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Kathryn Brisson

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Kathryn is Currently Reading

Kathryn Brisson is currently reading

Strange Buildings (Strange Houses, #2)

by Uketsu

bookshelves: currently-reading, 2026

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Aug 30, 2026 04:11PM

Kathryn Brisson is currently reading

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0)

by Suzanne Collins

bookshelves: 2023, 2024, currently-reading, 2026

Reading for the 3rd time

read in November 2023

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Kathryn Brisson said:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

" I absolutely loved this. I avoided reading this for a long time because I didn't want to read a tome that would make this monster a sympathetic character. Suzanne Collins is an amazing writer she managed to write an entire novel from the perspective I absolutely loved this. I avoided reading this for a long time because I didn't want to read a tome that would make this monster a sympathetic character. Suzanne Collins is an amazing writer she managed to write an entire novel from the perspective of a boy - yes a boy - who is being shaped by the people and circumstances that surround him and how each and every moment will play a part and shape his next 60 years.
Nothing in this story is added that does not have a purpose. The snakes for example there is a reason they are introduced to Snow - then he uses them in the games. Perfect example of Chekov's principle - if you show a gun in act one it must be used by act three. The thing is some of these "guns" show up in the original trilogy which is just brilliant.
Multiple times Lucy Grey will say things over and over "it wont end until the Mockingjay sings" or she has a strong belief in destiny and the stars and prophesy but Snow doesn't. This comes back to haunt him in the 74th Hunger Games. Suddenly he is surrounded by reminders of this girl and this year of his life that started and changed everything for him. He did not heed the warnings, and the advice from the empathic people around him. He couldn't understand their empathy as he has none - that is why he could continue to be such a Monster - he literally has no empathy for others and shows absolutely no compassion or remorse or any of that kind throughout this novel. This is not a sympathetic origin story - its just an honest telling of what this power man did to become who he is.
I know there are some people that don't like how quickly this wrapped up but I think it was indicative of President Snow's decent into madness, his paranoia, and obsession with the Hunger Game and control over the districts. Snow has a superiority complex throughout the novel and his "love" of Lucy Grey is more narcissistic and possessive - he doesn't love her he wants to own her. This isn't an origin story in which you start to feel for the villain - its an explanation that all of the things that happened to him inform all his decisions going forward and showcase his thoughts and how he came to be this monstrous person.
Also what are the chances that Primrose would be the name called out for the reaping. I have a theory that Snow would punish anyone with the nomenclature names as the Covey - "Prim Rose" "Maude Ivory" "Lucy Grey" - these ballots are computer generated why would he not have an algorithm that puts anyone with that type of name immediately into the Hunger Games.
All of Lucy Grey's sayings and musings - things she says or does around Snow it all informs what he does which in turn means that he causes his own downfall - its a self fulfilling prophesy. ...more "

Jan 12, 2024 04:47AM · see review

Kathryn Brisson is currently reading

Blood of the Firstborn (The Firstborn Chronicles, #1)

by Georgia Parry (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Apr 14, 2026 09:34AM

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Kathryn’s Quotes

“The ability to feel is a strength, not a weakness.”
― Margaret Rogerson, An Enchantment of Ravens

178 likes

“Father says I'm perfect, but would a prince agree if he knew what I was made of? Would he value me for the usefulness of my parts, or for the contents of my heart? Or would he only value me as a prize to slay the monsters in the story?”
― MarcyKate Connolly , Monstrous

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“Perhaps the ache of homesickness was a fair price to pay for having so many good people in her life.”
― Becky Chambers, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

tags: friendship, homesickness

68 likes

“Walking along a blade’s edge was only fun until the blade stopped being a metaphor.”
― Margaret Rogerson, An Enchantment of Ravens

137 likes

“The stars moved slowly above her, an array of possibilities, and for the first time in a long time, she felt them mirrored in her heart.”
― Maggie Stiefvater, Blue Lily, Lily Blue

15 likes

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