Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic Press. 2009.
Reason, Type & Setting:
I decided to read Catching Fire because I found the previous book in the series, The Hunger Games, very interesting and compelling. I actually am not the biggest the fan of reading but I couldn’t put this one down. This book was adventurous, action packed and even a little mysterious, all things I love in a good novel. The setting takes place in what seems to be North America, only more futuristic.
Plot:
The Hunger Games is the main focus throughout this book, but as drama boils between the characters they start to notice what really matters. The Hunger Games is an event that reminds me of a futuristic Coliseum battle. There are 12 districts in the country of Panem. There are two people chosen from each district, a boy and a girl, to compete in the hunger games. Without a choice each competitor is taken from their small town and brought into the Capitol where the rich and snobby people live. From there they are treated like royalty and trained to fight. In the previous book of the series, The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the hunger games by threatening to consume poisonous berries simultaneously, making neither on them a victor. Considering there is supposed to be one winner, and one winner only, the government wasn’t pleased. From then on Katniss has been under their watch. This rebellious act has gotten the towns people riled up and there seems to be a loss of control from the Capitol. Any surviving competitors from previous hunger games should never have to enter the arena again but in spite, the government of the Capitol had decided to make Katniss and Peeta fight amongst 22 other victors from previous hunger games, making for the best battle yet.
Character:
Katniss Everdeen plays the main character throughout this book and the series. She is probably 18 or 19 and yet so young, she is so mature. She is athletic and well experienced in hunting, fighting and surviving, all necessary to live the life she has. Katniss plays the role of a previous hunger games victor and one that has been well noticed, considering she is the only one to stand up against the Capitol. I choose this character because she is the main character and has an extensive depth in personality. In the first book you see how she really cares for her family, especially her little sister and that nothing will get in her way of protecting them. And now you see how she is devoted to keeping Peeta alive because she feels she is in debt with her life. Katniss interests me because she is basically a badass, she can fight, hunt and is portrayed as attractive. Katniss has really discovered herself because all that she has been through. From a twenty two person death match to deciding which boy to love, to risking her life for one of them.
Evaluation:
I really enjoyed this book because it always had something adventurous or action packed going on, there wasn’t much “down time”. This is one of the few styles of books I can really enjoy. From this book I learned that family will always be there for you but you can’t guarantee that for friends, so don’t ever leave them behind. I would definitely recommend this book to others because it is a fairly easy read and theres no way you can’t enjoy it.
This book could very easily represent the future considering this sort of thing happened in the past with the Coliseum and history does repeat itself. It also relates to our government and how they are very controlling of us and we need to stand up for ourselves. I would recommend this book to others so they could see how this represents our standards of living and be enlightened on how cruel the government can be.
If I was placed into this book as Katniss Everdeen, I’m not exactly sure how I would handle this situation. I would definitely be scared for my life. I feel besides becoming romantically involved with both Peeta and Gale, she handled the situation as best as she could. Showing she isn’t easily pushed around, but does have a soft side.
Author, Context and Trivia:
Suzanne Collins had written her fair share of books, her most popular books being The Hunger Games Trilogy and The Underland Chronicles. I don’t know much about the author and I have only read one other book by her, The Hunger Games, but from what I can tell she is a decent author and some of her books were popular enough to be produced into a movie. A similar series of books I’ve read was the Alex Rider series, this was a while back but these books had the same action, adventure style that I prefer. I do plan on reading the next book in this series, Mockingjay.
Reason, Type & Setting:
I decided to read Catching Fire because I found the previous book in the series, The Hunger Games, very interesting and compelling. I actually am not the biggest the fan of reading but I couldn’t put this one down. This book was adventurous, action packed and even a little mysterious, all things I love in a good novel. The setting takes place in what seems to be North America, only more futuristic.
Plot:
The Hunger Games is the main focus throughout this book, but as drama boils between the characters they start to notice what really matters. The Hunger Games is an event that reminds me of a futuristic Coliseum battle. There are 12 districts in the country of Panem. There are two people chosen from each district, a boy and a girl, to compete in the hunger games. Without a choice each competitor is taken from their small town and brought into the Capitol where the rich and snobby people live. From there they are treated like royalty and trained to fight. In the previous book of the series, The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the hunger games by threatening to consume poisonous berries simultaneously, making neither on them a victor. Considering there is supposed to be one winner, and one winner only, the government wasn’t pleased. From then on Katniss has been under their watch. This rebellious act has gotten the towns people riled up and there seems to be a loss of control from the Capitol. Any surviving competitors from previous hunger games should never have to enter the arena again but in spite, the government of the Capitol had decided to make Katniss and Peeta fight amongst 22 other victors from previous hunger games, making for the best battle yet.
Character:
Katniss Everdeen plays the main character throughout this book and the series. She is probably 18 or 19 and yet so young, she is so mature. She is athletic and well experienced in hunting, fighting and surviving, all necessary to live the life she has. Katniss plays the role of a previous hunger games victor and one that has been well noticed, considering she is the only one to stand up against the Capitol. I choose this character because she is the main character and has an extensive depth in personality. In the first book you see how she really cares for her family, especially her little sister and that nothing will get in her way of protecting them. And now you see how she is devoted to keeping Peeta alive because she feels she is in debt with her life. Katniss interests me because she is basically a badass, she can fight, hunt and is portrayed as attractive. Katniss has really discovered herself because all that she has been through. From a twenty two person death match to deciding which boy to love, to risking her life for one of them.
Evaluation:
I really enjoyed this book because it always had something adventurous or action packed going on, there wasn’t much “down time”. This is one of the few styles of books I can really enjoy. From this book I learned that family will always be there for you but you can’t guarantee that for friends, so don’t ever leave them behind. I would definitely recommend this book to others because it is a fairly easy read and theres no way you can’t enjoy it.
This book could very easily represent the future considering this sort of thing happened in the past with the Coliseum and history does repeat itself. It also relates to our government and how they are very controlling of us and we need to stand up for ourselves. I would recommend this book to others so they could see how this represents our standards of living and be enlightened on how cruel the government can be.
If I was placed into this book as Katniss Everdeen, I’m not exactly sure how I would handle this situation. I would definitely be scared for my life. I feel besides becoming romantically involved with both Peeta and Gale, she handled the situation as best as she could. Showing she isn’t easily pushed around, but does have a soft side.
Author, Context and Trivia:
Suzanne Collins had written her fair share of books, her most popular books being The Hunger Games Trilogy and The Underland Chronicles. I don’t know much about the author and I have only read one other book by her, The Hunger Games, but from what I can tell she is a decent author and some of her books were popular enough to be produced into a movie. A similar series of books I’ve read was the Alex Rider series, this was a while back but these books had the same action, adventure style that I prefer. I do plan on reading the next book in this series, Mockingjay.