Catching Fire

I started "Catching Fire" (391 pages) by Suzanne Collins last night, the second book in the "Hunger Games" trilogy. Again I went through the novel in pretty much one setting. From the inside cover of the book:

"Against all odds, Katniss 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 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."

I liked the second effort by Collins in the Hunger Games trilogy well enough, though there were times I felt I was reading the first book over again. There's definitely a bit of a retread feel. I also grew weary with the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. This kind of long, unresolved story telling between the three puts the young in Young Adult!

Eventually, after a somewhat slow start, the story really starts to take off and I became completely engrossed. Of course that came to a screeching halt with a cliffhanger ending. Fortunately I have the third book at my disposal to continue and finish out the story. Again, another quick, and for the most part, interesting read. Recommended.