Sunday Salon: Review of Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins and news on Book Three in The Hunger Games Series

Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  I recently read and reviewed The Hunger Games (read my review, here) and was anxious to read Catching Fire. This book picks up where the Hunger Games left off but I found that it wasn't as engrossing and compelling as The Hunger Games. I know that some fans will disagree but for me, this book didn't have the excitement and draw that The Hunger Games had for me. I found the beginning slow and didn't like that the story of Peeta and Katniss's return to District 12 was told as a flashback through Katniss's eyes.

I wanted to know exactly what happened when she returned and what Gayles reaction was immediately to her and Peeta's declaration of love in the hunger games. The way the story is told was disapointing to me and I felt more disconnected from the characters as a reader. The story does pick up as things drastically change in the next Hunger Games as unrest and uprisings continue in the districts. This book is more focused on the policital unrest and Katniss's love triangle between Peeta and Gale. Although, this book definitely focused more on Peeta, I would have liked more dialogue and contact between Gale and Katniss.  With that said, I liked the book but not as much as The Hunger Games. I found it lacking that spark of excitement that I had when reading The Hunger Games and the ending leaves you hanging. With that said, I think that in this series the first book and the last will probably be the better ones of the series as they have so much to explore to set the story and then to end the story.

We all have to wait until August to read the final book of The Hunger Games and Scholastic has just announced what the title is what the cover art will look like for book three:

The third and final book will be called Mockingjay

I have a feeling that there is a connection to the other three covers as the colors must have some significance to the story as well as the Mockingjay is pictured in each cover in a different way. Here are all three books lined up together: