I was a little worried that Collins couldn’t keep up the fantastic plot, pacing, and brilliance of The Hunger Games, but shortly into this, I stopped worrying. The first half of Catching Fire was just as exciting, brisk, and fun as The Hunger Games. But halfway through, things started falling apart, and the last half was pretty disappointing.
It began feeling a little contrived and awkward, not to mention a repetition of the first book. It was new, but not new enough, and so filled with events that felt contrived and characters that didn’t quite fit naturally into the story. In the first book, Katniss was a fierce, impassioned rebel. Here she became more of a reacting puppet—a victim inside of someone else’s story. The action felt like it wasn’t with Katniss anymore, the action was happening elsewhere, and we were only hearing about it afterward.
I’ve already begun the third book…here’s hoping Katniss can regain some of the fire, sharpness, and passion she started with!