As the second book of the widely famous trilogy, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire has
got to be one of the best books I have ever read. Katniss Everdeen, now 17 years old, finds
herself relieved after surviving and winning the 74th Hunger Games, a competition where 24
kids, one boy and one girl from each of the 12 districts, fight to the death on national television.
For the past several decades, victors were left alone after winning. No winners were left
to live their life as before; yes, they were given money and plentiful resources, but no amount of
riches can remove the deep trauma they had gained. Katniss expects to finally have peace, but
a dark turn reveals that a dangerous decision must be made.
It is now one year since the last Hunger Games. Katniss has been trying to forget all the
bad memories, but often wakes up screaming from nightmares. It’s time for the reaping of the
75th Hunger Games. Only this time, it’s going to be a bit different. Every 25 years, there is an
extra spin put on the games; being the 75th, it’s planned that there will be a new twist. While
Snow claims that these “plot twists” were written decades ago, there is suspicion that they’re
tailored to the current year.
“The tributes will be reaped from the existing pool of victors”. Both Peeta and Haymitch
could become the male tribute. However, they both plan on sacrificing themselves and
volunteering for the other. Katniss now hopes that Peeta is chosen so that Haymitch can
volunteer in his place. Since Katniss is the only current female visitor in District 12, she is
guaranteed to be thrown back into the horrid landscape of the Games.
I would consider Catching Fire to be the best book in this amazing trilogy. This book
challenged my emotions and allowed me to dive into the picture that Suzanne Collins was
painting. I would rate this 5 stars and I would highly recommend it to anyone, not only teens,
who want to go on an unbelievable adventure.