Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

US Pub. Date: 1 September 2009 (Hardback)

UK Pub. Date: 7 September 2009 (Paperback)

400 pages (US version)

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian

This is the second installment of the Hunger Games trilogy.  Before I give my review, I'm going to warn that it assumes you've read The Hunger Games, so if you haven't read the first book and don't want to be spoiled, stop now. If you want the review, you can click below and it will show up.


After reading The Hunger Games, I could hardly wait for Catching Fire to come and was pleased when it arrived at my flat early. It did not disappoint. I literally couldn't put it down once I started reading, and my husband thought there was something wrong with me.



Click here to read the review

This book starts out several months after The Hunger Games ends, where Katniss and Peta are now housed in special part of town. There they deal with issues of guilt, not being comfortable in their new surroundings, and friendship problems. But, before they have time to dwell on their problems, the Capitol comes calling again.


Things haven't settled down after the Games, and the president wants Katniss to fix it during their tour of the districts. There's another secret up his sleeve that I won't spoil here, but let's just say, I was shocked.


Much of this book is the same as the last. There is action, some cute moments, some very horrific moments, and some other sad ones. While I didn't cry while reading The Hunger Games, I did while reading Catching Fire. Again, this book tested my limits on how I felt about humanity in general and the fairness of our lives, what we choose to do with them, and how we choose to live them.


Excellent read! Like I said before, I'll read these again!

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

US Pub. Date: 14 September 2008 (Hardback)

UK Pub. Date: 5 January 2009 (Paperback)

384 pages (US version)

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian

This book wasn't that high on my list, but the library wasn't getting my other books in fast enough, so I resorted to reading it. I am SO glad that I did. Are you seeing a trend? It has to be one of the best books I've read recently. It's engaging and completely disgusting at the same time. The characters are very easy to identify and empathize (yes, I found myself imagining how I would feel in these situations) with.

Basically, 24 kids (ages 12-18) are chosen from the districts of a post-apocalyptic civilization to participate in The Hunger Games, a gladiator style spectator sport for the Capitol. It serves as a punishment for the rebellion of the districts in the past. As is stated early on, the Capitol is basically telling the people in the districts to be afraid, because they won't just kill them, they'll kill their children. That is exactly what happens in The Hunger Games.

There is definitely violence and blood, some parts being somewhat gory. It's these parts and those of how Katniss, the main character, tries to keep herself alive that brings the utter cruelty of the situation to fruition. Some might find this book disturbing, and indeed, I've seen some very negative reviews. However, most of the reasons for the negative reviews are the same ones that I felt made this book so good, so real. 

I will definitely be thinking about this book a lot, and have already read the second book in the trilogy (review to come). I plan to reread this series over and over again, if for no other reason than to remind myself how cruel we can be and how it is possible to keep our humanity even when it feels like we can't.