Catching Fire : Monthly Review

    Catching Fire is the second novel from The Hunger Games series written by Suzanne Collins. This science fiction novel continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, a young teenager who just survived from the annual event: the Hunger Games. However, it seems like her actions from saving her and a fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta Mellark, from the previous book, The Hunger Games, spark some rebellion among the other districts against the Capitol... Now, back in the Games once again, she and and Peeta faces new dangers, new allies, new enemies, and maybe face the biggest one yet.
    The character I'm interested in other than the main character, Katniss Everdeen, is the one of the supporting characters, Finnick. On his "introduction", my first impression of Finnick was like "did he win by seducing other tributes with his looks or something?" This twenty-four year old man shows a "sexy guy" to the the fans and viewers and is from District 4. Other than the fact that he was well known for his looks, he was one of the youngest Hunger Games victors, winning at the age of fourteen. Because he is from District 4, which was in charge of fishing, his abilities were one include fishing. His other talents include using the trident and trapping his enemies with his handmade nets. Besides his outlooks, he really is a caring person and despite the fact where he "sleeps with other people", he actually is in love with a contestant from the same district as him. Of course, the reader would assume it would be some busty girl with incredible looks.  However, the girl, name Alice, was actually had a mental disorder that was caused when she was in the games. With such a traumatic experience, she was never the same before. Other than that, not much is really known how Finnick fell in love with her. It shows he is not just some flirty guy that has no feelings of real love. I admire how he stays calm, but it shows he is human when he heard a mockingjay with the same scream as Alice's. Everyone has someone or something to care about and for him, it was the mental girl that no one would whom Finnick fell in love with. I also see how despite of his outer personality, he shows deep concern for others and trys his hardest.
    In my opinion, the weakness of the book will probably how long it took to start the next stage of the book. I was somewhat disappointed, but I will continue reading the book. Half the book was about the rough life back in Katniss's district, while the other half was when she was back in the Hunger Games. I think there has some meaning on how it Katniss's life has changed after the Hunger Games, but I don't think it was necessary to extend that far as half the book. Also, I was interested in how the Hunger Games will turn out. The results were pretty interesting, but I was somewhat disappointed, especially I was awaiting for a certain character's death. I think the character's death should remain dead, showing more of Katniss's dramatic emotional change. However, if that did happen, there would be few changes, but I would really want to see that. There weren't really a lot of deaths that would affect the characters, so there wasn't such a big emotional change for them. As for some of the characters in the story, I really so not see ANY progress or any improvement whatsoever throughout the first and the second novels. I thought there will be some use for them later in the story, but I will hope there will be in the last of the trilogy. As for the main character, I like how Collins shows the somewhat changes in her personality before and after her first experience in the Hunger Games from the first book at the beginning of the second book. However, Collins didn't have any changes in the character, Peeta's personality after the Hunger Games other than having some nightmares that barely had any affect on him. He seems all calm and doesn't show any much difference after such a traumatic experience other than finding his other talents (decorating cookies and painting).
    Other than Catching Fire, I have read the first of the trilogy, The Hunger Games. Compared to this, I actually prefer The Hunger Games probably because there were more plot than the second book. However,  I do see that the whole point of the second book was like a starter for the main plot of the trilogy. In the first novel, there was a lot of suspense and action, no wonder it will be a movie soon. The second book doesn't show much suspense and action until the second half of the book. What it did focused on more on the first half would be the development of Katniss's changed lifestyle back at home and her feelings towards to some of the close characters. In the first book, it shows what Katniss's life is like before facing such a traumatic experience. The second book shows how The Hunger Games affected Katniss both physically and mentally. I like how there was a before and after affect of the tournament. However, I am not satisfied with one of the character's before and after effect. I also see how much the Games affected her so much as to the point where she can't really let her guard down like how she was afraid that is she were to enter the game again, she cannot rely on her allies or she'll die, unlike a certain character. Catching Fire is just as terrifyingly good as the first book, but it delves even more into the history and politics of the Capitol and the Districts, and you'll discover the lengths the Capitol is willing to go to in order to crush any sign of a rebellion. As for both of the books of the series, Hunger Games series perfect for its intended audience, and a very refreshing change from all the paranormal romance garbage that's currently being cranked out of the publishing houses for young adults.

Catching Fire pt.3

Continuing to the third part of Catching Fire...
    At last! The 75th Hunger Games starts! But will the result be the same as the first book, leaving both Katniss and Peeta winning the game again? This question will probably remained until I finished the book.There were some unexpected events such as teaming up with the other previous victors. There was also the fact that Katniss got more protective towards Peeta rather more than what I expected. Katniss has become more cautious of the people who team with her more than the last book. She actually expected betrayal from her new teammates and thought about how she was going to kill them. She has really become one of the previous victors, unlike Peeta, who only has nightmares and pretty much isn't cautious as Katniss. I personally think that Peeta isn't as aware of survival facts and I think he's more innocent compared to Katniss during the Hunger Games. I'm starting to really mixing up the roles like Peeta is the "damsel in distress" while Katniss is like his "knight and shining armor". I feel that Peeta doesn't seem to changed whatsoever during the book, which is very unlike most other books I have read before. I also think that the start of the rebellion is only on stage one of the event and will continue on the next and last book: Mockingjay. I will definitely wait for the book, which will release in August 2010. To my partners, you already know the fact that Peeta...DIED -celebrates- until he revives....made me really disappointed. I never expected the author to actually grant my wish for him to die (this sounds very mean) but I loved reading that part! That was also my favorite part of the entire book! Ok, I think I went a little to far with my wish for Peeta's death...
My question: Are you going to wait for the last book, Mockingjay?

