Reading: Catching Fire

Here's another summary on Catching Fire. I'm really starting to like this book and I think you'll see why. This one goes through page 90.

President Snow and Katniss are finishing up their meeting about her expected behavior on the tour and all she can think about is, how is she going to fake being in love with Peeta all over again. To cover up her fear, Katniss tells her mother that the meeting was typical of the Game's victor. She explains that although they never see it on TV, the president always goes to the victor's house to wish them luck before the tour. She would have never told her mother the truth, and she probably wouldn't have told her the lie either if it wasn't for the Games. Since she's been home, Katniss has been trying to fix her relationship with her mom. Katniss is attempting to forget all the things in the past her mother has messed up on and starting fresh. Her mom saved her, at least a little bit, from interviewers by telling the press that Katniss "wasn't old enough to have a boyfriend at all."
Meanwhile, Katniss is still struggling over the residue of her meeting with President Snow. Who should she tell? Better yet, who could she tell? She knows telling her family, Gale, and Peeta are out of the question; especially Peeta because saying wouldn't be best for the situation: "Hey, Peeta, remember how I told you I was kind of faking being in love with you? Well, I really need you to forget about that now and act extra in love with me or the president might kill Gale," After eliminating everyone else in her life, she decides that Haymitch is the only one she can tell.
Cinna and the rest of the stylists arrive to primp Katniss before she has to leave for the tour. In the midst of beautifying her, the stylist begin talking about the Quarter Quell. This event happens every twenty-five years of the Hunger Games, and it's full of new twists, the twist being that twice the number of tributes fill the arena. Not only has Cinna been helping her with her looks, but he's also been helping her with her talent. Ok, this whole process is starting to resemble a complete beauty pageant. This onto of everything else that happened in the first book while they were prepping for the Games. A victor's "talent is the activity you take up since you don't have to work either in school or your district's industry." Obviously Peeta's talent is painting/frosting (remember how good he was at camouflaging in the arena? well frosting is the same thing just on food and it's just like painting!), but Katniss doesn't really have her own talent, so she 'borrows' Cinna's. There's no surprise that his talent happens to be designing clothes. He's promised her that he'd help and basically take care of everything for her talent; he made clothes, sketches, and even brought fabric for her.
The Everdeen house is buzzing with the stylists running around, Cinna dressing Katniss, Effie Trinket trying to hurry everyone up, and Prim being interviewed by the Capitol. When Katniss is watching Prim being interviewed, she can't help but think about Rue and how she didn't save her. Before she heads out, Katniss's mother pins Madge's mockingjay pin onto her scarf for good luck. Katniss leaves her house to find Peeta doing the same. With a big smile on her face she takes off running towards Peeta, he catches her but slips as a result of his artificial leg, and the two fall into the snow to have their first kiss in a long time (this entire scene is of course because EVERYONE is watching).
Families, stylists, and all, they make it to the station to send Peeta and Katniss off on their way for the tour. A little while later, Katniss heads down to Haymitch's room on the train. Paranoid that President Snow is watching her, Katniss hints that the "train's so stuffy", then she and Haymitch walk down the hallway where he opens a door leading to the outside. I have to get it to Haymitch for being clever. He opened the door hoping the loudness of the roaring snow would cover up their conversation. After she tells him everything, "about the president's visit, about Gale, about how [they're] going to die if [she] fails," he simply tells her that now, she can't fail. This made me think of everything that I've seen imprinted with the slogan FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION! She begs Haymitch to help her get through this last trip but he tells her that it's not just 'this last trip,' but that she'll have to go on 'fake loving' Peeta for the rest of her life. He reminds her that "Even if [they] pull it off, they'll be backin another few months to take [them] back to the Games. [She] and Peeta, [they'll] be mentors now, every year from here on out. And every year they'll revisit the romance and broadcast the details of your private life, and you'll never, ever be able to do anything but live happily ever after with that boy." DUN DUN DUN! If I was Katniss right now I'd totally be freaking out. Having to spend my life pretending to be in love with someone I'm not doesn't sound like any fun to me!
Walking back to their rooms, Haymitch says to Katniss:" You could do a lot worse, you know." He's totally right. She could've gotten stuck with some ugly guy who doesn't care about her. Trying to fall asleep, she thinks about Haymitch's words and how one of her rights in District 12 is to marry who she wants or no one at all. She's determined President Snow will make them have children, and then their children will become tributes.
The trains headed for District 11, the first stop on the Victory Tour. Katniss is dreading this one because it's Rue's district. Once again, Katniss gets an entire makeover and a new outfit for today. At breakfast its announced that the train will be stopping because there's a mechanical problem with the train. This sends Effie into a frenzy because she's a schedule nut who has to always have her days outlined. Katniss starts yelling at Effie that "no one cares," and everything in the room stops and she leaves. She gets off the train and starts wondering around when Peeta finds her. They have a civilized conversation about how they can't help what they did in the games, how Peeta is jealous of Gale, and how they "should take a shot at just being friends."
