I believed that sequels are never as good as the original and this book gives me no reason to think otherwise. 'Catching Fire' isn't exactly a sequel, it's book 2 of a trilogy. Still, the excitement and energy of book 1 seems to flounder in this book.

Now that the Hunger Games are over and Katniss Everdeen, unbelievably, is the winner, what does life look like afterwards? There's money and comfort of course but there's also two men vying for her affections - Gale, the old never-acknowledged love she left behind and Peeta, her co-victor from the Hunger Games. Alternating between the two men, switching affections and her mind every couple of pages, the strong Katniss of Book 1 ends up reminding you of Bella (of Twilight).

Mercifully, this teenage romance triangle continues only till about 1/3rd of the book, by which time you're granted reprieve with a plot twist. And in this, the book doesn't disappoint. The central theme of Book 1 is taken, developed much further into a more intricate puzzle that the characters need to navigate their way out of.

The ending feels a bit rushed and the prose is a bit unclear. But by this time, the story has carried you through and almost to home stretch. So you'd have no qualms moving on to the next book.