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A review by tsunilyra
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
"Katniss, there is no district twelve."
"A sequel that's even better than the first." That was one of the reviews I read for this book before starting it and to be honest...at first I didn't see it. It was logical, sure why Katniss and Peter needed to pretend to be in love to survive but it seemed like such a stretched way to sell the series that I initially wasn't fond of it.
But, after finishing the book and looking at the way it brought us to the ending its harder to believe the book even started here. Actually, the most impressive thing is that Katniss by the end of the book feels like a brand new person for the second time in two books. In two books she goes from an almost stoic teenager forced to grow in order to survive to the face of a rebellion she barely understands.
She no longer has to think to kill, the sad reality is that Gale was right. It is no different than hunting Game and by the second games its pretty evident she has little trouble with the concept of killing. She's made peace with the fact that to protect what she needs to, killing is a must. Especially for a girl thats both the face of a rebellion and the target of the Capitol.
But Katniss never really tries to openly rebel for the sake of inspiration nor does she attempt to lead a war on the capital. She flirts with the idea at one point but fools no one, not even herself. Instead she rebels for the sake of her own life, a decision that snowballs the story to where we are now.
The hunger games, in my opinion does a great job of sowing the seeds of an uprising. It doesn't happen in one speech, it doesn't happen over night, it bubbles and bubbles until it erupts. Looking back on the start of the book, and the book before its easy to see how each decision compounded. So much so that the arena collapsing feels like a reward for all the small acts of rebellion until this point.
Suzanne manages to make you wonder "what happens next?" more and more as the book progresses. And no answer to that question truly feels predictable or olot armoured. Katniss is saved and rescued but at the cost of the others captured. Not because shes the protagonist but because shes the symbol of hope. By the end of the book she has become the embodiment of the Mockingjay which is probably why the next book is named as such.
But even after all of this she's still Katniss. She's still a teenager and the rebellion is bigger than one person. Being the face of it isn't as important as her loved ones. The moment she wakes up all she can think of is a way to die and get Peeta out of all of this. A stark contrast from the first book, living for those you love suddenly starts feeling like dying is the only way. The Capitol, President Snow in all his twisted ways has broken your chance at living out your life. Leading you to hoping to throw your life away for one small victory...until he takes that away as well.
A continous theme in this book is the persistent mounting of hopelessness. The capitol is one step ahead, our heroes always lose twice as much as they win. Suzanne does a wonderful job of making you feel suffocated in what the options are left for the heroes the longer things go. But what keeps you going is that they never give in to despair, they keep surviving or in some ways, outsmarting the capital and naturally you root for them. So much so that once Katniss fires the arrow that shuts it all down you're left confused, worried yet elated. But once again, for the biggest victory the rebellion could have it came at a cost we only eluded to since the start of the book. District 13, for their rebellion...were wiped off the map, and now, so has district 12...
For all of the wonderful character writing, Suzanne has written so far. She's managed to utilize every tool available to make the lack of safety experienced by everyone 'on page' come to life for the reader. That can only make for an engaging experience.
RIP Cinna
"A sequel that's even better than the first." That was one of the reviews I read for this book before starting it and to be honest...at first I didn't see it. It was logical, sure why Katniss and Peter needed to pretend to be in love to survive but it seemed like such a stretched way to sell the series that I initially wasn't fond of it.
But, after finishing the book and looking at the way it brought us to the ending its harder to believe the book even started here. Actually, the most impressive thing is that Katniss by the end of the book feels like a brand new person for the second time in two books. In two books she goes from an almost stoic teenager forced to grow in order to survive to the face of a rebellion she barely understands.
She no longer has to think to kill, the sad reality is that Gale was right. It is no different than hunting Game and by the second games its pretty evident she has little trouble with the concept of killing. She's made peace with the fact that to protect what she needs to, killing is a must. Especially for a girl thats both the face of a rebellion and the target of the Capitol.
But Katniss never really tries to openly rebel for the sake of inspiration nor does she attempt to lead a war on the capital. She flirts with the idea at one point but fools no one, not even herself. Instead she rebels for the sake of her own life, a decision that snowballs the story to where we are now.
The hunger games, in my opinion does a great job of sowing the seeds of an uprising. It doesn't happen in one speech, it doesn't happen over night, it bubbles and bubbles until it erupts. Looking back on the start of the book, and the book before its easy to see how each decision compounded. So much so that the arena collapsing feels like a reward for all the small acts of rebellion until this point.
Suzanne manages to make you wonder "what happens next?" more and more as the book progresses. And no answer to that question truly feels predictable or olot armoured. Katniss is saved and rescued but at the cost of the others captured. Not because shes the protagonist but because shes the symbol of hope. By the end of the book she has become the embodiment of the Mockingjay which is probably why the next book is named as such.
But even after all of this she's still Katniss. She's still a teenager and the rebellion is bigger than one person. Being the face of it isn't as important as her loved ones. The moment she wakes up all she can think of is a way to die and get Peeta out of all of this. A stark contrast from the first book, living for those you love suddenly starts feeling like dying is the only way. The Capitol, President Snow in all his twisted ways has broken your chance at living out your life. Leading you to hoping to throw your life away for one small victory...until he takes that away as well.
A continous theme in this book is the persistent mounting of hopelessness. The capitol is one step ahead, our heroes always lose twice as much as they win. Suzanne does a wonderful job of making you feel suffocated in what the options are left for the heroes the longer things go. But what keeps you going is that they never give in to despair, they keep surviving or in some ways, outsmarting the capital and naturally you root for them. So much so that once Katniss fires the arrow that shuts it all down you're left confused, worried yet elated. But once again, for the biggest victory the rebellion could have it came at a cost we only eluded to since the start of the book. District 13, for their rebellion...were wiped off the map, and now, so has district 12...
For all of the wonderful character writing, Suzanne has written so far. She's managed to utilize every tool available to make the lack of safety experienced by everyone 'on page' come to life for the reader. That can only make for an engaging experience.
RIP Cinna
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Alcohol