Catching Fire - Book 2 of The Hunger Games, My Thoughts

SPOILER ALERT!   SPOILER ALERT!  SPOILER ALERT!  SPOILER ALERT!

If you haven't read the book yet or don't like to have hints of what is to come, please do not read!


I can't believe how intense this series is and how deep it is.  Poor Katniss goes through so much at such a young age.  Frankly, all of the characters have so much to learn to deal with and live through.  Just when I thought that Katniss and Peeta were safe, I realized that President Snow is twisted, maniacal and sadistic. 

I wondered what was going to happen when President Snow visited Katniss's house before the tour of the districts with Peeta.  I wondered if he was really going to let her off the hook if she was able to "convince" him of her love for Peeta.  But, at the same time, I knew something had to happen since there was another book to read and it couldn't just be about a happy ending for a whole book.  Katniss's description of him smelling like blood just leaves a picture of someone sick to the very core of his being.  

I hate that the Peacemakers were replaced in District 12.  I hate that Darius was turned into an Avox.  That twisted mind putting him on the 12th floor to get to Katniss!  President Snow has a mental knife that he just twists and twists after stabbing in the heart!  I'm convinced that he wrote the card for the Third Quarter Quell reaping and that it wasn't written years ago.  I wonder what the previous president was like and how President Snow got into his position. 

I love what the mockingjay stands for!  I love that the rebels have been underground and planning a revolt for a long time.  I love that District 13 is becoming an ally to the rebels!  Seeing the camaraderie between the Victors before going into the arena was encouraging.  It had me thinking that maybe they wouldn't fight each other in the arena.  But, then I realized, that if they didn't fight, the gamemakers would kill them off.  What kind of a stand would that make?  I wanted to hate Finnick and Johanna, but they turned out to be honorable people. 

As I see it, there is a lot of build up in this book.  It stops at a point that you just don't want to stop!  I wanted to keep reading when I got to the end and couldn't believe that it stopped where it did.  But then again, that's the point of a series, isn't it?  I couldn't continue because I needed to be responsible and take care of a few details of my daily life.  I am anxious to start up again tonight.  I've had friends who've told me they read until 2 am at times.  I believe it, because I actually was reading till 1 am one night.  But because I kept dosing off and refusing to put it down until I couldn't hold my kindle up anymore, I had to re-read two pages the next day.  I'm not sure what exactly Mockingjay holds, but it's got to be intense, considering that District 12 no longer exists.

My Review of The Hunger Games

I finally finished the first book in The Hunger Games Trilogy.  With life not stopping to give me time to read, it took a bit of time for me to finish.  I managed to get about two thirds of the way through the book before taking my oldest and six of her friends to see the movie.  As usual, the book was better, but the movie was pretty good too.  I like the way Katniss's narrative was portrayed through the behind the scenes at the Capitol.  There were some scenes in the book that didn't seem to be present as much in the movie.  But, considering that many times, they just don't have enough time to include all of a book in a movie, I think they stayed fairly true to the book.  There were a few details that were very different from the book and that frustrated the girls.

This poor girl, Katniss has a connection with two different boys that is based on a common life experience with each of them.  A connection that goes very deep in very different areas of her life.  Each boy has very admirable qualities.  They have each stood with her in horrible circumstances brought about by a brutal government. This leads me to say that it seems this series is a romantic political thriller.   At this point, I don't know how I want the story to go.  I can't even imagine where it's going to go, based on what I'm learning about this government and the president.  The government has too much control over it's people.  The president strikes me as sadistic.  It seems like the people who live in the capitol like the way things are.  And then there are the people that live in the "lower" districts that see that the government is too much of a "big brother".

I've been told that once I get going, the books will be hard to put down.  I'm already at that point.  I have to make sure, before I pick up the book to continue reading, that I won't have anything needing my attention before I can set the book down again.  I've found myself re-reading a few sentences when I've been interrupted, because I don't want to miss a detail.  So, if it seems like I'm missing from the blog, I'm not.  I may be engrossed in a book.  I'm sorry if that happens.  But I promise I'll be back to continue my review.

Reading The Hunger Games

You would have to live under a rock if you haven't heard about The Hunger Games yet.  It's the most recent book/movie rage now.  My oldest has read the trilogy and many of her friends have, as well as a few of my friends.  I started reading the first book but had to stop to take care of some real life stuff.  But now I am trying to finish reading.  I've kept my time on Facebook very limited because so many of my friends have seen the movie now.  We've had to wait a bit because we had a scheduling conflict due to responsibilities the kids have in 4-H.  Plus I'm taking a few of oldest's friends with us and some of them had the same responsibilities.

Some of her friends keep telling me to keep reading!  To which, I respond "I want to, but I don't have as much free time as you all do!" And then they laugh.  Hee hee hee.  I read some more last night and need to give a bit of time each day.  Thing is, I know that I will have a hard time putting the book or kindle down once I get going.  And that's the reason I've taken so long since I started.  I'm at the point in the first book where I think the action is going to start in the next chapter.  I'll try to post a review without spoilers when I finish.