Book #58: Catching Fire

Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins

Sometimes I look at American celebrities and wonder why the heck they're famous. Talented? No. Nice? No. Good looking? Not really. Think of shows like Keeping up with the Kardashians or any of The Real Housewives... and it's not too hard to realize that sometimes it's who people know or just dumb luck that they end up with their faces plastered on the cover of People.

In some ways, I felt the same thing about Katniss Everdeen in Catching Fire. In The Hunger Games, she exhibited great hunting skills, love and empathy, and even some quick thinking to keep her alive. A year later, Katniss and Peeta (her co-competitor from District 12) are reaping the rewards of their success, mugging for cameras, and trying to decide if they really love each other or if it's just a show to distract people from the uprisings that are taking place all over the country. When they head back to the arena for another go-round, Katniss seems to lose all of the smarts that kept her alive the first time. Is she able to stay alive when she's not playing smart, when she's missing even the most obvious clues and symbols? Well, if you haven't read the book yet, you'd probably hate me if I told you, wouldn't you?