chalkletters 's review for:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

3.0

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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I thought I had a pretty good idea of how Catching Fire was going to go: Katniss and Peeta start training next year's tributes and the bucketloads of PTSD that causes incites them to a more active revolution against the Capitol. I admit, I'd forgotten about the tour they have to do, but I definitely wasn't expecting the twist. As much as I was looking forward to what I thought the book was going to be, it's nice to be delivered something unexpected. 

While it's safe to say that readers who enjoyed The Hunger Games will enjoy Catching Fire, it's not a carbon copy. This second book has different flaws — and different strengths! The style is still broadly the same with the emphasis on action-packed chapters, and Suzanne Collins tackles the same kinds of moral issues as she did in The Hunger Games, amped up to a new level of torment. The visuals continue to be the kind of excellent that makes aphantasics grateful these have been turned into films already.

The emotional weight still isn't handled perfectly, but it's markedly better than it was in The Hunger Games. From time to time, Katniss continues to be obtuse to things that feel obvious to the reader. This is certainly justifiable, and may be intended, but it makes for a frustrating experience to be on the other side of. The lead up to the end of the book is particularly annoying in this regard, though Suzanne Collins does still manage to pack in some surprises.

Suzanne Collins squeezed a LOT of new information and plot twists into Catching Fire which does make me very eager to read the next one (and, after that, to finally allow myself to watch the films!). These books aren't perfect, but I'm enjoying visiting them now that they already have cultural icon status.