Catching Fire is book two of The Hunger Games trilogy. If you already read book one then you should already know how the hunger games gos. Only this year it is different. It is the quarter quell, the seventy-fifth hunger games. The quarter quell happens every twenty-five years and there is usually a special twist to make the games more exciting. The previous quarter quell was when district twelve got their first victor, Haymitch. For the celebration of fifty years during the last quarter quell, to make it more interesting they chose one more boy and one more girl to participate in The Hunger Game. This made it so there were now forty-eight tributes making the game significantly more difficult. As the people from all the districts fearfully anticipated what the twist would be this year the hearts of all the victors dropped. THE NEXT PARAGRAPHS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS. 

Only previous winners of The Hunger Games would be drawn from the reaping bowl. Sadly for the victors in District 12 it was obvious who was going back to the games. After only a short year Katniss and Peeta are going back to The Hunger Games. The book continues on and the duo are back on the train again. Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch begin training for the Games, and when the reaping, or tribute selection, happens, Peeta volunteers to go in place of Haymitch. They meet the other tributes that they will be competing with. Most of them having known each other for years, which makes the Games more awful since they still have to kill one another, even if they were previously friends. Katniss immediately dislikes Finnick Odair, the male tribute from District 4, and Johanna Mason, the woman from District 7. She prefers Wiress and Beetee, the smart but physically weak tributes from District 3, and Mags, the eighty-year-old woman from District 4. Haymitch disapproves of her choices in allies but ignores him, nonetheless. The tributes are interviewed on television before they depart for the arena, and President Snow makes Katniss wear a wedding dress. However Cinna, Katniss’s stylist, rigs it, and during the interview, it burns away leaving Katniss in a stunning mockingjay costume. Finally the tributes are sent to the arena, a small tropical island, and the Games begin.  

This is where I'm going to stop for now because you need to grab the book and start reading it! 

Now onto my opinion. Personally I loved Catching Fire even more than the original book. It is action packed and filled with excitement. After something crazy happens another thing will occur soon after making you completely forget about the previously crazy thing. Everything about the book is so exciting and kept me on my toes, making me continue to keep reading it and before I knew it it was over. It also reads like a film and provides lots of imagery bringing the story to life. If you close your eyes and picture the setting Suzanne Collins describes, it is vivid, colorful, futuristic. The costumes the character Cinna designs-wedding gowns turning into smoke and mockingjays-are absolutely riveting! The auditorium where the Hunger Games takes place is full of amazing scenery, forests, and just imagining being there sends a chill up my spine. There are also conflicts on many levels, which makes for the perfect ingredient for drama. There are many conflicts all throughout the novel. For example the conflict between the Capitol and Panem’s ordinary citizens. There’s a conflict between President Snow and Katniss, the main protagonist. There’s a conflict between Peeta, Katniss’s love interest, and Katniss. Peeta’s intention is to keep Katniss alive during the Games, and Katniss’s purpose is to keep Peeta alive. Who wins? Not going to tell you, read to find out! So, overall Catching Fire or, the second book of the Hunger Games trilogy is an amazing book and if you have time, pick up the book and let it carry you into a world of endless possibilities. 

Check out Catching Fire from the Newport Beach Public Library!