The end of the world?

  

 Ok, to be honest, I have no idea why I wrote this. I was bored (like always) and didn't know what to write (again). So (as usual) I decided to browse around the internet, looking for something to watch, play, read, etc. you get the point, right? I end up watching the movie 2012 and decided "hey, why I don't I blog about the end of the world?" So yeah, u guessed it, I am going to write about some things that people don't really talk about concerning the end of the world other than the Apocalypse. Fun to read, right? So let's start with a theory called the Big Crunch.
    Never heard of it? This is theory apparently is a consequence from the Big Bang theory.According to this theory, the universe will one day stop expanding. Then, as gravity pulls on the matter, the universe will begin to contract, falling inward until it has collapsed back into a super-hot, super-dense singularity. If the theory holds true, the universe is like a giant soufflé. It starts out small, then expands as it heats up. Eventually, however, the soufflé cools and begins to collapse. Weird, but kind of making some sense.
    There was also a book called Eschatology, written by Pope Benedict XVI, at the time when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. It is the study of the eschaton, the times of the end, or 'last things' and is a part of theology and philosophy concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "concerned with ‘the four last things: death, judgement, heaven, and hell’" (phrase from Book of revelation). While in mysticism, the phrase refers to the end of ordinary reality and reunion with the Divine, in many traditional religions, it is taught as an actual future event prophesied in sacred texts or folklore. Overall, eschatology may include related topics such as the Messiah or Messianic Age.
    This is one where people do know, but not its name:Ragnarök. In Norse mythology, it is the "final destiny of the gods", a series of major events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures. These include occurrences of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water. Afterward, the world resurfaces anew and fertile, the surviving gods meet, and the world is repopulated by two human survivors. Ragnarök is an important event in the Norse canon, and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory.
With so many ideas of the end of the world, people who uses that topic can vary but link in some way with the existing ones. In scientific terms, the earth could be shifting, while in religious terms, the God is angry and wants the people to repent while uses the natural disasters to punish them such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, etc. What do you think? Will the world end in 2012?

Catching Fire pt. 1 and 2

    Catching Fire, written by Suzanne Collins continues the trilogy of Katniss Everdeen, a young teenager who just survived from the annual event: the Hunger Games. However, it seems like her actions from saving her and a fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta Mellark, from the previous book, The Hunger Games, spark some rebellion among the other districts against the Capitol...
    So far, from what I read, is just basically like the first book, Katniss's daily life in her home district, District 12, with some new changes such as how she doesn't see much of her hunting partner and best friend, Gale, and her new home with her mother and younger sister, Prim. I also noticed how much did Collins wrote a lot about the events from the first book. I honestly think there was a bit too much. I do understand for those who haven't read the first book, but still, there were some unnecessary amounts of previous events into the second book. I have a feeling the second book is mainly going to cover the first book mixing in with the new events. I'm actually surprised with Katniss's indecisive actions towards the threat coming from President Snow about Gale. This shows a strong bond between Katniss and Gale. I mean, she needs to declare her love towards Peeta instead the other way around to save Gale's life and possibly, his family's lives as well. Even though both Gale and Katniss's physical appearances are very similar that they could consider to be brother/sister or relative, they show a strong  bond towards each other. In some way, it seems like they are siblings, but they don't have much of those emotions, but more like so close, there might be a future relationship among them, if there wasn't the fact that Katniss has to publicly love Peeta for the Capitol. So here's my question: Do you think there is a future love relationship between Katniss and Gale, or the 'fake' relationship between Katniss and Peeta becoming real?

From the second part of the Catching Fire,  
I honestly can't believe that those handful of berries resulting the spark of a future rebellion against the Capitol. I mean, the rebellion could have acted up a lot sooner than now, but I guess it's aprt of the plot. And if there was a rebellion going one, not much a plot is going on and not much of a book to read either. As for the future relationship between Katniss and Gale, there is still a chance for one, but for some reason, I don't think there might be. As for her 'star crossed lover', I don't see much of a development between them, other than the fact that Katniss rely on Peeta during those nightmares she gets. I honestly hope the relationship will not go further than that, but I highly doubt it, probably because the author might just created Gale as an older brother model rather than Katniss's love interest.  I think the author is just using Gale as a love triangle formation between him, Katniss, and Peeta, to "spice up" the romance, adding more problems for our dear main character. I also love the fact that the author decided to have some of the new characters introduced themselves by teasing Katniss. It's pretty amusing and it shows her other side, being more feminine than she already is. At the beginning, being "innocent" doesn't exactly add up to her and her tomboyish side, up until some minor teasing. I can understand how Katniss right now is facing: going through another Hunger Game even though she is suppose to be done with, competing against other victors, who are could possibly be more experienced in killing than her, displaying her 'affections' towards Peeta because of their engagement, and the very thought of a rebellion caused by her berries adds up a lot of different emotions mixing up tremendously. I still can't believe the game still hasn't started! Maybe the game doesn't end by the time I finish reading the rest of the novel....