I read The Hunger Games about a year ago for book club, and knew that I wanted to read the whole series, I just didn't feel that keen to get started right away. That aside, it's safe to say that as soon as I'd finished reading Catching Fire, I had to download Mockingjay with the aim to start reading it ASAP.
Catching Fire was really slow to get started, with all the recaps from The Hunger Games and build up to what is to come but really didn't get started until Part Two, which is actually 170 ish pages in.
Bearing in mind the trilogy is for YA, I really felt this book had matured a lot since the first. The romance isn't as clingy (which I hated about the first book), and there were many more twists in this one. Oddly I didn't find the punishments as harsh as the first book but still interesting and actually more realistically implemented.
In terms of the plot, I thought there is only one way for the book to head in, and although it's predictable to a point, it's far from the same as the 74th games. Before the obvious happens, the twists run parallels with what our World has been witness to over recent years, and I love how this ties in. I can now actually see where Collins states she got the idea from (after flicking between a reality show and the news) which wasn't apparent to me after the first book.
I suppose as with the first there are too many characters to keep a grip on, and not even Katniss knows who all the tributes are, but I still feel I need to start writing down names as I go along as I just forget characters far too easily.
The ending, although extremely cruel to the reader, certainly does its job in making me buy the final book in the trilogy. I cant wait to get started and have big expectations for this book. I'm looking for more of what was in book two, less of book one and to get stuck right into the action! I love where it's heading and hope it can live up to my expectations.
4/5 because 170 pages is just far too long for a book to get going!
Review by Vicki Lawrence
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