The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a science fiction young adult novel by Suzanne Collins. It is the second installment in the Hunger Games trilogy. Catching Fire takes place six months after The Hunger Games, in the fictional continent of Panem. Panem is a dystopian society, where the land is split up into twelve districts and The Capitol. The Capitol oppresses the people of the districts, and every year, forces two children, one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to fight to the death in an arena, as a reminder of the Districts’ rebellion against the Capitol. Catching Fire encompasses the events that take place from the beginning of the Victory Tour, which takes place six months after each Hunger Games, and concludes with the dramatic and shocking ending to the 75th Annual Hunger Games. Every twenty-five years, there is a Quarter Quell, marked by games of a special significance, and the Third Quarter Quell is no exception. The main characters Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark find their way back into a very special Quarter Quell arena, facing off against not only Tributes from other districts, but also against the cruel and sadistic Capitol and President Coriolanus Snow, the main antagonist. I decided to read this book because I watched the first The Hunger Games, which was a great movie. I knew that I should read the books, and as a result, ended up reading Catching Fire. It quickly became my favorite book, which prompted me to read it a second and a third time.

I had many questions while reading this book. The biggest question that any reader would have while reading this book should be wondering what the 75th Hunger Games would entail, and it was quite a surprise indeed. The 75th Hunger Games and 3rd Quarter Quell is possibly one of the most shocking moments in the entire trilogy, as the special significance it held was very unexpected, and really purveyed the ferocity and mercilessness of The Capitol. * SPOILER ALERT * - The Third Quarter Quell is marked by an extremely special significance that was a reaction to the small outbreaks of rebellion running throughout Panem. “ On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors” (532). Since District 12 only has one female victor and two male victors, this means that Katniss and either Peeta or Haymitch, her mentor, must enter into the Hunger Games arena once again. “ Then I get it, what it means. At least, for me. District 12 only has three existing victors to choose from. Two male. One female . . . I am going back into the arena” (532). This is also another display of the ferocity of Snow and The Capitol. They are showing that they truly mean business, and since Katniss Everdeen is the hope of the rebellion in the Districts, Snow must find a convenient way to kill off Katniss. Another question that I had was what will happen between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale? Gale is a long-time friend of Katniss, and is in love with her. Katniss seems to have underlying feelings for Gale, but in order to survive through the 74th Hunger Games; she had to pretend to be lovers with Peeta, and ended up falling in love with Peeta during the games. This leads to tension between Katniss and Gale, as Katniss must once again become lovers with Peeta for the 75th Annual Hunger Games and Third Quarter Quell.

I think that this book compares very well to the two other books by Suzanne Collins that I have read. Catching Fire has the most interesting plot, and is quite thrilling to read.

Catching Fire is extremely well crafted, down to the minute details of Katniss’s inner thoughts. During the Tribute Parade, when all of the Tributes are dressed in garb that reflects their district, Katniss and Peeta are on a wagon, being trundled out in front of an extremely large audience. During last year’s Hunger Games, Peeta and Katniss were told to look happy and ecstatic from their designers. This year, Peeta relays to Katniss that Portia, his designer, said to look about it all, and no waving (Collins, 569) “I can’t help catching glimpses of us on the huge screens along the route, and we are not just beautiful, we are dark and powerful. No, more. We are star-crossed lovers from District 12, who suffered so much and enjoyed so little the rewards of our victory, do not seek the fans’ favor, grace them with our smiles, or catch their kisses. We are unforgiving” (569- 570). This short glimpse into what Katniss is thinking really sets the tone and attitude given off by Katniss since the attitude of Katniss towards the Capitol and The Hunger Games is truly dark. She despises The Capitol and their lavish lifestyle, while people in her District are starving to death. She is truly unforgiving. She is unforgiving towards The Capitol that forced her father to work in the mines, where he died in an accidental explosion. She is unforgiving for the fact that she was forced to choose between Peeta and Gale. She is unforgiving because The Capitol has used her for their entertainment, while she was forced to slay other tributes and live in fear of death. Collins uses very simple words; such as dark, powerful, and suffered, yet these words inhibit a deep meaning in the novel, since the novel is truly dark, and is about the sufferings of not only Katniss, but also of the people of Panem.

The best aspects of this book were definitely the attention to detail, and the plot. The plot is what really made this book the best out of the three Hunger Games novels, and it provides a rollercoaster of emotion and thought for all readers. At the end of the novel, a truly and literally shocking event happens. * SPOILER ALERT *While Katniss was relaying a high-conductivity coil down to the beach to electrocute anyone in the sand or water, the wire got cut, and her ally who was helping her, Johanna Mason, attacked her. Fearing for Peeta’s safety, Katniss runs back to a giant tree that is able to conduct electricity. She does not find Peeta, but witnesses another ally, Beetee, get electrocuted and thrown back when he pokes the edge of the arena with a metal knife and wire. Twice a day, at twelve, lightning strikes this big tree. When Katniss hears and sees another ally whom she believes betrayed her and Peeta coming towards her, she draws her bow, ready to shoot. However, thunder begins to rumble, and Katniss wraps her arrow with the high-conductivity wire that was wrapped around the tree. Just as the lightning strikes the tree, she send the arrow flying towards the ceiling, effectively destroying that portion of the arena, and short-circuiting the entire arena. “A flash of with runs up the wire, and for just a moment, the dome bursts into a dazzling blue light. I’m thrown backward to the ground, body useless, paralyzed, eyes frozen wide, as feathery bits of matter rain down on me. I can’t reach Peeta. I can’t even reach my pearl. My eyes strain to capture one last image of beauty to take with me. Right before the explosions begin, I find a star” (726). This is perhaps the climax of the book, even though it occurs right at the end of the novel.

As stated before, I think the writing style is absolutely wonderful. It has made me burst out laughing, and had me shedding tears just pages later. Collins is able to bring true life and emotion to the words strewn across the page.

There are very few criticisms that I have to offer. The first one is that Collins let an old lady die, and although this is significant in the book, it is sad to imagine. The aforementioned old lady is Mags, an extremely old woman from District 4 who volunteered to be a Tribute in the Quarter Quell. She sacrifices her life so that Finnick would be able to carry Peeta instead of her, and Katniss would be able to assist. She throws herself into the poisonous mist that the four of them were attempting to outrun, allowing Peeta, Finnick, and Katniss to survive. The big criticism is the fact that the novel is written in the first person perspective of Katniss. Even if this is one of the reasons why it is such a great book, since it is all from the viewpoint of Katniss, and delves into Katniss’s innermost thoughts, it also inhibits it, since readers are only able to read about Katniss’s thoughts and see things from her point of view. I want to know what is happening in The Capitol, are the citizens of The Capitol pleased with the theme of the Quarter Quell? I want to know the thoughts of Effie Trinket, the escort for the Tributes of District 12 and Capitol citizen who is enamored with Katniss and Peeta. However, I believe that Collins made this choice to have the trilogy in first person of Katniss since she is the main character, and to see it from the view of someone whom the series is centered around. To truly grasp the feeling of Katniss, and Katniss alone. To be able to understand what Katniss is thinking.

This book can appeal to literally anyone, since it is such a well-known book due to the movies, and because the story line is captivating and interesting. I would highly recommend this book to people who root for underdogs, or enjoy scenarios of dystopian futures, such as seen in Divergent, 1984, and The Matrix. You can learn more by searching “Catching Fire Book” on any search engine, or TheHungerGames.wikia.com, which is a wiki dedicated to all things The Hunger Games.