Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Warning!!! Unless you want the best series of books ever to be completely spoiled for you, I suggest you don't read on. With that said, you should totally read this book...along with The Hunger Games, obviously. Now, Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games series. It's about the same length, and I personally thought it was just as good.

First off I'll talk basically about what happens in it. As you remember, Katniss and Peeta both successfully got out of the arena, being the first ever pair to make it out. However, not without stirring the country and angering president Snow. Catching Fire then begins with them both living in the victors' village, which was one privilege that they actually did get. Later, they start to hear rumours of uprisings in different districts, and even the possibility of a reforming District 13. Long story short, they both have to go back into the arena, they team up with other previous victors; one of which is Finnick. Then it all gets really weird from there.

Yes, I though this book was really well written. The author uses excellent descriptions and settings, and she paces the book really well. Also, it definitely goes into more detail about a lot of other characters, and takes on a lot of new changes; both Katniss and the book. For instance, it really takes a spin when Katniss figures out that she will have to survive in conditions she's not used to, and there are fewer animals for her to hunt in the arena. Reason being, that way you don't just feel like you're rereading The Hunger Games. I thought that was very interesting.

Lastly, I would like to talk about the theme. I feel like the author goes pretty deep into themes and lessons, as most authors do. However, she seems to hide it a little more beneath the surface. Meaning, you have to think about it more, or "dig deeper". For instance, you are totally concentrating on the different turns of events in the story for most of the book. Too busy, in fact, to notice how much her loyalty to Finnick and the others paid off. Yes, she thought about killing Finnick, but it's a good thing she didn't, because it turns out he was on her side for a completely different issue, which was much more important than the games. That was pretty clever of the author.

So, overall I thought this book was spectacular! I give it an easy A. I loved the theme, characterization, plot, and everything else in it. Clearly, I will be reading the next book in this series. And if you haven't read this, read it. There are so many questions and problems that come together in it. It seems to kind of be the informational book in the series, but I still totally enjoyed it. Very good book.