CATCHING FIRE

by Suzanne Collins

What it is about

This is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy and continues the story of Katniss and Peeta. The story returns our two protagonists to the arena for yet another round of the hunger games. There is all kinds of political gamesmanship going on, Katniss is a pawn in the Capitol's need to retain control of the Districts. There are more characters in and out of the story and you can just tell the world that Collins has crafted is about to blow but we are left with a cliff hanger that I hope is concluded with Mockingjay (the third book in the series)

What I thought

 In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to say I did not like the first book. The second book is a bit better because the character development is better but... I still found Katniss really annoying. Collins should have created a female character that had more inner strength. I see young teenage women all the time  and they are strong both mentally and physically. Even though Katniss excels at the games she does not exhibit the characteristics that I see in girls everyday.

If you read the first novel, then go ahead and finish the trilogy. If you are not invested in the series there are other series that are better. The Matched Trilogy  by Ally Condie and the Delerium series  by Lauren Oliver are better reads.