Helpful Score: 1
WARNING: Spoilers if you have not read the first book!
Fans of The Hunger Games--and come on, who isn't a fan?--will not be disappointed by this stellar sequel. Suzanne Collins once again writes a novel that's full of action, suspense, political intrigue, and innovation. Such a highly hyped book does indeed suffer a bit from overly high expectations, but on the whole I was very satisfied with Catching Fire.
One of my favorite things from The Hunger Games was Katniss--specifically, her incredible resourcefulness, inventiveness, and anti-heroine vibe. In Catching Fire, Katniss (or, should I say, Suzanne Collins, since she's the one who comes up with these ideas) continues to display brilliance at coming up with schemes to get out of snafus. I love female protagonists who are cleverer than me, and Katniss certainly doesn't disappoint.
I did find Katniss' consistently low self-esteem to be frustrating, though. Katniss is an inherently selfish person, and she recognizes it. While most citizens of Panem and even most readers of Catching Fire are on her side, it's not really because she's the most delightful character ever. Katniss makes it a point to constantly remind us that she is unworthy of her position as a symbol of rebellion, unworthy of Peeta, unworthy of life. For a character to have a modest outlook on him- or herself is one thing; for him or her to constantly put him/herself down to the point where we readers have no choice but to agree that yes, you are an unlikely protagonist and should really be dead, is another.
As I mentioned earlier, Suzanne Collins is a plotting genius. It's nothing as complex as J. K. Rowling's world, of course, but you can definitely tell that a lot of time was spent on it, and important clues built in that neither Katniss nor we may immediately understand, but we definitely take note of. Ending each chapter on a cliffhanger may seem like a bestselling writer's tool, but there is plenty in between the beginning and end of each chapter to draw our attention away from the slightly amateurish tricks. I also found the pacing to be rather uneven, the beginning a little slow and the ending rushed.
Since this is far from an actual review--more like a rant/rave in the form of a discussion--I'm not going to come up with fanciful phrases to promote this book. You've either read The Hunger Games, or you have not. If you have, you'll most likely love Catching Fire. If you haven't, then you are sorely missing out, and should pick up a copy immediately.
Fans of The Hunger Games--and come on, who isn't a fan?--will not be disappointed by this stellar sequel. Suzanne Collins once again writes a novel that's full of action, suspense, political intrigue, and innovation. Such a highly hyped book does indeed suffer a bit from overly high expectations, but on the whole I was very satisfied with Catching Fire.
One of my favorite things from The Hunger Games was Katniss--specifically, her incredible resourcefulness, inventiveness, and anti-heroine vibe. In Catching Fire, Katniss (or, should I say, Suzanne Collins, since she's the one who comes up with these ideas) continues to display brilliance at coming up with schemes to get out of snafus. I love female protagonists who are cleverer than me, and Katniss certainly doesn't disappoint.
I did find Katniss' consistently low self-esteem to be frustrating, though. Katniss is an inherently selfish person, and she recognizes it. While most citizens of Panem and even most readers of Catching Fire are on her side, it's not really because she's the most delightful character ever. Katniss makes it a point to constantly remind us that she is unworthy of her position as a symbol of rebellion, unworthy of Peeta, unworthy of life. For a character to have a modest outlook on him- or herself is one thing; for him or her to constantly put him/herself down to the point where we readers have no choice but to agree that yes, you are an unlikely protagonist and should really be dead, is another.
As I mentioned earlier, Suzanne Collins is a plotting genius. It's nothing as complex as J. K. Rowling's world, of course, but you can definitely tell that a lot of time was spent on it, and important clues built in that neither Katniss nor we may immediately understand, but we definitely take note of. Ending each chapter on a cliffhanger may seem like a bestselling writer's tool, but there is plenty in between the beginning and end of each chapter to draw our attention away from the slightly amateurish tricks. I also found the pacing to be rather uneven, the beginning a little slow and the ending rushed.
Since this is far from an actual review--more like a rant/rave in the form of a discussion--I'm not going to come up with fanciful phrases to promote this book. You've either read The Hunger Games, or you have not. If you have, you'll most likely love Catching Fire. If you haven't, then you are sorely missing out, and should pick up a copy immediately.
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