Hot on the heals of reading the first Hunger Games book, I was lucky enough to find book two, Catching Fire, in a local charity shop for 99p and so I was able to quickly pick up Katniss’ story again and see just where The Hunger Games Trilogy took her next.
It’s fair to say that The Hunger Games ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. A twist in the story that I wasn’t expecting and so I felt quite desperate to find out how things progress, but at the same time, it’s also really hard to write this post without giving anything away, so if you don’t want any book one spoilers then please look away now.
Hunger Games spoilers may follow…
Katniss and Peeta hope that now they have been victorious they can return to District 12 and to their normal lives, but life is going to be anything but normal for them both from here on. The famous berries scene at the end of their time in the Games arena has had far reaching impact across all districts. As they see for themselves as they undertake their Victory Tour of the districts. Rebellion is starting to bubble up, and when it does the Peacekeepers’ response is brutal. How do they convince everyone that they are still madly in love? Can they prolong their lies to help restore calm? Do they want to?
A further twist is added when the Quarter Quell details are announced and it becomes apparent that both of them are going back into The Hunger Games arena for a second time. But this time they’re up against other Victors. How can Haymitch help them this time? It’s obvious that they can’t both win again, but which one of them should? What would the best solution be for the people back home in District 12? And all those in the other districts?
There is no doubt that The Hunger Games are brutal. Even more so when the contestants know each other and people from across the districts have been following them on the TV coverage of previous games. As the games progress it is also clear that whilst the Capitol is desperate to maintain control across all districts, the residents themselves are starting to question some of what is going on in what they are seeing on TV, and behind the scenes.
A worthy sequel?
Catching Fire is a very worthy sequel to the original Hunger Games, and continues the story well. There are some parts of the middle section of the book which move a bit more slowly, and at that stage I was a tad worried that I was going to get a bit bogged down in the book, but the pace soon picked up again. The only problem is that now I’m desperate to get my hands on the third book, Mockingjay.
Hunger Games Films
Now that my eldest has finished the first Hunger Games book, we’ve also made a start on the film versions which are available on Netflix. Trying to condense a book like the Hunger Games into a film isn’t easy, and there are obviously a few bits skipped over or changed, but overall I’m actually really impressed with how they depicted the Games themselves and the arena that they’re in. The Capitol was also fascinating to see in the film, and if anything I thought it made the film seem slightly more science fiction than dystopian fiction than the book is. It will be interesting to see if it’s the same for the Catching Fire film, and I’m particularly keen to get to the scenes involving forcefields, if they have included them. I just need my daughter to finish Catching Fire so we can all sit down and watch it together.
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