Summary
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.
Source: Google Books
Reviews
"Collins has done that rare thing. She has written a sequel that improves upon the first book."
--The New York Times, Gabrielle Zevin
"Again, Collins’ crystalline, unadorned prose provides an open window to perfect pacing and electrifying world-building, but what’s even more remarkable is that aside from being tremendously action-packed sf thrillers, these books are also brimming with potent themes of morality, obedience, sacrifice, redemption, love, law, and, above all, survival. Honestly, this book only needs to be good enough to satisfy its legions of fans. Fortunately, it’s great. And if you were dying to find out what happens after the last book, get ready for pure torture awaiting the next."
--Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
"...doesn’t disappoint when it segues into the pulse-pounding action readers have come to expect. Characters from the previous volume reappear to good effect: Katniss’s stylist, Cinna, proves he’s about more than fashion; Haymitch becomes more dimensional. But the star remains Katniss, whose bravery, honesty and wry cynicism carry the narrative...Collins has also created an exquisitely tense romantic triangle for her heroine...by book’s end (and it’s a cliffhanger), readers will be picking sides—Peeta or Gale?”
--Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
"Stellar, imaginative writing."
--Los Angeles Times
"Beyond the expert world building, the acute social commentary and the large cast of fully realized characters, there’s action, intrigue, romance and some amount of hope in a story readers will find completely engrossing. Collins weaves in enough background for this novel to stand alone, but it will be a far richer experience for those who have read the first installment and come to love Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch and the rest of the desperate residents of this dystopia. A humdinger of a cliffhanger will leave readers clamoring for volume three."
--Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
"...this sequel has enough action to please Hunger Games fans and leaves enough questions tantalizingly unanswered for readers to be desperate for the next installment."
--School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
"Collins ratchets up the tension in the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. With a host of well-drawn new secondary characters and more lives on the line, this will keep readers of all ages up long past their bedtimes."
#1 USA TODAY BESTSELLER
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
#1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER
#1 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE
TIME MAGAZINE
TOP 10 FICTION BOOKS OF 2009
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY'S BEST BOOKS OF 2009:
CHILDREN'S FICTION
A PEOPLE MAGAZINE (TOP 10) BEST BOOK OF 2009
A LOS ANGELES TIMES BEST CHILDREN'S BOOK OF 2009
A BOOKLIST EDITORS' CHOICE, 2009
A KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF 2009
AN AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
BEST BOOKS FOR YOUNG ADULTS SELECTION
#1 YALSA'S TEENS' TOP TEN, 2010
NYPL “STUFF FOR THE TEEN AGE” LIST, 2010
2010 CHILDREN'S CHOICE BOOK AWARD
TEEN CHOICE BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER
AUTHOR OF THE YEAR NOMINEE
2010 INDIES CHOICE AWARD WINNER--YOUNG ADULT
TOP 10 ON THE FALL 2009 CHILDREN'S INDIE NEXT LIST
BARNES & NOBLE BEST TEEN BOOKS OF 2009
BORDERS BEST BOOKS OF 2009: TEENS
AMAZON BEST BOOKS OF 2009:
TOP 100 EDITORS' PICK
TOP 10 BOOKS: TEENS
--Romantic Times Book Reviews, ****1/2 STARS
Awards
