Catching Fire

A fantastic sequel to Suzanne Collins "The Hunger Games." I am pretty bummed that I have to wait another year or so to finish off the trilogy.

I am going to skip the synopsis on this one just in case you haven't read the first installment yet.

As with "The Hunger Games", Suzanne Collins delivers. The story keeps getting better, although perhaps the second installment is not quite as striking as the first (for instance, the reader has already been introduced to the Hunger Games, so though variations on the horrific are unexpected, unique, and keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat, the reader has already experienced some desensitization to the way the government of Panem works). Still, the storyline pulls you in completely and continues to evolve in brilliant ways. Collins kept me guessing throughout - I never really saw what was coming, and what she comes up with is generally so much better than the different options I try to play out in my head. Again, a well written and well crafted book. The present tense is engaging and makes the events feel more immediate.

It also continued to engage my mind with ideas about agency, freedom, equality, the list goes on. I favor any story that makes me think seriously about complex ideas and issues that are highly relevant to the human experience. I highly recommend this series.

"In that one slight motion, I see the end of hope, the beginning of destruction of everything I hold dear in the world. I can't guess what form my punishment will take, how wide the net will be cast, but when it is finished there most likely be nothing left. So you would think that at this moment, I would be in utter despair."