I was already impressed by the first part of this trilogy, Hunger Games. But Catching Fire topped that one by far - might be because the movie didn't go in depth, it didn't waste time getting Katniss and Peeta back into the arena, so there was room left for improvement.

The book, on the other hand, focuses much more on the aftermath of the first Hunger Games, on Katniss trying to move on, on the threat posed by Snow and the Capitol which is much more immediate and intimate (the threat to her family and Gale, punishments like whippings, starvation, turning people into Avoxes and presenting them to Katniss, Cinna's elimination in front of Katniss's eyes) - on her trying to run away, but slowly realizing that she has a bigger role to play, that what she meant as a ploy to get both Peeta and herself out of the arena alive kindled hope and resistance around Panem. It's kind of like her focus shifted from narrow to wider (to narrow again after the Quarter Quell was announced and her main goal was saving Peeta) which makes the events in the second games more like a continuation, a culmination of what began in District 12 and the victory tour, rather than the main focus.

It's also the little facts about earlier Games that turn this into a fascinating read - such as how Haymitch won his Games, or what happened to Finnick's girlfriend. I know I shouldn't keep comparing book to movie, but the written story develops much more smoothly and consistently. You learn more about the other districts, and the way they're run by the "Peacekeepers" (and the way Katniss realizes that District 12 actually wasn't so bad off till a change of guards occurs - leading to Gale's punishment and Katniss's change of heart from flight to fight). The revolution is an underlying thread, even during the preparation for the Games (such as Plutarch's little appearance at the party, Cinna's creating the dress), and the events at the Games move consistently towards the climax, not catching us by surprise. And the idea of a surviving District 13 is introduced much earlier in the story when Katniss meets runaways from District 8 in the woods. So, the whole plotthreads are laid out, and they come together beautifully. But Katniss herself feels like a failure: She might have incited the people with her actions, but she failed to meet her final goal, saving Peeta who she thinks is much more suited as leader since he's much more aware of the bigger picture and better equipped with handling media and people. Especially since their personal relationship remains unsolved.

Even though the Games themselves aren't the main focus here, Collins takes time to introduce the other victors/tributes - and she doesn't forget to show that, even though most of them are now mentors themselves, they still suffer from the aftermath, turning to drugs etc. I think this is the one thing you wouldn't expect in books for adolescents: There is no happy end, as we've already seen with Katniss and Peeta, but that point is emphasized with other victors. There's only one little nitpick, if you even want to call it like that: What exactly is the motivation of the other victors, trying to save Katniss and Peeta, joining the Revolution? Essentially, they're willing to sacrifice themselves - did they plan that revolution for years, and now that Katniss has openly defied the Capitol, they think their time has come? And if Plutarch is part of the revolution, did he have contact with the mentors of the other districts prior to the end of the Games? Couldn't he have told others what would await them in the arena, not just hint obscurely during that party? Of course, given what happened to Seneca he had to tread a fine line, but given that the Games were in part a highly organized conspiracy I find it difficult to believe that he wouldn't have been able to get more information to the tributes (therefore saving more of them). I guess this background information is part of the story that gets lost due the 1st person PoV.

Now, we have Katniss on her way to District 13, an open revolution, a destroyed District 12, and Peeta imprisonned in the Capitol, likely tortured, likely brainwashed and used as leverage on Katniss. Quite a bleak ending. Fortunately, there's still Mockingjay to come.

It doesn't happen often that I even consider picking up a book when I've already seen the movie, since the pictures in my head while reading will forever be influenced by the film and the actors, but in this case reading the book lends another layer of intensity to an already gripping and moving story.

In memory of the uprising of 13 districts against the Capitol and to strike terror into these districts, every year a boy and a girl between 12 and 18 years old are selected to compete in the so-called Hunger Games against each other to the death. This year's competitors for District 12, a coal mining district on the brink of starvation, are Katniss Everdeen, an independent girl taking care of her family who volunteers to take the place of her sister, and Peeta Mellark, the baker's son who once saved Katniss from starvation by giving her a loaf of bread.

First of all, the book is in Katniss's first person-point of view - which is already different than the movie. Although it of course focuses on Katniss, it also shows what happens in the Capitol during the Games, something Katniss isn't privy to, and therefore isn't in the book. What starts out as saving her sister from having to compete, turns into a journey into self-exploration, getting driven to the edge of insanity (and beyond), and always playing a game to get out alive... a game which turns into reality and forces her to question everything.

It's this duality, spectacle vs bitter punishment, act versus reality, decisions made to stay alive vs them being perceived as revolutionary, life and love vs death, kill vs being killed, being a killing machine vs retaining your humanity in the arena which stays with the reader. And reality shifts again for Katniss because what she thought of as a great ploy to get out of the scenario alive, turns out to be reality for Peeta. Peeta didn't act, he's really in love with Katniss. And now it's time to return home, to a district which was shown a great love story with a happy ending - and it's time to reconcile what could have been before the Games with this new reality... all under the watchful eye of the Capitol and President Snow. It's a great ending to this first part, her confusion and uncertainty are palpable, the trauma of the last weeks ever-present. How to go on from here, how is one to survive something like that?

A few sidenotes: Is Prim eligible for the next Games (or the 4 after that until she's 18) - or is she off the hook now entirely? And it's interesting that Panem is essentially a future North America with the Capitol located in the Rockies and District 12 somewhere in the Appalachians. I didn't know that just from the movies. I also enjoyed the dichotomy between the backwater districts, essentially kept from progress by being starved and worked to death, and the Capitol with its scientific gadgets (just think of the genetic mutations like the mockingjays or the killer-wasps... or those horrific zombie-muttations at the end) and overflow of food. The only thing that's still missing is just how the Capitol enforces its hold on all the districts, or even how the status quo of the Capitol and the 12 (or rather 13) districts came to be. There's a short introduction, but I'd love to get more background information - but I guess that's the limit to the 1st-person point of view here.

Overall, a surprisingly complex and layered story. On to the next part.