Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
borrowed from library
Summary from Goodreads:
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

My take:
As with first book in this series, The Hunger Games, I was completely drawn into the story after only a few pages. Considering that this series is dystopian, we all knew deep inside that Katniss and Peeta weren't going to be left alone to live their lives in peace. But we could hope - for a little while at least.  We find out that the Capitol's control over the districts isn't quite a firm as they would like everyone to believe. And apparently, Katniss's little act of rebellion with the berries during the games has stirred up more defiance than she or anyone in District 12 really knew.

It turns out that this is the year of the Quarter Quell  - everyone thought it was just another hunger games, but no, this year it is just another form of torture for the previous Hunger Games Victors - they will go back into the games. Katniss is pretty sure this choice is aimed directly at her and her rebellion - and maybe it is - or maybe it is an attempt to show all the districts that the Capitol can destroy anyone - even their victors. But there are already uprisings and growing signs of rebellion. Katniss has only one goal - keep Peeta alive. Peeta is determined to keep Katniss alive. And Katniss and Peeta's mentor Haymitch has his own plans.

This book is so good! I could barely put it down. The ending cliffhanger is just cruel to the reader. I am so anxious to read the third book. I hadn't expected the book to go in the direction it did, but now I just want to see how it all plays out. The plans and agreements made with and between the various victors was a surprise, but an intriguing one - one that I am anxious to see to the end.

On another note, I am sensing that I will have to work on a blog post about dystopian books and why we seem to love to read them so much. Are they more popular at certain times? Is there a reason besides randomness that they seem to be everywhere on the shelves these days? What does this say about us? I don't know. I'm thinking.