappoint her adventure-loving readers.

I also liked the love triangle and the play of emotions between the three main characters of this book. With precisely the exact amount of emotions, drama and thrill, the book renders its readers captivated till the end.

I would recommend Catching Fire to all and one because it is one great sci-fi which will still be remembered in the times to come.

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