Review of Catching Fire (Book)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

The book picks up about 6 months after the ending of The Hunger Games. Katniss and Peeta, now Vitctors, must relive their time in the arena by doing a Victory tour of Panem. As a reminder of the hunger games, the previous victor travels to each district to celebrate their winning. Before going on this tour, Katniss is confronted by President Snow. While Snow was mentioned in the first book, this is the first time Katniss comes face-to-face with the serpent-like leader of Panem. She describes him as smelling like blood and roses, the latter attributed to the rose in his square pocket. President Snow is a bigger presence instilling fear into Katniss, which drives her decisions throughout the book. By bringing these two characters to a head, the book gives the Capitol a face to vilify.

The book shows it's YA (Young Adult) genre by having Katniss confused about her emotions and feelings for both Gale and Peeta. But the book does a good job at not making “a boy” the primary motivations for her decisions. She tells Gale that she can't think about him (or Peeta) in a romantic way with everything going on around her. Meanwhile, Peeta tries to deal with his feelings for Katniss by being just friends, something that ultimately endears him to her. The character of Gale is more present in this book, showing the separation of friendship between two characters that are grasping to maintain their old way of life. This is where Gale starts to get more involved in standing up against the Capitol, with a differing philosophy than Katniss, something that slowly drives a wedge between the two.

What Collins does in this book is solidify Katniss' realization that she has changed everything and there is no going back to her old life. After finding out that she will be going back into the hunger games, she has to make a choice, and that is to protect Peeta, at all costs. A sign that she really does love and care for him. One of the standouts of this book are the new characters that it introduces. We get a few characters that move on to the next book, mainly Finnick Odair, Johanna Mason and Beetee. Three past victors that ally with Katniss in the arena as part of the rebellion. Finnick is one of my favorite characters from this trilogy and he's introduced here as charismatic and beloved by the Capitol.

One thing I love about this book is that it opens up the world of Panem to the reader, providing more details about the districts and their victors. With the introduction of the Quarter Quell, Collins gives details about the past Hunger Games Quarter Quells, as well as some of the previous victors and how they won their games. We learn that Haymitch is the victor of the 2^nd Quarter Quell, and we find out how he won the games and what he went through. It provides some context into who Haymitch is as a person, and why he drinks alcohol.

The narrative structure doesn't flow as well as the first book, due to inserting various scenes and information about the other districts, the Capitol and past victors. A lot of time is spent on expanding the world, which immerses the reader, but sacrifices the flow of the story. There is also more time spent in District 12 showing Katniss', Peeta and Haymitch's life after the ending of the first book. While these details are great it slows the pace of the story. The book also feels divided in two, with the first half, taking place mostly in District 12 and the second half in the arena. The story takes place over months which makes the 391 page book feel longer.

When I first read The Hunger Games trilogy, I loved Catching Fire and it was my favorite of the three. Upon revisiting the trilogy, I have come to enjoy the simplistic narrative structure of the first book more than the world building done in the second book. While there is much to love about Catching Fire, I think there are some extraneous details that are noticeable on a second reading, especially knowing where Katniss' journey ends.