Review of, "Catching Fire," by Suzanne Collins

 First off, I would like to say that this book wasn't anywhere near as good as the first in the series. Catching Fire was much slower, duller, and does not have as great of a story as the first installment in this series. Yes, I know that this was just the set-up book for the third book in the series, but Suzanne Collins could have made this book much better. However, even though I did not enjoy it as much as the other two books in the series, I did like it enough to finish it. And for me, that's saying something.

    The story starts a couple of months after Katniss' and Peeta's win in the Hunger Games which launched them into fame and fortune. Katniss and Peeta are getting geared up for the Capitol's victory tour which is strategically placed midway between the annual hunger games. Ever since the two got back from winning the Hunger Games, their relationship has been remarkably icy. Katniss, Peeta, and Katniss' best friend Gale are stuck in this sort of love triangle that just seems to make everything a little more complicated than it should. (Alright, a lot.) But everybody in the entire nation of Panem believes that Peeta and Katniss are, "Star-Crossed lovers," or whatever that means. (In fact, in the book they are supposed to get married, until the Quarter Quell comes up, then everything gets mixed up in the book.) 

    Also, at the end of the first book, Peeta and Katniss end up being the last two competitors in the Hunger Games. And because they are in, "Love," they refuse to kill each other. (Or at least Peeta is, Katniss was just faking it at the time.) So, they find these poisonous berries, and they agree to eat them because they cannot kill one another. And right before they take the berries the announcer, Caesar Flickerman, tells them that they both won the Hunger Games! But the Capitol did not like that one bit. In fact, the little stunt those two pulled off was seen as a start to a rebellion, a rebellion the Capitol did not want. So, when Katniss and Peeta finally leave for their Victory Tour, everybody in the districts is fired up and ready to go! When Katniss and Peeta show up at each of the districts, it's like the spark that sets off this powder keg, and everybody just goes nuts.
    When they get back from the tour, its time for the reapings for the next, "Quarter Quell." Except, there is one twist, this year the contestants will be past victors of the Hunger Games. And since there are only three victors ever to win from District Twelve, this means that Katniss and Peeta will be sent back into the arena. Now, this was a huge twist in the story, because right when this happened, I knew I would keep reading. (Before that point the book was really dull, but after that the book was just as exciting as the first one.) So now they're in the Capitol, meeting their competitors, getting prepared to fight to the death inside of the arena. But, everything seems just a little bit off. Everybody there just seems a little bit too friendly with one another, like it's just a reunion of some sorts, instead of a giant, free-for-all manhunt. Weird, huh?
     When the Hunger Games finally come to a start, Peeta and Katniss team up with former victors Beetee and Wirus. They hope that these two will give them the best chance of winning because of their smarts, but they know that's probably not likely. Later, the group is joined by pretty-boy Finnick Odair, and then Johanna Mason, who Katniss dislikes. They survive the jungle like arena, discovering more and more secrets about this years Quell every day. They survive day after day, catastrophe after catastrophe, until Beetee blows the whole place sky-high with his wire and some help from mother nature. (A lightning bolt hits the tree the wire was tied to.) This was all part of a plan to escape from the arena and rebel against the Capitol, but it went horribly wrong. The blast injured many people, and triggered the start to the rebellion.
    As I said, this book is not nearly as good as the other two in the series. This book is boring until Katniss and Peeta are chosen to go into the Hunger Games for the second time. After that point it gets good, good enough to not make you want to put it down until it's finished. All in all, I liked it, but I would definitely change things. B-