Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins – #RereadReview

Catching Fire is brilliant and mind blowing YA Dystopia filled with more twists, bigger stakes, and political depth.

Previous Book in the Series –

The Hunger Games

Synopsis

Sparks are igniting.
Flames are spreading.
And the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol—a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest that she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before . . . and surprising readers at every turn.

Review

I said I didn’t remember the smaller details in The Hunger Games, but that was nothing compared to my experience rereading Catching Fire. I had forgotten entire chunks of the book — and the proof smacked me in the face right from Part One.

Fair warning before we go further — this review will have spoilers.

Part One

I knew Snow made Katniss’ life miserable in this one, but I had completely forgotten just how brutal he was. The swift descent from a little freedom and quiet rebellion in the black market to complete oppression under the new Head Peacekeeper was jarring.

Suddenly, rules no one cared about before were punishable by violence, the black market was destroyed, people were starved on purpose, and all because Katniss couldn’t convince Snow she wasn’t trying to spark an uprising. That whole shift — life going from bad to worse in a single day — was chilling to read. I cried when Gale was whipped. I may not like what he does in Mockingjay, but he didn’t deserve that.

And Katniss? She really tested my patience in this section. For someone I keep saying I’m “Team Katniss” for, she was shockingly self-absorbed. Not intentionally, but her world still revolved around one thing: keeping her mother and Prim safe. Everything else — the rebellion, the districts, even Gale — came second.

When Gale confronted her about running away while he still saw hope in an uprising, she made it clear she would leave everyone else behind if it meant saving Prim. Ouch. It took seeing Gale whipped within an inch of his life for Katniss to have her epiphany and realize her own selfishness. That moment also pushed her to start questioning who she really loved — Gale or Peeta.

Her bond with Gale is stronger, no doubt. Without the Games, they probably would’ve married. But their differences stand out more than ever. Gale is a born rebel, Katniss is someone who’d rather take the safer road where fewer people get hurt. Add in Gale’s all-consuming hatred for the Capitol vs. Katniss’ more nuanced view, and I can’t see them working long-term.

Katniss doesn’t want to lead a rebellion, but she’s not blind either. She knows the Capitol is rotten — she just doesn’t see herself as someone capable of fighting it. But that whipping changes her. For the first time, she stops thinking only about Prim and starts thinking about Rue, about all the other children, about how this cycle will never end unless someone breaks it. That shift in her perspective hit hard.

And Snow? What kind of sinister, sadistic evil does it take to create a man like him? I still can’t wrap my head around how demented he is.

Part Two

This section was amazing. I’d forgotten so many of the other victors, so rediscovering them felt fresh. From the start, the Quarter Quell felt different — no one was happy, no one felt safe, and all that freedom the victors had enjoyed was suddenly yanked away. Snow was playing a dangerous game, and after Katniss and Peeta’s interview stunt, the uprising he feared in the districts was now knocking at his front door.

Cinna’s fate had me on edge, and Peeta’s last-minute “bombshell announcement” was classic Peeta. Saying Katniss was pregnant? Strategically brilliant, emotionally messy. I understood why he did it, but it was one more crushing weight on Katniss’ shoulders when she wasn’t even sure about her feelings for him.

And honestly? The love triangle gave me whiplash here. By the end of Part One she leaned closer to Gale, and suddenly in Part Two she’s back to favoring Peeta. The back-and-forth felt like watching a ping-pong match. It’s the one element I’ve never liked about this series — life is already complicated enough without tossing a love triangle into the fire.

Part Three

And here started adrenaline rush. Katniss’ paranoia about alliances made complete sense. The way everyone seemed to be protecting Peeta more than her was suspicious, and I was right there with her in thinking Haymitch had cut a deal behind her back.

The tension kept building — who would betray who, who would survive, what was the real plan? By the time Beetee’s scheme played out, the whole thing was exhilarating. The betrayal, the twist, Katniss finally connecting the dots with Haymitch’s advice — it was thrilling and heartbreaking at the same time.

And then the ending… wow. Katniss’ breakdown after waking up in District 13 felt raw and painfully realistic. She’s just a teenager — thrown into a political war, betrayed by her mentor, mourning Peeta’s capture, and thrust into a role she never wanted. That ending is devastating and perfectly sets up why Panem needed rebellion, why it needed a symbol, why it needed her.

Overall, While Catching Fire is slower than The Hunger Games, it delivers more twists, bigger stakes, and political depth that makes it unforgettable. I’m still not a fan of the love triangle — it’s the weakest part of the book for me — but the exploration of rebellion, manipulation, and survival more than makes up for it.

Book Links

Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Have you read this series or plan to?
If you were in Katniss’ place during the Quarter Quell, which other victor would you trust to be in an alliance with you?

Just in case you missed,,,

• Lady Susan / The Watsons / Sanditon by Jane Austen – fun and dramatic rare stories of Austen
• How to Be Happy with Who You Are by Sudha Murty
• Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison – dark and atmospheric cult horror

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