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beandiaries 's review for:
Sunrise on the Reaping
by Suzanne Collins
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book took me by surprise. It also let me down a bit, but honestly, I kinda think that’s the point. Haymitch isn’t our ultimate hero. And he never truly saved himself. That was Katniss’s story.
Did I find the Lenore Dove thing a bit cloying? Perhaps. The repetition of the poem was kinda annoying. But I understand it, and I think it serves an important purpose. He was so enamored by her. She was his main reason for living. But he’s also a coward, and a kid who never learned how to actually feel things and think things through. This isn’t a character flaw - the boy is freshly 16 in this book - but it’s just so sad reading the book seeing him devolve into the drunkard, older Haymitch we know from original THG trilogy. It’s sad and kinda annoying that he doesn’t truly grow out of that stage of his life, but how could he? I mean, who can truly fault him? That’s the point. These victors are largely frozen in time. A snapshot of their youth when they had to fight or survive to the death and then had to go live a very strange in between life in their home again. The epilogue gave me comfort, him in the great after with Katniss and Peeta and his geese. His and Lenore’s geese. It’s what he deserves and never truly got. But I think this book is a truly excellent character examination and backstory, thoughtfully written, and sincerely well-executed. At times it felt a bit simple or neat, but honestly, it’s a YA book that is trying to make very complex and crucial political statements palatable and digestible to the vast public of all ages. Suzanne done did it again.
Did I find the Lenore Dove thing a bit cloying? Perhaps. The repetition of the poem was kinda annoying. But I understand it, and I think it serves an important purpose. He was so enamored by her. She was his main reason for living. But he’s also a coward, and a kid who never learned how to actually feel things and think things through. This isn’t a character flaw - the boy is freshly 16 in this book - but it’s just so sad reading the book seeing him devolve into the drunkard, older Haymitch we know from original THG trilogy. It’s sad and kinda annoying that he doesn’t truly grow out of that stage of his life, but how could he? I mean, who can truly fault him? That’s the point. These victors are largely frozen in time. A snapshot of their youth when they had to fight or survive to the death and then had to go live a very strange in between life in their home again. The epilogue gave me comfort, him in the great after with Katniss and Peeta and his geese. His and Lenore’s geese. It’s what he deserves and never truly got. But I think this book is a truly excellent character examination and backstory, thoughtfully written, and sincerely well-executed. At times it felt a bit simple or neat, but honestly, it’s a YA book that is trying to make very complex and crucial political statements palatable and digestible to the vast public of all ages. Suzanne done did it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, War