By the middle of the book, their lives are turned upside down all over again. Now we get to find out what happens to people who actually win the Games, and how Katniss and Peeta's lives change forever because of their victory. Catching Fire picks up where the first book left off, which is a good thing, because the ending of The Hunger Games was a serious cliffhanger. If you thought we were going to spoil the second book in the series, think again. What could possibly be worse than being a tribute in the Hunger Games?

We're right, aren't we? (Yes, Shmoop has been known to have telepathic powers.) That means you'll get it when pose a very important question:

The Other Victors: Brutus, Enobaria, Gloss, Cashmere.We're guessing you've read The Hunger Games.

This is definitely a game-changer, and it sets the groundwork for an explosive beginning to book three. The final bombshell of the book is that Katniss' home district has been thoroughly destroyed. And boy are there rebels – way more than Katniss had anticipated. It's not a pile of rubble but a stronghold for the rebels. Now when the Capitol comes back after her, as they're sure to do, she'll be in even more danger than before.Īs an extra bonus, we find out that the mysterious District 13 does exist. Katniss already bent the rules once in the last Games. For the first time in Panem's history, there was no clear victor in the Games. Plus, all the rules of the Games have just been broken. If Katniss is temporarily out of danger, Peeta is in more danger than ever. Just as Katniss has escaped the arena and the clutches of the Capitol, Peeta has fallen into them.

Let's do a little recap of the end of Catching Fire, just so you can see how Collins achieves this total exciting cliffhanger ending: The more interesting the next jam, the more excited fans will be to get their hands on the third book. They have to get the characters out of one jam and into another. All good middle books face this challenge. In other words, the ending of this middle book in the Hunger Games trilogy has totally done its job: it has gotten us all fired up for Mockingjay. District 12 was destroyed? Peeta is stuck in the Capitol?! Hand over Mockingjay – right now! We thought the first book ended on a cliffhanger, but this one – yeesh.

The catching fire book