Scott Couey

Katniss Everdeen is the “girl on fire.”

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, picks up right where The Hunger Games left off with Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark as they take part in the Victor Tour of the Districts. While on the tour, Katniss discovers what appears to be an uprising in some of the districts and unbeknownst to her she is the cause of this rebellion. When she and Peeta eventually make it back home to District 12 they find that the Peacekeepers have taken over and have basically stripped everyone of their freedom and have threatened or even killed numerous citizens. Katniss feels horrible that all of this was caused by her actions so she makes a plan to escape while she is in the woods one day.

Through her trip in the woods, Katniss meets two runaway girls from District 8 who tell her of a secret District 13 that is a peaceful place where they hope their troubles will end. When she gets back from the woods, she discovers that the “Quarter Quell” (a special event that occurs every 25 years) takes place for the Hunger Games this year. Each “Quarter Quell” has a unique twist to it (ex. the year Haymitch Abernathy won they had twice as many participants) and this year is no different – the participants are selected from the surviving victors of past Hunger Games. Since Katniss is the only female surviving victor from District 12 she is forced to participate and Haymitch is selected as the male tribute, but Peeta volunteers in his place.

Peeta throws additional plot twists in the mix at the interview process with television host Caesar Flickerman (I won’t spoil the surprises). During the games Katniss and Peeta form an alliance with several previous victors including pretty boy, Finnick Odair and sarcastic cynic, Johanna Mason. Wiress, an older former victor helps the group discover something about the playing field they are able to use to their advantage. Another major plot twists happens at the end so their is never a dull moment from the first page to the end.

I really enjoyed Catching Fire as much as The Hunger Games. The movie version of the first book was a little disappointing, but here’s hoping that the sequel will be worth the wait – November 22, 2013 can’t get here soon enough!

Photo Credit: By Wikipedia.org