young adult book review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

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Catching Fire is the sequel (and second in a trilogy) to The Hunger Games, which I liked, but I didn't love. After reading Catching Fire, I like The Hunger Games more. I won't spoil The Hunger Games for you if you haven't read it (and if you haven't, you really should.) The things that bothered me in the first book (the half-hearted romance and the lack of depth and a greater message) were my favorite parts of book two. The romance was beautifully written and perfectly placed within the drama instead of as an aside. There is depth and a greater message. If book three continues these trends, it will be an amazing, fully realized trilogy of dystopian literature. Knowing the depth of Catching Fire makes me appreciate what I took as the simplicity of The Hunger Games as the subtleness and groundwork for the trilogy. The restraint Suzanne Collins showed is amazing. The Hunger Games felt like young adult literature, but Catching Fire didn't. Yes, our narrator and heroine is seventeen, but this book should be read by adults too.

It seems fans of this trilogy (book 3 will be out August 24, 2010 - just in time for my birthday!) fall into two camps: those who like The Hunger Games better and those who like Catching Fire better. I am clearly in the second camp. I cannot wait for the still untitled third book.

How much do I love Catching Fire? I gave nomadreaderboy copies of both books as an early Christmas present for train reading.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5 stars)
Pages: 400 pages
Publication date: September 1, 2009
Source: my local public library (but I liked it so much, I bought it too)


Also fun: Fizzy Thought's song for Team Gale.

As an Amazon Associate, I will receive a small commission if you purchase any of these books through my links. Thank you!

Comments

  1. Nicole (Linus's Blanket)December 22, 2009 at 8:26 AM

    Glad you like it! I was one who didn't think I would enjoy this series but have enjoyed it immensely. Can't wait to see how it all wraps up.

    ReplyDelete

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