Book Review: Suzanne Collins - Catching Fire

Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Format: ARC
Length: 391 pages
Ages: 12 & up
Grades: 7 & up
Summary:

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge

I was excited to find my ARC of Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins in the mail today. I'd won a copy of it from MotherReader's 48 Hour Book Challenge thanks to a gracious extra donation of the book. So, first thing, I ripped the book out of the envelope and examined it thoroughly. I've never read through a book as fast as I did Catching Fire. Anyways, on to the review.

Suzanne Collins continues the storm she began brewing with The Hunger Games. It doesn't relent for one second the entire book. Katniss continues to grow in multiple ways. She becomes more aware of her own feelings and more aware of the forces in play around her. Unfortunately, the other characters don't share as much growth or shine nigh as bright as Katniss. This is perhaps reflective of Katniss' world in general. She is very self-focused and she being the one telling the story, it's perhaps meant to be that way. There's no real complaints cause as I was reading I was enthralled. Only in hindsight writing this review do I even bother to think about how each individual character changed, if at all, throughout the story. The worst part is that there's more to come in another book that won't be available for quite some time and I'll be pining for more the entire time till then.

I will say that if you've read The Hunger Games this is a must-read book. If you haven't, then you definately should, and then read Catching Fire.

Suzanne Collins - Gregor the Overlander

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins is about 11 year old Gregor and his 2 year old sister who inexplicably find themselves in the Underland. A place inhabited by oversized intelligent cockroaches, rats, and bats.

The book was a great read, and kept me turning pages from start to finish. Well... almost. The very beginning was very mundane and unexciting, but, that only lasts for a small while until Gregor and his sister get whisked away to the Underland.

The characters are fun, especially Gregor's younger sister. While there's action and the plot is serious, the slightly over-used device of adding in a child cared for by a child does add some levity with her naivette and care-free nature. That being said, I'm getting a little tired of seeing children care for children. City of Ember, The Hunger Games, and countless others are very guilty of this trope of YA fiction. I think it's mainly tacked on to throw a bone to young girls that want their dolls and the like, but, past that I'm a little clueless as to what the point of including such baggage in such books is good for. Often they're not even hindrances, but, somehow magically help solve the problem in an unexpected way. I trail off topic on that though cause even though I'm reaching my tipping point on that particular bit, it wasn't that horrible in this book.

The book's plot moves fairly fast after he reaches the Underland and as I'm fond of saying of the books I like, it's over too soon and I was left wanting more.