Catching Fire & Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

I couldn't help myself. I read "Catching Fire" in four days and "Mockingjay" in two. I think Collins went a little overboard with Katniss' craziness, but then the horrors she witnessed, and took part in, would probably be enough to drive any seventeen-year-old girl insane. "Catching Fire" was much more complex than the movie. There's a lot more information about the rebellion and the crackdown in District 12 that I think adds depth that the movie lacked. The film is so focused on Katniss that the viewer misses all the nuances in the book. I'm interested to see what they do with "Mockingjay," and would actually be glad if it's true they are splitting it into two movies. I hope in that way they can do justice to the complex world Collins weaved, where there is no black and white and the gray is far, far vaster than it should be. Torture is so utterly damaging, and despite being labeled as "young adult," the books do not shy away from what what damage really looks like. Rebellion is never as simple as "us good, them bad," and Collins does a good job of making that clear. It's a fantastic series of books, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the film adaptation of "Mockingjay."