Catching Fire (Book)

Catching Fire is a 2009 science fiction young adult novel by the American novelist Suzanne Collins, the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy. As the sequel to the 2008 bestseller The Hunger Games, it continues the story of Katniss Everdeen and the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem.

After winning the 74th Hunger Games in the previous novel, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellarkreturn home to District 12, the poorest sector in the country of Panem. On the day that Katniss and Peeta are to start a "Victory Tour" of the country, President Snow visits unexpectedly and tells Katniss that her televised acts of defiance in the Hunger Games have inspired rebellion in the districts. Snow lets her know that she must convince the people she sees on the tour that she was acting out of love for Peeta, not against the Capitol.

The first stop is District 11, the home of Katniss' deceased friend and Hunger Games ally, Rue. During the ceremony, Katniss delivers an impromptu, heartfelt speech expressing her feelings toward Rue and also Thresh, who spared her life. When she finishes, an old man whistles the tune that Rue used in the arena to tell Katniss that she was safe. Everyone else salutes Katniss, using the same gesture that she used to say farewell to Rue. To Katniss's horror, the old man is quickly executed before her eyes.

Katniss and Peeta travel to the rest of the districts and the Capitol. Hoping to placate President Snow, Peeta proposes to Katniss during a televised interview. Katniss accepts, but Snow is dissatisfied with her overall performance, leaving her fearing for her loved ones.

Shortly after returning to District 12, Katniss accidentally discovers that fighting has broken out in District 8. She then meets two refugees from that district, Bonnie and Twill. They tell her they are trying to reach District 13, hoping the Capitol's story that it was completely destroyed is not true, and that its residents survive in underground shelters.

The 75th Hunger Games is the third "Quarter Quell"; the Capitol implements a special twist every 25th Games. It is announced that the tributes will be selected from the surviving victors of previous years. Katniss and either Peeta or Haymitch will be competing in the Games a second time (since they are the only living District 12 victors). Katniss decides to devote herself to keeping Peeta alive. She persuades Haymitch to agree to volunteer in Peeta's place if he is chosen. Unfortunately, Haymitch is picked, and can do nothing to stop Peeta from volunteering (to try to protect Katniss).

In the Capitol, Haymitch tells Katniss that she and Peeta will need allies this time, but she takes a liking to some of the weakest tributes, much to Haymitch's exasperation.

The arena is a jungle surrounding a saltwater lake. Katniss and Peeta join up with Finnick Odair, a strikingly handsome 24-year-old from District 4 who won his Games ten years prior, and Mags, Finnick's 80-year-old mentor. In the jungle, Peeta is knocked out when he touches the nearly invisible force fieldenclosing the circular arena. Finnick manages to revive him, however. The party then has to flee from poisonous fog, with Finnick carrying Mags. When a weakened Peeta cannot go any further, Mags sacrifices herself, running into the advancing fog, so that Finnick can help him. After Mags's death, Katniss, Peeta, and Finnick join forces with Johanna Mason, a sarcastic and often cruel victor from District 7, and Beetee and Wiress, an older couple from District 3 who are said to be "exceptionally smart". Wiress realizes that the arena is arranged like a clock, with each danger occurring at a fixed and predictable time and place for one hour.

Wiress is killed in a sneak attack by the Careers (tributes from the richer districts 1, 2 and 4, who train all their lives for the Games and are usually the winners), but the Careers suffer more losses, leaving them outnumbered. Katniss learns of Beetee's plan to harness lightning in order to electrocute Brutus and Enobaria, the two surviving Careers from District 2. Their enemies interfere with their plan, so Katniss instead uses her bow and arrow to direct the lightning into the force field, destroying the arena. She is knocked unconscious.

When Katniss wakes up, she is being transported to District 13, along with Finnick, Beetee, and Haymitch. She learns that Peeta and Johanna have been captured by the Capitol. She is informed that there was a secret plan among half of the contestants to rescue her from the arena, because she has become the living symbol of the rebellion. Gale, Katniss's best friend and possible love interest, visits her and informs her that, though he got her family and some of the other residents out, District 12 has been destroyed.