This is probably my least favorite of the three Hunger Games novels, but even so it weaves a pretty good tale. Catching Fire picks up a few weeks after the first book left off, on the brink of Katniss and Peeta's victory tour. They must go into all 12 districts and play the hero and heroine, while also continuing to pretend they are in love, while also walking a fine line between caution and defiance. After all, they wouldn't want to start a revolution, would they?
My problem with this book, and it's really only an issue for the first third or so of the narrative, is that Suzanne Collins spends way too much time reminding us exactly what happened in the previous book. Katniss' reminiscing doesn't feel organic to the plot, it feels forced, with the information dropped in awkwardly, telling us about events that, so long as we actually read the first book, I don't think any of us have forgotten during the intervening time. She also re-outlines the supposed love triangle with Peeta, Gale, and Katniss, clearly intending to beat it into our skulls as a significant plot point. However, I just don't feel that Gale was ever present enough (physically or emotionally for Katniss) in the first novel to really feel like a contender when Catching Fire begins. And yes, Katniss continues to insist that she doesn't really love Peeta, that it's all for show, but I think it's clear to the reader that parts of it are real, even if it isn't clear to the characters yet. I think this book (and the series as a whole) could have easily done without the love triangle plot, because for me I never considered it a triangle at all. Katniss loves Gale, certainly, but not in the way she thinks, the way she maybe thinks she should, given that they've known each other so long and have always had each other's backs. Even in her most torn moments, her supposed desire for Gale feels like something she's forcing herself to believe in, rather than something she actually, ultimately feels. And I think this book could have been every bit as intriguing and impactful if this plot line simply consisted of Katniss trying to sift through her feelings toward Peeta, with Gale firmly cemented as the friend and compatriot that he is.
Just in case you've gotten lost in perhaps too much analysis of a love story between teenagers, there is an actual plot taking place amid all the feelings, and a complex one at that. President Snow, the current ruler of Panem, believes that Katniss' actions at the end of the Hunger Games tournament were intended as a rebellion, intended to spark a revolution. And indeed murmurings of revolution follow Katniss and company wherever they go, almost regardless of what she does to try and suppress them. What's more is the rebels are using Katniss as a representative, a symbol of their building revolution. The government struggles to keep Katniss from fueling the flames, and eventually come up with a solution: another Hunger Games, this one consisting solely of previous competitors. Given that Katniss and Peeta are 2 of the 3 victors from District 12, they face the inevitable horror of reliving their experience all over again.
Katniss has one objective in the arena this time around, and it isn't her survival, it's Peeta's. She knows that she will be killed, that she is not the right person to give a voice to the growing rebellion in the districts, but Peeta has a quality about him, a sense of what to do and say, that will make him an impressive leader. The second tournament is deliberately more terrifying than the first, and the stakes are steeply increased by Katniss' need to preserve Peeta's life. In the midst of peril coming literally from all sides, thing are turned upside down by a series of unexpected twists that result in Peeta's capture by the government and the beginnings of all-out revolution in the districts.
This book, especially compared with its predecessor and successor, definitely takes time to find its bearings, but when it does, really gives the reader a sense of the urgency and the danger of what is and what might be happening. There are few characters who can be trusted beyond the shadow of a doubt, and neither Katniss nor the reader can discern which ones they might be, if there are any at all. If the first Hunger Games book wasn't enough to persuade you that this is story is hardly kids' stuff, Catching Fire surely will. With all the lives at stake and all the potential for disaster at every turn, it can be nearly impossible at times to believe that the outcome rests almost entirely on the shoulders of a few teenagers. The second installment in the series provides a strong hinge between the build of the first novel and the impending conclusion of the third, leaving you ready to see how it all will end.
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