Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) by Suzanne Collins * * * *
The second installation of The Hunger Games trilogy is just as fast paced as the first one. It's the right speed for the young reader of today. The story picks up a little after the end of the previous book. Some flashback is unavoidable. We learn how Katniss' life changed after becoming a victor, and how she has to face that nothing will ever be the same again. She goes on the tour that was mentioned in the first book, but we don't see a lot of it. I did wish that part wasn't so glossed over. Of course, the threat of President Snow hangs over everything. Without revealing too much, life only gets harder for everyone. I did have a feeling about District 13, and I'm just going to say that it was justified. Katniss is 17. I have forgotten that, until Collins reminds me. She does develop more as the story progresses, but she is still not an adult at the end. Children that grow up too fast sometimes find it hard to grow up all the way, and she's no different. Though...