🟩 Catching Fire (2009) Review - Didn't We Do This Already? | Book Waffle

Catching Fire (2009) written by Suzanne Collins

So Suzanne has gobbled us up and shat us back into the Hunger Games. Teens are dying left, right, and center with a violent frequency that would make Freddy Krueger blush.

Wait. No. It's adults this time. 

I volunteer the Millennial generation as tributes!

...Please?

Catching Fire follows District 12 victor Katniss Everdeen. A year after her victory in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, the seeds of rebellion have been sown within the districts. Resident bland AF baddie President Snow approaches Katniss and conspires with her to limit these dissidents and reinforce the status quo. 

Snow hatches a plan. He tasks Katniss with acting crazy. Crazy in love! <3 

He tells her to act so madly in love with fellow victor Peeta Mellark that she dazzles the Districts. She's just a poor, love-struck girl who didn't know wtf she was doing when she gave the Capitol the middle finger at the end of the last book.

It's a terrible plan. A stupid plan. Especially considering homegirl has the emotional range of a pile of bricks. Unsurprisingly, she fails the assignment.

Caught between her status as a symbol for the rebellion and her desire to protect her family and friends, Katniss awaits President Snow's punishment for not being handsy enough with Peeta. Gotta ratchet up that PDA for next time. Earn that PG-13 rating for the movies!

When I first read this book back in 2010, I was unimpressed. I found the start good, but the games aspect of the eponymous Hunger Games series had gotten old. Repetitive. 

Things were better this time around, though, and I can confidently say that I enjoyed this sequel to the famed Hunger Games.

While Suzanne Collins's expository style is beginning to wear out its welcome, it remains snappy. Things move fast. There is always another challenge on the horizon to keep the momentum of the story moving forward at a good pace.

Old faces make welcome reappearances. New characters add a nice dash of spice, and they integrate well into the cast with their unique, often clashing personalities. 

Maybe this is the result of ditching the teens and having a more mature tone? Like Harry Potter's Goblet of Fire moment. Gone are the snarky 13-year-olds. It's time to bring in the granny and IT expert.

The greatest weakness is the repetitiveness. This was also my biggest stumbling block back when I first read the story. While I can appreciate the hefty amount of content that isn't recycled, there remains quite a lot that is. And I don't just mean from the previous book.

I lost track of how many times I was told Johanna Mason won her games by acting weak and innocent at first. It must have been at least three. 

There are a couple character inconsistencies. Katniss will think one way, then 20k words later, she will express the opposite for no apparent reason. Zero growth or realization in between. Feels like an editing error.

There is also copious amounts of re-explaining in the first act. Or, you know, the entire premise of being thrown into the Hunger Games once again. It feels a bit tiring, no? Like, haven't we gone through this all before?

And yet the moments of brilliance still shine as bright as ever.

Real rebels don't put a secret symbol on something as durable as jewelry. They put it on a wafer of bread that can be eaten in a second if necessary.

Hmm. Some valuable commentary to be applied to modern social movements, methinks.

All in all, a worthy sequel. Just don't expect many original twists.

🟩 Rating: 8/10