Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Catching Fire

You may envy me a little. Why? Because, thanks to my connections (i.e. someone on the Newbery committee), I was able to read Catching Fire – the sequel to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The book isn’t due out until September, so this was an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy for those unfamiliar).

Wow. What a story. I was actually quite upset when I finished reading the book. Why? Since it hasn’t been officially released yet, I have to wait even longer to read the next in the series!

The book begins shortly after the ending of the previous one. Katniss and Peeta have returned home to District 12, living lives richer than they ever imagined. As they prepare to go on another victory tour of the various districts, the leader – President Snow – pays Katniss a surprise visit. He warns her to watch what she does in the public, as there are rumblings of uprisings…all because of her defiant act at the Hunger Games. If she can’t make everyone believe that she is really madly in love with Peeta, then those she love may very well come to harm.

I won’t give away more of the tale. There is even more adventure and plot twists than the first book. This is a wonderful example of a sequel living up to the first book in a series.

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