Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins [Book Review]

Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: September 1, 2009

Sparks are igniting.Flames are spreading.And the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel in the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before...and surprising readers at every turn.

I feel like the world loves this series, but as we have discussed before my love was slow to build and was only recently realized.

In this second installment I felt the characters come alive on a different level than they previously expressed in the first book. Katniss is much more aware of the responsibilities and the repercussions of her actions which gives good insight into the undercover world they live in.

The stakes are higher in this installment, and I read it not seeing a way out.

I enjoyed Collins' small hints throughout the book which lead to the final reveal. I found it fun to go back and think of the small hints and the build up with this one.

Katniss and Peeta's chemistry was every bit as wonderful for me, which brings me to one of the most important aspect of their relationship for me: I love their slowness. I love the fact that we don't have pages of make out sessions, and all kinds of perfection and happiness to sort through.

I know it sounds odd, but I love that things with them are rough. I love that Katniss battles with her emotions, and I love that Peeta is a steady rock, but not an overbearing one.

They live in a high stakes world, and I appreciate that their relationship takes a back burner, and I love how this second book doesn't over power the need for love.

Ultimately, The Hunger Games are becoming (one of) my favorite series and I'm still OBSESSED.

What about you guys, does Catching Fire hold all of the wonderful that The Hunger Games does for you? I know I have heard that the pacing throws some people off, but I appreciated it for its slow build.