back to back home runs!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: science fiction, YA

Review: With the second installment in The Hunger Games trilogy, Collins has totally defied the unfortunate truth that a sequel rarely lives up to the promise of the first book. Not only does this one not disappoint, it's a truly good book. No "middle book syndrome" here! Once again, Collins has turned in a page-turner of a story, that, while it revisits some of the themes from The Hunger Games, is also fresh and new.

What happened after the dramatic finale of Katniss's Hunger Games? Collins relates the effects of Katniss's actions in her personal world, throughout the 12 Districts, and even in the Capitol. In doing so, Collins has given fuller flesh to the world her characters inhabit. In Catching Fire, she not only ratchets up the tension, but sets the stage for a thoughtful, insightful, and exciting final book in the trilogy. If expectations were high for the second book, they're that much higher for the third.