Booklist Online: Book Reviews from the American Library Association

Cindy: It’s very exciting to have had an early peek at Catching Fire (Scholastic, Sept. 1, 2009) but that just means the wait for book three will seem even longer! One thing I know for sure, it will be worth the wait, whether you are a lucky soul in the same boat, or if you will have to wait until September to get your hands on this one. The Suspense (yes, with a capital S) started last year with Hunger Games (2008) It’s the page-turning story of Katniss who volunteers to take her younger sister’s place in the televised reality game that results in one living survivor from the 24 participants from the twelve regions of Panem (a future, dystopian U.S.) Grim it may sound, but Katniss is a compelling heroine and the book’s premise is tempered with wicked humor and thought-provoking political and social themes. The good news? Fans of the first volume will not be disappointed. This one may be even better. I’d read it again to be sure, but for the dozens of teachers and teens threatening my survival if I don’t share the prize. Lynn was supposed to be first to get it, but 15-year-old avid reader, Leah Matchett snuck in first, riding her bike to my house in her pajamas last weekend and scoring not only the galley for a day but national press in a Publisher’s Weekly article about the hot title. On Friday I caused a scene in a math classroom by delivering the galley to the first student on the REAL waiting list and everywhere I go with the book there are gasps! We’re not alone: Teri Lescene reported a great story about in-flight excitement over the book on her way to Book Expo. And I couldn’t agree more with Monica Edinger’s post at Educating Alice. I tried to read slowly, too, not wanting the book to end, but it was hard to not keep turning the pages. I thought I knew what the major plot would be in this book, but I was wrong. Collins’ plotting is as strong as ever and I was surprised again and again. I won’t spoil anything for those who haven’t read it, but even if you have to wait for the book to publish on September first to find out what happens to Katniss next, it definitely will be worth the wait.

Lynn: Scholastic has asked reviewers to be considerate and not give away the plot, which is more than fair with so many people waiting anxiously for the September 1st publication. That is really hard to do but I did have an advantage by reading it after Cindy. I could call her up at each major surprise and shriek! Suzanne Collins has done an amazing job with what must be the most anticipated sequel since Harry Potter. Without giving anything away, let me just say that she not only surprised me completely on more than one occasion but she created more suspense, developed the world and the characters more fully, introduced additional themes and left me hanging breathlessly at the end. This book is much more of a cliffhanger and I don’t know if I can stand the wait for the next installment. I’m itching to start reading CF again right from the first page but our waiting list is waaay too long for that indulgence!

I was only halfway through the book when we had our teen book club meeting and I brought the book to show the kids. When I pulled it out, the entire group of teens drew in their breath so deeply that the oxygen was almost sucked out of the room. If you were to offer those teens their weight in gold or an arc of Catching Fire, I have NO doubt that the gold would go unclaimed. Thank you Suzanne Collins for a terrific read and thank you, Scholastic for letting us have an early look. Hang in there, everyone - it is worth the wait!

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 30th, 2009 at 1:24 pm and is filed under Gr. 7-10, Kick-ass Heroines, Science Fiction, Survival Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.