Collins, Suzanne: Catching Fire

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Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire picks up where The Hunger Games left off. Katniss and Peeta are compelled to run their victory laps around Panem's twelve provinces, giving uncomfortable speeches to audiences that include the family members of tributes they killed in the arena. Meanwhile, as victors they'll have a role--a larger one, as it turns out, than they might have supposed--in the upcoming games: the games are bigger this coming year, or rather, they come with a surprise, since it's the 75th anniversary of their institution. All of this plays out against a backdrop of growing unrest in the provinces: Katniss has unwittingly become a symbol of rebellion because of her refusal to play by the rules as a tribute. On a personal level, she remains torn between Gale, her hunting partner and would-be suitor, and Peeta, whose love for her is the talk of Panem. Catching Fire is a worthy sequel to The Hunger Games. It's almost as unputdownable as the first book. The plot offers surprises, but the direction the story takes makes good sense. And, as with the first book, reading Collins' prose is like drinking water, it goes down so smoothly.