Book Banter -- Catching Fire

Title: Catching Fire (Hunger Games bk. 2)

Author: Suzanne Collins

Length: ~300 pages

Genre: YA sci-fi

Where Word Nerd's Copy Came From: It was a gift. The very cool high school student she mentors gave it her as a Christmas present.

Plot Basics: SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't read Hunger Games Stop reading. Right now. Go get a copy. Read it. Read Catching Fire. Then come back.

Katniss Everdeen survived the Hunger Games through a gutsy act that forced the Gamemakers to save face. But her act has sparked the fires of rebellion throughout Panem and the political powers that be want her to quell them, and fast, or else her family and good friend Gale will be at risk. While Kat tries to play along, her actions on her victory tour only fan the rebellion more. As the political powers attempt more and more to force Kat into compliance, she sides more and more with the rebels, but the personal cost grows even higher.

Banter Points: Collins, quite frankly, did it again. Hunger Games was a home-run book and she followed it up with a second. Word Nerd figured out what the first twist would be (she's not saying to try to keep spoilers to a minimum) but it didn't detract from the story. Like the first one, it was un-put-down-able. It's a complex world that Collins has built and she has yet to really give the reader the full back story. However, the pieces she drops are so relevant and she knows her world so well, the story moves through it effortlessly and makes the reader feel comfortable in her dystopian future.

Bummer Points: Word Nerd doesn't know when the next book in the series is coming out. Whenever that is, it's far too long.

Word Nerd Recommendation: Jump all over this bandwagon. You'll be glad you did.