Catching Fire

Catching Fire
By: Suzanne Collins

The book Catching Fire is the second book in the Hunger Games series. Compared to the first book, the second is much better. There are three parts in this book; The Spark, The Quell, and The Enemy. The first part I thought started out a little slow with the introducing and recapping of the last book, and there really was not much action. Katniss and Peeta who were the winners of last year’s games were on their victory tour, which is right where the last book left off. Usually there is only one winner of the games, but Katniss, who secretly loves a boy named Gale, plays as if she is madly in love with Peeta, so they let them both win. There are 12 districts, and they have to visit every one on their tour. The reason why the first part is called The Spark is that Katniss has this pin, which is a mockingjay, and it has become a symbol of rebellion against the Capitol. So as a result, the pin has sparked the idea of retaliating against the Capitol.
The second part I think is better than the first part, but there still is not a lot of action. The point of trying to win the games is so that you do not have to participate in them again. The part that surprised me the most is that the Capitol changed the rules and the people who were chosen were all former winners of the games. Since Katniss was the only girl winner from her district, she was bound to go back into the arena. I think this is all part of an evil plan of the president of all the districts to quiet Katniss and quell any talk of rebellion and overthrowing the Capitol. Since Peeta and Katniss are to go back into the arena, there will be no marriage, and this upsets all the people in District 12, but not enough to start a rebellion.
The third part is undoubtedly the best part in the book, because it is all about the tributes in the games. There is killing, weapons, food, poison, and romance. It is so interesting because there is constant action. In order to survive, Katniss and Peeta make an alliance with some of the other people in the games with them. At first, there were four people in Katniss’s alliance but it grew to seven. They figured out that the arena was divided up into 12 sections with each one holding a new danger. If the alliance followed the right path they would be safe from the natural dangers, but the other competitors would not be. There was an electric force field around the arena that was supposedly invisible, but you could see some parts if you looked close. Katniss tied a piece of wire to an arrow and shot it at the force field, and a lightning bolt hit the wire and the dome exploded. This is what I think was the starting point of all the districts actually rebelling. Total chaos followed and Katniss is saved by a hovercraft and sees Gale who tells her that District 12 was blown up. Peeta is taken by the Capitol. The hovercraft is on the way to a secret District 13 where more people will join their rebellion in the next book.
I thought this was a very good book and I am definitely looking forward to reading the last book in the series to see if the Capitol is overthrown.