My Review of "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

I loved the book "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. I gave it 5 stars and could not put it down. It is now on my top 10 list of books that I love. So I was so excited get my hands on the sequel, "Catching Fire".I had heard so many varied responses to "Catching Fire"; all the way from, "Wow it was so good!" to "I can't believe it ended that way!". I knew ahead of time that the end was really going to leave you hanging. Well I am here to say, yes, it does leave you hanging... way out over the edge, screaming and desperately trying to hang on.

I really like this book, I gave it 4 stars, but I did not like it as much as "The Hunger Games". Much of "Catching Fire" does not have a lot happening, where the first book has action throughout most of the book. I was a little frustrated at this aspect of the story. I realize, that many middle books of a trilogy have transition filler to get you ready for the third book. "Catching Fire" does have many surprises for the reader, but they show up in the last 1/3 of the book. I still truly love the main female character, Katniss, and her determination to protect her loved ones. The character development was good in this second book. I felt like I grew to know and care more about Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch.

Overall, this is a very good read. There may be many of us out there that like the first book, "The Hunger Games", better. I am looking forward to the third book, hoping it will ease the pains of the killer cliffhanger Suzanne left for her readers.