Catching Fire & Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I decided to finally make a start on my Summer reading list, which was in no particular order. The books that I wanted to read most was the rest of the Hunger Games series. I had started reading the first book the day before the release of the film and got around halfway through the book before the film started (I read it right up until the trailers whilst in the cinema). As I hadn't finished it after seeing the film it kind of put me off finishing the book as I already knew what happened. However, I wouldn't let myself start the second book until the first one was finished, so it took me until last week to actually make myself read it again! I finished the first book in a few hours and then made a start on the second one. I read it for about 6 hours, until 2 in the morning, and then forced myself to go to sleep and finish the last 50 pages in the morning. I absolutely adored the second book. Then I made a start on the third book straight away, which I read a bit slower this time to draw it out a bit, and finished it on the car journey home on Monday night.

Catching Fire

*Spoiler Alert* The second book brings a second hunger games. The beginning is all about how the relationship between Katniss and Peeta has fallen apart as she tries to get closer to Gale. However, she must pretend for the cameras that he is just her cousin, and that Peeta and her still have a relationship, and Peeta also announces to the world that she is pregnant (she's not). They then make the rounds of the districts publicising their love after Katniss is threatened by President Snow that she could cause an uprising against the Capitol after her poison berries stunt. After this fails, as punishment, he announces that for the 75th game, there will be a special twist, the participants will be two victors from each district. This brings Peeta and Katniss in for a second time. The book focuses a lot around this game, and whether the two protagonists can trust their fellow contestants who they have made allies with. Many people are killed off in the first 24 hours of the game, but obviously the two survive until the end. It ends with Katniss once again fooling the capital by firing against the force field which surrounds the arena. She is then airlifted out by the game maker, who is secretly on her side, with those in the hovercraft not having enough time to save Peeta.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it was definitely my favourite out of the tree. I'm not sure why, I think it may be because I loved that I didn't know what was coming in terms with the new characters who were introduced, and whether they were good or bad. The second hunger games was also very interesting in terms of how the arena was lead out, and there were lots of twists and turns.

Mockingjay

*Spoiler alert* This is the third and final book of the series and is all about the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. It begins with Katniss discovering that Peeta is in the possession of President Snow and the Capitol, and that she is now in District 13, which was believed to have been destroyed 75 years ago. Along with Finnick, she starts to go slightly off the rails as she realises her true feelings for Peeta, and plans to kill President Snow for what he has done in taking Peeta away from her. Along with a team of new characters and some old ones, the District 13 army make the rounds of the 12 other districts in order to bring them on to their side and defeat the Capitol. This is recorded each time and intercepted with the TV screens which are trying to put everyone against Katniss. Peeta is rescued along with a few other survivors of the second games, and they all join together once again to defeat Snow.

This was sadly my least favourite in the series. I'm not sure what it was about it but there was something that didn't capture me as much as much as the first two. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good book, just not my favourite. I was also slightly disappointed in the end, it seemed to just come too quickly and there wasn't enough in it for me.

Sorry for such a lengthy, almost picture free post, but I don't know how else I can write something like this! Any suggestions on how you would prefer it to look, feel free to comment below. I think my next read will be On the Road by Jack Kerouac.