Grant Newman- Catching Fire

Grant Newman
Catching Fire
Suzanne Collins
Science Fiction
Just Right
P. 72

1. Right now, the two main characters, Peeta and Katniss, are on their victory tour for winning the last Hunger Games. The victory tour consists of going to all 12 districts and the capitol for a celebration. However, it's not all happy. The President of the country they live in, Panem, came to Katniss's house with threatening comments about what happened at the end of the last Hunger Games. Katniss took berries that she knew were poisonous to avoid having to kill the other tribute from her district, Peeta, because of a second rule change in the middle of the Games. The president says that he is upset with that and that she may be a figurehead for rebellion and uprisings, and that she needs to quash any ideas of that by showing that the act with the berries was because she loved Peeta. If she can't do this by showing and persuading people that they are actually in love, not otherwise, they might be able to live. However, he's threatened to kill their friends and family if they don't. The trouble with this situation is that Katniss does not actually (to this point) love Peeta. She likes a different boy better, named Gale. She had to pull off a "crazy girl in love" routine in the Games so she would get supplies, and Peeta feels a bit violated. They have to figure this all out amidst all the threats and pressures.

2. I like this book a lot. It's the second in a series, and I really liked the first. I've read it already, and I enjoyed it a lot. It's great even through the first 70 pages. Collins has engrossed you into the already familiar plot, with so many twists and turns, even through this small amount of the book. It's a really good book because it's so balanced. It can be read by both girls and boys and they would each enjoy it in different ways. It has both action and romance, so it can appeal to everyone. The plot hasn't been very fast up to this point, but it makes you want to keep reading, and it's easy to read quickly. Collins balances all of these elements while writing a really unique book that isn't like anything else. You can't compare it to any other book. It's that different and good.

3. A theme I've noticed in Catching Fire is unintentional consequences. The whole book, and this part of it a lot, are based on one action she did which she had no intention of defying the capitol with. However, this was misconstrued by many of the citizens into an act of defiance, and possibly a spark for rebellion. The book is divided into three parts, and the first one is actually called "The Spark". The entire plot is based on the event with berries, and the plot of the novel revolves around Katniss's consequences, even if unintentional. She is forced into situations that she never thought would occur, but they have, and she has to deal with it. These include publicity, the president scrutinizing her every move, people interpreting what she does, and the capitol interpreting back what she does in their very different way of thinking. She has to be very careful with what she does or she'll create a domino effect and everything could fall out of a delicate balance.

4. My favorite character is Katniss. The book's written from a 1st person perspective (hers) so the reader gets an inside look into what she thinks, but not what others think, which makes it more like real life. Her personality is interesting. She isn't other girls in the book. She fights for herself and has a lot of self-confidence. She has to balance how she acts for the capitol with how she really feels. She goes back and forth throughout about how she really feels, especially about boys. The thing I like is the way the book is written makes it seem like real life. The author did a really good job delving into how a teenager (she's 17) actually thinks, and wrote the story very well that way. Katniss's personality is not all light and fluffy. She's serious and smart, and can handle being on her own. She's very independent and can do things for herself, and her overall personality is very interesting and different. She's pretty unique among many characters. I like how she thinks and how you get insight into her world.

5. My least favorite character is President Snow, the president of their country. Even though he is not actually described very much, much of the book is based off of his actions, most of which are horrible. He runs what I think of as a dictatorship, and is very violent even if he doesn't commit these acts himself, he has other people to do them for him. He really isn't concerned with how his people think of him, just keeping his country in order, and he uses cruel events, such as the Hunger Games to show them that they are still in power. He actually blew up a whole district a while ago, and he is sure that he'll get the citizens to stay within the boundaries he's set up. He's not caring and has what the book describes as a snakelike look. He's not nice at all.

6. I've read the book already, so I can't make a prediction, but I missed a couple things and I'm picturing the book slightly differently now that I'm reading it for a second time. The places they go I'm picturing differently, and a few details I didn't catch on the first time, I got this time. It's really good, and I like it a lot. However, even at the end of the book there are still unanswered questions, but as for this book, I can't make a prediction.