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raethereviewer's Reviews (864)
Continuing on with my reread of the series, I finished Catching Fire in one afternoon (that somehow turned into 2 am). I truly couldn’t put it down. There were certain quotes and scenes that were stuck in my brain but I’d forgotten the context for them. When I got to those moments, it brought back all the original emotions from 13 years ago and more.
I think disability is handled a lot better in this one than The Hunger Games. The terminology used isn’t harmful and it seems like she put more research into it. There are some inconsistencies in how Peeta’s disability is represented. It only ever seems to come up for plot reasons but I feel like it’s something that needed to be acknowledged more in the Games.
District 11 is described more thoroughly in this one since it’s the first stop on the victory tour and we are expanding on that Rue connection. In The Hunger Games, I thought Suzanne Collins was drawing inspiration from sharecropping but when we get to District 11, it honestly just makes me think of slavery. I have a lot of complicated feelings about this, especially because it seems District 11 as the “Black district” may have been altered in the casting of Sunrise on the Reaping. I don’t have the language quite yet for unpacking this but it’s something I’ll be thinking about more and more as I begin Mockingjay.
Overall, I really enjoyed the pacing of this one. Collins breaks down the events and time frame in a way that is easy to follow but keeps the momentum going. I enjoyed it more than the first book (which is probably also true of my 12-year-old self) and the ending makes me excited to go back into the world of Mockingjay.
I think disability is handled a lot better in this one than The Hunger Games. The terminology used isn’t harmful and it seems like she put more research into it. There are some inconsistencies in how Peeta’s disability is represented. It only ever seems to come up for plot reasons but I feel like it’s something that needed to be acknowledged more in the Games.
District 11 is described more thoroughly in this one since it’s the first stop on the victory tour and we are expanding on that Rue connection. In The Hunger Games, I thought Suzanne Collins was drawing inspiration from sharecropping but when we get to District 11, it honestly just makes me think of slavery. I have a lot of complicated feelings about this, especially because it seems District 11 as the “Black district” may have been altered in the casting of Sunrise on the Reaping. I don’t have the language quite yet for unpacking this but it’s something I’ll be thinking about more and more as I begin Mockingjay.
Overall, I really enjoyed the pacing of this one. Collins breaks down the events and time frame in a way that is easy to follow but keeps the momentum going. I enjoyed it more than the first book (which is probably also true of my 12-year-old self) and the ending makes me excited to go back into the world of Mockingjay.
This is definitely the heaviest of the original trilogy and for good reason. It’s the culmination of everything we’ve been through in the first two books. We lose loved ones, experience war crimes, and suffer the consequences of everyone’s actions. It all comes to a bitter sweet end that doesn’t shy away from the pain we’ve experienced, together.
In terms of disability, I think Mockingjay is by far the best of the trilogy. Showing how acquired disability is a huge part of war and the way the disabled are seen as collateral damage really adds to a lot of the central themes of the novel. We see PTSD represented in various ways through different characters and I think each case is done very well. The only thing that annoys me is that we basically forget about Peeta’s disability entirely in this one. I honestly can’t remember it coming up which is frustrating for me. There were moments where I felt like it should’ve been acknowledged, at the very least.
The term “slave” is thrown around a lot in the context of rising up against the Capitol and the districts no longer being “slaves” which brings into question if slavery is taught about within this society? If so, is it taught formally in schools or whispered about at home? I think it’s something that could’ve been problematized a lot more, especially when thinking about how District 11 has been represented throughout the series.
In terms of disability, I think Mockingjay is by far the best of the trilogy. Showing how acquired disability is a huge part of war and the way the disabled are seen as collateral damage really adds to a lot of the central themes of the novel. We see PTSD represented in various ways through different characters and I think each case is done very well. The only thing that annoys me is that we basically forget about Peeta’s disability entirely in this one. I honestly can’t remember it coming up which is frustrating for me. There were moments where I felt like it should’ve been acknowledged, at the very least.
The term “slave” is thrown around a lot in the context of rising up against the Capitol and the districts no longer being “slaves” which brings into question if slavery is taught about within this society? If so, is it taught formally in schools or whispered about at home? I think it’s something that could’ve been problematized a lot more, especially when thinking about how District 11 has been represented throughout the series.