I just finished Suzanne Collins’s young adult, post-apocalyptic novel “Catching Fire,” the second in the trilogy of “The Hunger Games,” and now I’m officially ready for the movie’s release on Nov. 22. Maybe I should do calisthenics to limber up for it or at least to battle the box office lines. You might recall the first movie raked in $152.5 million on its opening weekend in 2012 (I saw it then), and the second movie should surely smoke at the box office as well.
But what about the second novel? I must admit I thought “Catching Fire” matched up equally well to “The Hunger Games.” Of course there’s a lot of lead-up to what eventually takes place in the novel. You have to wait patiently at points to get to the action, but it all comes down in due time. And of course, at the book’s beginning, the author goes to lengths to remind readers of where things left off at the end of the first one. So there’s a bit of positioning with Book 2 but still it’s a compelling read.
You might recall Peeta and Katniss were co-winners of the very griesly 74th Hunger Games; you would have thought this would have given them a break in “Catching Fire,” but unfortunately not. While on the Hunger Games victory tour, they soon learn they’re targets of President Snow’s Capitol that views their victory as defiant and a symbol of rebellion across the twelve districts.
Snow is determined to make them pay, so he changes the rules announcing that the winners of the past Hunger Games have to face off against each other at the next Games, which is a terrible blow to Katniss and Peeta.
Without giving anything away, the final 100 pages of the book finds Katniss and Peeta back in the arena struggling to be the last ones standing. They have allies and enemies and each has pledged to save the other’s life, but odds are both of them can’t survive this time. So what on Earth is going to happen? You’ll have to check it out yourself if you’re one of the few alive who haven’t already.
Compared to the first book, Book 2 plays out more behind the scenes and involves underlying resistance against the autocratic Capitol’s control, whereas Book 1 was more focused on surviving the Hunger Games competition, which plays out longer and more brutally than in Book 2. Yet “Catching Fire” is just about as suspenseful and it ends with quite a humdinger. It’ll be interesting to see if the movie does it justice; the cast looks to be fantastic and I plan to see it opening weekend. When all is said and done, I’m sure there’ll be a dark shadow cast over Panem, which you won’t want to miss.
I didn’t love the first book the way everyone else did so I’ll probably skip this one. I did see someone reading this book while he was walking down the sidewalk at a local shopping center today and it made me smile.
Ha. A bit hard to read and walk. A good sign
I’m the opposite of Kathy. I loved the first book the way everyone else did. 🙂 However, I thought the series got weaker as it went, but perhaps because I was on the wrong Team, so to speak. That said, I’ll still see all three movies and am looking forward to this second one.
Yeah perhaps Book 2 was a wee tad slower, but I thought it was good as well. I’m psyched for the movie too
My sister and I are going to see Catching Fire this weekend — I’m really excited! I reread the book earlier this year so I remember some details, but will be going into the movie without knowing so much that I’ll be able to compare and be grumpy about changes 🙂
Great Kim. It should be a fun action-packed event! I’m excited too
I’ll probably just catch the movie. Sounds good.
Yeah it should be a spectacle!
I read and liked all these books when they came out, but I haven’t seen the 1st movie. I need to watch it, then go to the theater for this one.
They’re a bit dark to say the least but I guess that’s what the post-apocalypse is like
It’s been a lot time since I read this one, but I remember liking it. I think I liked it more than the first book because of the behind the scenes stuff. My whole family is looking forward to the movie!
Yeah, great Anna, me too. Enjoy!