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155 reviews

Laura Jayne

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Laura Jayne is currently reading

Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (Hercule Poirot, #30; Miss Marple, #2.2)

by Agatha Christie

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2 hours, 9 min ago

Laura Jayne is currently reading

Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)

by Suzanne Collins

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in July 2025

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Laura Jayne said: " It is the first Friday in June. Birds are flying, the sky is blue, the sun is shining - and I am crying. I kid you not, tears are streaming down my face as I close this book.
I've read the other 'Hunger Games' books, even 'The Ballad of Songbirds and It is the first Friday in June. Birds are flying, the sky is blue, the sun is shining - and I am crying. I kid you not, tears are streaming down my face as I close this book.
I've read the other 'Hunger Games' books, even 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes', but this one... Woah, it really was a sucker-punch to the heart.
I may have taken my time with this book, reading other, lighter ones in between, but I really do believe that 'Sunrise on the Reaping' is the most powerful book in the series. Like most people, I wondered what had happened to Haymitch in the Games, and it was thrilling to learn that Suzanne Collins was ready to share his story with us.
With 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' still fresh in my mind, the brutality of President Snow hits harder, especially with regard to Haymitch's love, Lenore Dove. Even though I knew what the general outcome of the Games would be, I found myself hoping against hope for certain characters to live, and sitting on the edge of my seat, willing Haymitch not to die.
I spotted similarities between him and Katniss - in fact, there was even a little bit of Lucy Gray Baird in them. These are characters who want to make a change, who want to fight back against the barbaric Capitol, (and President Snow), who defy the odds. We see generation upon generation taking a stand, their acts of resistance being washed from history, until, at some point, everything falls into place. The right person, the right time, the right moves. Their victory built on the shoulders of those who paved the way before them.
I also admired the way in which Collins shaped Haymitch's character - we see him gradually shift, change, morph, into the Haymitch we first meet in the first 'Hunger Games' novel.
I had always wondered what he'd been like before - his character had always presented somewhat of a mystery to me - and I feel that Collins did an amazing job in giving more dimension to his character. I could really feel how everything that happened to him, around him, led him down that path. Which is why I was bawling as I read the last few chapters of this book. I could feel his pain, his grief, his loss... his redemption. They were no longer simply inked marks on paper.
It just goes to show that anyone can write words, but only some can make you feel them.
Suzanne Collins made me feel every syllable. ...more "

Jul 04, 2025 02:46AM · see review