Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) in YA Reads with Mostly Books

Dec 29, 2013 Emily rated it it was amazing

Like pretty much everyone else on the planet, I adored this book and the series. In my opinion, this was the most intense of the three books. Be prepared for a crazy cliffhanger!

What I love about this series (mentioned in my review of the others in the series as well):

Katniss kicks butt. She's real - her emotions are genuine, and she's strong. No wussy girl here! She is a role model I can get behind. Katniss is a character who makes me wish I had a daughter - she's what good YA fiction is all a Like pretty much everyone else on the planet, I adored this book and the series. In my opinion, this was the most intense of the three books. Be prepared for a crazy cliffhanger!

What I love about this series (mentioned in my review of the others in the series as well):

Katniss kicks butt. She's real - her emotions are genuine, and she's strong. No wussy girl here! She is a role model I can get behind. Katniss is a character who makes me wish I had a daughter - she's what good YA fiction is all about. She's flawed, but ultimately makes good decisions and cares about the people she's close to.

The social commentary woven through this work of fiction is frightening and, in my opinion, demonstrates real problems with our own commercialized society. Is it so hard to imagine the Capitol being a real place in our contemporary society? At the very least, it's not difficult to see us heading in that direction.

Overall, the world building and character development is phenomenal. The descriptions are vivid, and I had no trouble picturing people and places. By the end of the first book, I felt like I had been living in their world, and that I knew the characters as though we were all friends. This is not an easy feat, but is one reason why I was able to say so engaged - I genuinely cared about Katniss and Peeta. My heart just can't stop breaking for those two...

The plotting was perfect. The activity and tension picked up in all the right places, which kept the story moving at a quick pace. There is nothing I would have changed. Tension, tension, tension... And talk about a devastating cliffhanger!

Something that shocked me (but wasn't bad): Maybe I'm naive, but I couldn't help being surprised at how dark some of the themes in this book were. Poverty, social inequality, exploitation, murder for sport, etc... I was surprised, but also impressed. I have to give props to Suzanne Collins for having the courage to include these themes in her YA fiction. Although some of the imagery of kids killing kids was difficult to swallow, I don't think any of it was inappropriate for the YA audience it's intended for.

To sum it up... This book (and the others in the series) provide some real food for thought about where our society might be heading. Or, at the very least, it shines a light on the potential ease with which injustice can proliferate if left unchecked (or where reality TV might be heading...). I highly recommend this for mature YA readers and adults alike.

My full review of the entire trilogy can be found here: http://cactuswrenreview.wordpress.com...

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Mar 03, 2012 Annejhoyce rated it it was amazing

Shelves: heartbreaking, favorites, made-me-swoon, books-i-own

Read my full feature here: http://everythingatoc.blogspot.com/20...

I was initially worried that this book wouldn't quite measure up from my high praises of its predecessor. Suzanne Collins definitely did not fail to deliver because this book was almost as exhilarating as The Hunger Games was. It was full of action, full of mystery, full of revelation and It will keep you on your toes or on the verge of tears.

In the beginning, Katniss tries to go about life as if the games never happened but she Read my full feature here: http://everythingatoc.blogspot.com/20...

I was initially worried that this book wouldn't quite measure up from my high praises of its predecessor. Suzanne Collins definitely did not fail to deliver because this book was almost as exhilarating as The Hunger Games was. It was full of action, full of mystery, full of revelation and It will keep you on your toes or on the verge of tears.

In the beginning, Katniss tries to go about life as if the games never happened but she knows she can never be the same again. After the games, she finds herself as an icon for an uprising that has been accumulating in the districts of Panem. Therefore caused President Snow to loom over her and the ones she loves on the sidelines. She has distanced a little bit from Peeta and Gale hasn't been around much either.

Once again, my beloved District 12 victors are whisked to another set of the deadly games called The Quarter Quell, where they compete with the other victors of the districts from the past. In the Quarter Quell, we are introduced to the other victors who we're all very complex and interesting. Especially, Finnick. That boy will always have a special place in my heart.

We all know that Katniss such a strong character and here, I caught a glimpse of the desperate girl behind the shell of a warrior. As Katniss and Peeta go through the games once again, they held that bond that they had in the first games as a lifeline and made it even stronger. The character relationships we're as beautiful as ever. Sacrificing and loving. No matter what anyone says, after finishing this book, I just knew that Katniss and Peeta are meant to be. Also, with the others back in the Capitol, other things are unfolding...

I loved this, hands down. It was just page turner. There we're some unnecessary stuff but It didn't really bother me as much. I bought this the day before Spring Break to keep me entertained and you know what? I was already done before it even started! My only problem with this book is that it has the uncanny ability to make my heart stop. It had one of the most anguishing cliffhangers I have ever come across. Trust me, I had my fair share of them. ...more

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