Discuss Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

[Mary @ The Sweet Bookshelf]

Hiya! I've just finished Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the second book in The Hunger Games Trilogy! It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!

This book NEEDS to be discussed! It is full of political intrigue, adventure, and love! What's not to like?

There will be spoilers in this discussion. I want to know what YOU thought about Catching Fire!

What did you all like about it?
What were you upset by?
Team Peeta or Team Gale?
What do you think of the Capitol?
Who is your favorite character?

Just tell me your thoughts!

Mary
The Sweet Bookshelf

[Mary @ The Sweet Bookshelf]

My favorite characters are: Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch! I really love Haymitch, I always knew he was more than a drunkard! The books ending made it all clear that he is!

The Capitol really does scare me. This book is very much reality TV, and if you think about how obsessed our culture is with it right now, could we watching something like The Hunger Games actually happening?

I'm such a Team Peeta fan! He is everything a boy ought to be. In Catching Fire he proves to be as constant as ever. Which I love. The Beach scene is my favorite, and also when Katniss comes from the woods to see the Peacemakers in her home...and she has a broken heel! Peeta is as sweet as ever! LOVE HIM!

I never thought I would enjoy a book with political intrigue, yet I enjoy it so much. It is so full of questions that I will be sure looking for meaning in the next 12 months as I am awaiting the 3rd novel. There is so much to this story, so much to discuss! Tell me your thoughts!

[Jessica]

Well, I wasn't sure if Ms. Collins could maintain that amazing start she had in The Hunger Games, but I was impressed. :)
I really like Katniss; she is a strong character who is going through so many changes in her life (and I'm not even talking about the changes that normal teenagers go through) and is in constant danger of people trying to change her (when they're not trying to kill her)--her opinions, her worldview, even the way she looks. But she sticks to what she knows and believes. I love the contrast between the characters; like I said, Katniss is so strong, and many of the people she surrounds herself with--Prim, Rue, Nuts and Bolts, and even Peeta--are not. She has this inate quality to protect the weak even when it means putting herself in danger and that's admirable in real life and in fiction.

The Capitol scares me too. I thought it was interesting to see the way the Capitol is set up. Catching Fire answered many questions and speculations I had after reading the first book. Considering how the Government, or even the media, likes to twist things around in their own way and tries to make us believe certain things, I can definitely imagine something like this happening. Though I'd prefer that it didn't. ;)
What I mean is, in The Hunger Games, the Games are seen as a sort of sport and something to strive for and celebrate so that's the slant it gets in the media--which makes the event even more disturbing, I think.

Team Peeta! He makes me swoon. lol
He's so selfless! I really hope she chooses him... but Gale is a worthy contender for her affections as well. Considering that Katniss doesn't even want a boyfriend, let alone a husband and children who are in danger of joining the games, this is a really tough position for her. I mean, she already has her own family to support.

I think the third book will change everything though. Maybe Katniss will change her mind about wanting a family. Either way, Catching Fire left us on a cliff hanger that really set my nerves on end!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins