Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)

by Suzanne Collins

Because sometimes things happen to people and they’re not equipped to deal with them.

The berries. I realize the answer to who I am lies in that handful of poisonous fruit. If I held them out to save Peeta because I knew I would be shunned if I came back without him, then I am despicable. If I held them out because I loved him, I am still self-centered, although forgivable. But if I held them out to defy the Capitol, I am someone of worth. The trouble is, I don’t know exactly what was going on inside me at that moment.

Life in District 12 isn’t really so different from life in the arena. At some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead.

“Having an eye for beauty isn’t the same thing as a weakness,” Peeta points out. “Except possibly when it comes to you.”

“I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you,” Peeta replies.

“I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now, and live in it forever,” he says.

“Don’t worry. I always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don’t hurt anyone but myself.”

and I’m afraid he has hurt himself beyond repair. The significance of my fiery transformation will not be lost on President Snow.

“Maybe I’d think that, too, Caesar,” says Peeta bitterly, “if it weren’t for the baby.”