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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.
Publication Year: 2009
Why did it take me by surprise that in the first Quarter Quell the Capitol made the citizens of the districts vote for their representatives for the Games?
It makes perfect sense that the way of life in District 11 is harsher than in the 12. You cannot escape the horrors towards the Capitol, and you would think that District 12 would have it worse. There's an unspoken understanding that the farther you are from the Capitol, the poorer your people is. And, also, having District 12 trapped in a calm desperation makes them feel comfortable enough in their homes not to try and flee.
Blazing through this one because I want to finish the trilogy. On a writing level, I preferred the first book - I think it was a lot more cohesive, and I feel like a lot of this book serves as setting up for the third. Just confirms how much I love Peeta, though.