Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before...and surprising readers at every turn.

This is, of course, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy that has become so popular. I’m a tad bit late to the party, only now having decided to read the books, but I am completely enthralled in the story.

Katniss is the main reason, I think, why the books have gotten as big as they have. She is a wholly believable character, with enough flaws to seem real. But there is also a core of strength in her that makes her a compelling heroine. Peeta has grown on me. I wasn’t a huge fan of him, or Gale, for that matter, in the first book, but Peeta has become a much more interesting character in this book. I would have liked to see a bit more of Gale. He’s the only character I feel is a bit underdeveloped.

The plot is wonderful, as the first one was. At first, when the reader realizes Katniss is going to be thrown into the Games again, it might feel a bit forced, but of course, this is the exact point. It has to be something that seems too coincidental in the books. So the author did a nice job of handling that and getting her into another arena in a smooth manner. There are some very clever moments, and the arena in this one is highly entertaining.

Of course, I do recommend this book. I am moving onward to the final installment.