On Starships and Dragonwings

Wow, I know I’m late on reading the Hunger Games trilogy, but rest assured that I am now fully amazed by Suzanne Collins and her made skills with Catching Fire :D. I was able to snag Catching Fire from the library’s (very scant) YA audiobook section, and I’m actually amazed that I spotted it because the case didn’t even have the cover art on it! I might need to go make a suggestion to my librarian about marketing such a great trilogy…. In any case, much of this has already been said, but the main thing I want to emphasize is that the love triangle element is not that bad! As a person who doesn’t like love triangles, I had delayed finishing the trilogy after reading Hunger Games. However, I am now convinced that everyone should finish the trilogy, don’t be afraid of the romance ;-).

 Goodreads | Amazon
Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Length: 11 hrs 37 mins
Genre-ish: YA Dystopia
Rating: ★★★★★- amazing sequel, the action just keeps going!

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. – Goodreads

Strengths:

•  Catching Fire has fast-paced action right from the start! Really, we wouldn’t expect any less ;-).
• As I said above, while there are two love interests, it hardly counts when Katniss is forced to have a relationship with one of them by the corrupt government….
• All of the characters in Catching Fire just get better. We start learning the depth of President Snow’s villainy, we finally get to know Gale better, and we meet new faces! We don’t know if we can really trust said new faces, but they are funny :D. I’m looking at you Finnick >.> <.<.
• I loooooved the narrator, Carolyn McCormick! Even the minor characters had voice changes of their own (all from one narrator’s vocal cords!) and she gave wonderful dimension to already wonderful characters :).
• While the first third of Catching Fire seems like it will be similar to Hunger Games, it’s not, don’t worry! And I can’t say more without spoilers ;-).

Weaknesses:

• While Katniss keeps thinking she was faking most of her affection for Peeta, there is enough doubt and angst that I still had to roll my eyes at times. Make up your mind, girl!
• Warning: there is gore! This is after all still Panem…. If you aren’t up for tragic moments and icky moments, this trilogy probably isn’t for you.

Summary:

Love love love Catching Fire, as most others did as well :D. My biggest regret is waiting so long to finally continue the trilogy, but I made it before the movie ;-). I in fact love Catching Fire more than Hunger Games, I think, because we get to see so much more of Panem and Katniss really starts coming into her own. This of course all sets you up for needing to get Mockingjay (the third book) immediately! If you have been thinking of finding out what all the hype was about, go for it. If you were like me and decided to stop after the first book for fear of angsty romance, have no fear. There is some angst, but the delicious dystopian action is totally worth it! Also check out the audiobooks if you have a chance, they are rocking!