What I'm Reading Now-Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins-When I reviewed The Hunger Games last June, I said I would be reading Catching Fire "soon." Does almost exactly one year later count as soon?  Oh, well, I read it, and that's what counts.  I enjoyed The Hunger Games, but I think I liked Catching Fire better. I'm not sure if it's because I didn't read all the hype leading up to it like I did with THG and, therefore, did not have any unmet expectations or if it was because I just couldn't figure out what could be as bad as Katniss and Peeta having to participate in the Hunger Games. They won, they made it back home, they are guaranteed a life of relative prosperity and peace. What could happen? Oh, lots of things, as it turns out!

The one tiny complaint that I have about these books is that Katniss strikes me as being so obtuse at times.  She can think on her feet and assess these crazy life-or-death situations, but she doesn't seem to be able to put two and two together when it comes to other things (like the fact that Gale and/or Peeta might actually have feeeelings for her).  I can't really say more than that because the particular example I'm thinking of would give a lot away...so much in fact, that Katniss should have figured it out by the time she had all this information!  I don't know.  Maybe I'm being too hard on the girl.  Maybe if I were sixteen and fighting for my life and constantly worrying about the fate of my family, I would miss the more subtle stuff too.  What do you think?  Am I being too critical of Katniss?  Should I hold my tongue until after I've had to compete in a Hunger Games and then we'll see what I think of her critical thinking abilities?  Is this a plot device that YA authors use to make their readers feel smart because they've managed to figure out something that the main character has yet to see?  Well, it worked.  Being (at least) twice her age and having the luxury of sitting around and reading about all the horrible things going on in Katniss' life from the safety of my couch, I feel way smart having figured out what I figured out...yeah, OK, maybe  I'm being a little hard on her.

Now I find myself in the same dilemma I was in a year ago:  I enjoyed Catching Fire and am looking forward to the final book in the series, Mockingjay (which comes out August 24, 2010), but now I'm worried that it won't be as good as the other two.  While I left THG thinking, What could happen now? I have a pretty good idea of where things are headed now, and I'm worried I won't like reading about it because where I think it's headed is not really my thing.  So far though, Suzanne Collins has not let me down, so I'm staying optimistic.

Other reviews:
Nicole at Linus's Blanket
Sheila at Book Journey
Amy at My Friend Amy
Raych at books i done read
Lori at She Treads Softly
Anna at Diary of an Eccentric

There are a few reviews that I ran across that I didn't include here because they contain what some readers might not consider a spoiler but what I thought was a major spoiler.  I didn't know this thing was coming, so when it happened in the book, I was like, "NOOOOOOOOO!" (actually, I might have said something else, but I won't print that here) and far be it from me to ruin such a horrifying moment for anyone else!