How could you not want to pick up the second book in the trilogy?īut this book offers more than just the entertainment value of finding out whether Katniss hearts Peeta or Gale, and learning whether Katniss is going to lead a revolution against the evil Capitol of Panem. The reason you care about Catching Fire is obvious: The Hunger Games ended on a CRAZY cliffhanger. What is Catching Fire About and Why Should I Care? On that note, here's a bit of advice from your friends at Shmoop: buy Mockingjay now, before you even start Catching Fire, because fast as shipping can be, it will seem way to slow when Katniss and Peeta's lives are hanging in the balance. Translation: Be prepared for some intense action, not to mention another cliffhanger ending. With Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins didn't just have to follow up her first book at the same level, she also had to ratchet up the stakes and create even more anticipation for the conclusion of the trilogy, Mockingjay, which came out in 2010. Zevin is right: sequel writing is a fine art, and it's pretty difficult to top a great first book, especially one with the instant popularity and commercial appeal of The Hunger Games. She has written a sequel that improves upon the first book' ( source). In The New York Times, for example, another author, Gabrielle Zevin, wrote, 'I loved it. While the book had its detractors (in her review for Entertainment Weekly, Jennifer Reese gave the book a grade of 'C'), the other glowing reviews it received make it sound pretty darn good. When Catching Fire came out in 2009, it quickly turned out to be a bestseller, just like the first book in the series.

(Yep, that's the 'what could possibly be worse than being a tribute in the Hunger Games' thing we were referring to.) By the middle of the book, their lives are turned upside down all over again. Now we get to find out what happens to people who actually win the Games, and how Katniss and Peeta's lives change forever because of their victory. Catching Fire picks up where the first book left off, which is a good thing, because the ending of The Hunger Games was a serious cliffhanger. If you thought we were going to spoil the second book in the series, think again.

What could possibly be worse than being a tribute in the Hunger Games?

We're right, aren't we? (Yes, Shmoop has been known to have telepathic powers.) That means you'll get it when pose a very important question: We're guessing you've read The Hunger Games.

Catching the fire book