Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Book #2 in The Hunger Games trilogy

I was not really planning to finish the series, but I found this for cheap at the resale store, so....

The first part of the book tells the story of the heroine and her fellow Hunger Games survivor Peeta as they embark on their obligatory Victory Tour of the 12 provinces. They come to realize that their act of defiance of the Hunger Games rules has sparked the spirit of revolution, making them dangerous to the Capitol. The second half of the book focuses on the next session of the Hunger Games.

I was not nearly as impressed with this second book. Collins's use of first person, present tense as a narrative voice is very awkward throughout the first part of the book, when not recounting fast-paced, suspenseful events. The plot has weak spots, including the central premise that the acts of two (apparently) love-addled teenagers would have the power to spark revolution. To quibble on fine points, the fact that two healthy teenagers (one, at least, in love with the other) could sleep night after night "wrapped in each other's arms" without any sexual activity at all is beyond believable.

Things pick up when Collins tells the story of the new Games, but the concept is no longer new and not as interestingly portrayed as in the first book.

When I find the third book on sale cheap somewhere, I will probably read it, but my feeling right now is that Collins should have stopped after the first book.