Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins {Book Review}

So I’m a little behind with pushing out my book reviews for all the books read in 2021 (so far) and I do need to catch up or else next year I’ll be over-packed with reading and reviews again, and never see the end of it.

The next book of The Hunger Games series, Catching Fire, was great and it ties with one of the other for my favourite in the series.

Usually I don’t move on to the next book in the series to give myself some breathing space and a reset, but once I finished Catching Fire, I immediately moved to the last book, Mockingjay.

DISCLAIMER: This review could contain possible spoilers based on my opinions. All opinions and views are my own. I received this book from the author in exchange for a review.

Book Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins #bookreview #bookrecommendations #suzannecollins
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Plot:

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have returned home to District 12 after winning the Hunger Games.

She should be happy to be reunited with her family, but things have changed. There are also threats of a rebellion forming against the Capitol – one that Katniss and Peeta may have helped start.

While she knows the only way to keep everyone safe is to bring an end to the unrest, but some part of her isn’t so keen.

As Katniss and Peeta prepare to visit the districts on the Capitol’s Victory tour, she receives a deadly warning: if they cannot convince everyone they are truly in love with each other, there will be consequences.

Thoughts:

Catching Fire was more intense than the first book; compassion, betrayal, threats.

It has a similar plot to the first book, but I found it to be less action-packed this time around.

The book started off extremely slow, where the story is told and not shown to the reader. Whole months are explained in just a couple of pages, and while it makes sense why the author did that, it still felt slightly rushed.

The action only really picks up in the last quarter of the book and the ending is heart-wrenching.

When the big plot twist is revealed, and the main plot of the book starts to come together to give the reader an understanding of what is actually going on, it’s quite the shock. The allies formed are surprising and even some of the actions of characters are shocking, especially if you’re not expecting the turnaround from them.

While Katniss does lose herself towards the end with the plan revealed to her, she’s justified with the way she reacts, feelings and actions combined. In fact, if she had taken it up a notch, no one would have batted an eye in her direction.

I did enjoy learning more about the victors from the previous Hunger Games and reading about their lives and where they led to since winning the games. You feel bad for them because while they did manage to survive the games, the challenges and consequences they needed to keep facing weren’t any easier.

While there were many sad moments scattered throughout the book, I didn’t find any to be tear-jerkers.