Series: The Hunger Games #2
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Dystopia, Sci-Fi
Published: September 2009
Pages: 472
My rating:
The Blurb: Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. The Capitol is very, very angry ... and wants revenge.
So… after dying to find out what
would happen next to Katniss, Peeta, Gale and the others I threw myself into
‘Catching Fire’, practically starved. In some ways the book satisfied me, in
other ways not even remotely. In retrospective, it was somewhat disappointing
even. Which is why I kept postponing this review.
The structure of this book is almost
similar to the one of the first book, where the first part is merely an
introduction of sorts. At first, things develop slowly. Very slowly. Nothing
seems to have changed, even when everything has. Katniss and Peeta still live
their lives separately and despite Katniss’ riches, she still hunts whenever
she can. Not to provide for her own family though, but for Gale’s family, since
he won’t accept her money.
The strongly written characters are
interesting enough. Even the new side-characters are interesting and developed
sufficiently to be more than just background noise. Katniss definitely grew
further in this instalment but surprised me by still being insecure (maybe even dimwitted) about so
many things. Like her feelings regarding Peeta and Gale. It’s refreshing to
read a book not entirely focused on romance, but on real emotions and doubts.
Not the standard formula.
I love Katniss’ (self-)wits and her
interactions with Peeta, for example. The humour is a welcome change in the
(mostly) heavy story.
The consequences of Katniss’ actions
during The Hunger Games -and the sign she gave off with those actions- dawn on
Katniss. At first she’s convinced she will have to keep up the charade of the
romance she and Peeta have, up until the point of marriage even. Soon she
realises it’s not about her own future or happiness, it’s about the lives of
everyone she loves. It’s about the entire country even. It takes a LOT of time
until she realises her true worth though.
‘I am the Mockingjay. The one that survived despite the Capitol’s plans. The symbol of rebellion.’
I like the artistic way Peeta deals
with the events that happened, the way he tries to right his wrongs, not aware
that his good deeds will backfire. I love how Katniss starts developing
feelings for him once again because of his kindness. How he’s the one person
whose presence helps her sleep when every single night she is haunted by
nightmares. But Gale feels so right for her, according to her own thoughts and
feelings. She and Gale trust each other with their lives, and I know this
sounds weird: in a totally different way than Katniss and Peeta do. Born from
something entirely different, not forced in any way, naturally.
Everyday life gets more gruesome in
‘Catching Fire’. Punishments had been lacking until now, starvation was the
District 12 inhabitant’s greatest enemy, instead of whippings when one was
caught hunting. How heart wrenching it was to read this cruel scene. But the
realisation Katniss has then, is kind of worth it. Sadly this incident is only
the beginning of a totally reinforced District 12 where nothing illegal is
tolerated anymore, making life so much harder for everyone. Which only makes
the people eager to revolt more.
Of course the question that must be
playing on many people’s minds is whether or not District 13, once brutally
destroyed by the government to stop its rebellion, still exists or not.
I was as shocked as Katniss herself
was at the turn the story took at the announcement of the third Quarter Quell
rules. Shocked at the cruel, too coincidental, concocted crime conveniently
cooked up by the Capitol. I had not seen this coming at all and kept thinking
maybe it wouldn’t happen. But it did. Obviously, since there is still another
sequel, it was clear Katniss would survive once more, but whose lives would
have to end this time?
Actually, after finding out this
twist, the disappointment part kicked in. It felt less creative and original,
because I had been there already. No matter how different the surroundings were
this time. It felt like a break in the actual story, the actual plot. I wanted
to get ON with the rest of the story and not be stuck in this part again!
Which is why this book appealed less
to me than its predecessor. Also, I assume it is why I haven’t yearned to read
‘Mockingjay’ yet. I will though, soon. Don’t get me wrong. This was still a very
good read, yet not quite what I had expected. I guess it’s hard to be the
middle book in a trilogy.
The pace of this book is something
Suzanne Collins seems to struggle with. There are pages full of information
only covering hours, then months are skimmed over just as easily within mere
paragraphs. Overall it was written very well again though, very vivid. I will
leave you with some of my favourite quotes, powerful words in my opinion,
expressing feelings with heavy mental imagery.
‘I breath in the smell of snow-dampened leather and smoke and apples, the smell of all those wintry days we shared before the Games.’
‘And I’m left staring out of the window, watching District 12 disappear, with all my goodbyes still hanging on my lips.’