Catching Fire: a brief [reread] review

Guys, I am so excited. And being a huge dork. And I know that I already have a post from a month or two ago about how excited I am about this but...

I finished rereading Catching Fire - the #2 book in the famous Hunger Games trilogy - today, and to say that I'm excited for the movie to come out next week would be the biggest understatement ever. (Not the biggest ever, just the biggest in most recent history.) I loved it back when I originally read it, but holy goodness do I love it even more now. I actually think Catching Fire is my favorite of the three. The surprises are bigger, the shock factor is way bigger, and the hatred you feel towards the Capitol and President Snow is off the charts bigger (or is that just me?). And that ending? I'd remembered generally how this one ended but I had forgotten that it ends with such a bomb dropped and then no additional explanation or comfort, so here I am just freaking out and crying on a plane wishing it was already time to go to the theaters.

There's that line in the first book/movie that has become pretty classic and repeated, because it's so representative of the spirit of the books as a whole: Peeta tells Katniss the night before the games that he doesn't want to be just a part of their games. He wants to show them somehow that they don't own him. Well the line in Catching Fire that sends equal shivers down my spine is not nearly as epic or mockingjay-worthy, but it made my heart absolutely melt when I read it this second time. Katniss and Haymitch have just received some pretty earth-shattering news, and I'm not going to say what it is just on the off-chance that someone who reads this hasn't read the book and is going to be surprised by the movie. But as the two of them sit and mourn over a bottle of some kind of hard liquor, Haymitch turns to Katniss and says, "You could live a hundred lifetimes and not deserve him, you know."

Team Peeta, y'all. November 22.

PS: according to IMDB.com, my source for everything, Taylor Kitsch was a possibility for the role of Finnick. I'm guessing I don't have to share my thoughts with you on that one. (But just in case, I would have absolutely loved it if Taylor Kitsch had been cast as Finnick.) As it is though, my personal opinion is that Arnie Hammer, also listed as a possibility, would have been the best choice. A Winklevoss is pretty much exactly who you want to be battling robot monkeys and/or the Capitol with.