Peeta provides a comic relief from everything going on when he asks: "Isn't it strange that I know you'd risk your life to save mine...but I don't know what your favorite color is?" Katniss talks of how she's never seen one of Peeta's paintings. He tells her to follow him, because there's a ton of them on the train. When they get back, Katniss apologizes to Effie, she politely accepts, and then the friends go see the painting. Katniss was expecting pictures similar to the ones that Peeta puts on baked goods, but instead Peeta paints scenes from the games. Her first reaction is to say she hates them, which she does, but it's because they're so realistic and all she's trying to do is forget about them. He explains that he gets his inspiration from his nightmares and that if he paints them he's "a little less afraid of going to sleep at night" or he pretends to be anyway.
District 11 is approaching and from the window they see a huge, barbed wire fence alive with electricity, armed watchtowers, and a field of wildflowers. Strange how the tough and frightening fence and towers can be a midst a pretty field of flowers right? Effie tells the victors to get dressed and they do as they're told. Cinna puts Katniss in a pretty orange frock, and she thinks how much Peeta will love it because it's his favorite color.
Once they arrive they're all treated rudely and are getting pushed around. At the ceremony, the anthem plays, Peeta and Katniss act coupley, the mayor gives a speech, the victors give a thank speech to the Capitol, and then the unexpected. Peeta adds that Thresh and Rue kept Katniss alive in the games, therefore keeping him alive, and how he can never repay them; so, he promises their families one month of their winnings until they (Katniss and Peeta) die. This whole time Katniss has been noticing Thresh and Rue's families, especially Rue's. Katniss gives a speech about Tresh and how great of a player he was in the games, and then about Rue and how great of friends they had become, and she thanks them for the bread they (the district) sent her in the games. In response someone whistles Rue's mockingjay tune and everyone, literally everyone in the square, touches their fingers to their lips and reaches them out towards Katniss and Peeta (remember this is District 12's sign). In media res, Katniss forgets her flowers on the stage, but when she and Peeta go back to get them they see two Peacekeepers dragging an old man, the one who whistled Rue's song, to the stage, they force him onto his knee, and then they shoot him in the head. Is this a warning that the Capitol is already pissed off this early in the tour?
When the two get into the Justice Building, Haymitch orders them to follow him up into the dirty dome of the building. He forces Katniss to tell Peeta about her meeting with President Snow. Peeta feels bad because he thinks he's made the situation worse by giving the dead tribute's families money and he's mad that Katniss and Haymitch have been keeping secrets from him. Haymitch admits that he did favor Katniss in the arena because he could only get one of them to the end. This sends Peeta into a rage. They promise to keep Peeta in on things from now on.
Before the ceremony dinner Effie is complaining about how they're all being treated terribly in District 11 and how she can't wait to leave. Peeta apologizes to Katniss for yelling at her and she forgives him. At the dinner they "are borderline delirious in [their] love for each other."
The team travel all through out the districts to make their way towards their home, District 12. After discussing their 'love,' Katniss suggests that they have a public marriage proposal. Preeta agrees but sees to keep to himself because even though he wanted this to happen, he didn't want it to be forced. He proposes to Katniss during an interview when Caesar Flickerman asks them about their future. President Snow makes a guest appearance on the interview to congratulate the two and his body language makes Katniss feel like she's messed up and it's the end of the world. Isn't it crazy how someone doesn't even have to say something to let us know somethings wrong? We're so adapted to other people that we can sometimes just sense it.
Now thinking she's in trouble, Katniss devises a runaway plan to save her life. She wants her family, Gale and his family, Peeta and his family, and Haymitch to hop (or in this case go under) the fence and escape to the woods. At the ceremony Katniss decides she wants to taste all of the amazing food at the dinner, but she quickly becomes full. The stylists give her this drink that make her throw up so she is able to eat even more food. She thinks it's ridiculous that people eat food just to throw it up when there are some districts that are starving to death. I totally agree with her on this part. I feel awful when people throw away things of food that are perfectly fine when there are kids that have to go without food daily.
During the dinner/party Katniss meets Plutarch Heavensbee, he was one of the Gamemakers during Kantiss's time at the Hunger Games, and now he's been promoted to Head Gamemaker. The two dance, talk, and laugh, but when he pulls out his watch to leave Katniss noticed something strange about it. On his pocket-watch theres a glowing image of a mockingjay, but it quickly disappears. Foreshadowing possibly?
When they leave the party they all have tea back on the train. After tea they all go to bed because they have the Harvest Festival in District 12 the next day. Katniss wakes up and Peeta tells her she didn't have any nightmares, he knows this because one they're still sleeping together and two she slept like she was happy instead of screaming. Katniss tells him that she had a dream though; she saw a mockingjay and she followed it through the woods. Katniss believed this mockingjay to be Rue. Then Katniss asks Peeta why he never wakes her up when he has a nightmare and he replies: "My nightmares are usually about losing you. I'm okay once I realize you're here." Oh man how precious! Katniss really couldn't do any better!
Ah home at last. At District 12 the victors get ready at the mayor's house. Katniss goes out on a search through the house to find her friend Madge. While looking she hears a TV turned on in the mayor's office. It's saying something about an "update on district 8" and then they show footage of a huge mob scene and screaming people. Katniss knows this can only be what President Snow calls and uprising.

And the suspense continues! Be ready for more Catching Fire soon!