Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Ever since reading The Hunger Games I have been eager to read the next novel in this trilogy. Lucky for me, an advanced reader showed up at work last week so I didn't have to wait until September to read it! (Trust me, seeing that book in the break room totally made my day.) The only down side is that now I have even longer to wait until the third novel is published (my fingers are crossed for another advanced reader to come my way when it's time for that one though).

This book was just as good as the first, if not better. I don't want to give too much away in case you haven't read The Hunger Games yet (which I also highly recommend). But the trilogy takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of North America where the coutnry is divided into 13 districts plus a capitol. At one time in the history of the novels the districts rebelled and District 13 was destroyed. As punishment for the rebellion each year every district must choose one boy and one girl to participate in the Hunger Games, a giant battle to the death, where only one survives (think Thunder Dome only larger scale).

In Catching Fire, Katniss, the heroine and narrator of the series, must deal with the repurcussions of what happened in the Hunger Games and the impact that has on everyone she cares about. The stakes are higher in this sequel and the suspense greater. Also, the cliffhanger at the end of this novel is so much worse than the end of the first.

This series is written for older teens, but I recommend it for anyone who likes fantasy/adventure novels. You can pick up The Hunger Games now, and then you'll be ready for Catching Fire when it comes out in September!