Welcome to Litsy!

i am never rereading this again. everything hurts. i want to throw up. i hate squirrels. to anyone who tried defending snow, i hope you never recover from this story. (and to anyone who keeps saying squid game is peak, consider reading the hunger games. and if you refuse to use your brain, watch the movies at very least.)

I listened to this one and though it was terribly sad, I appreciated Haymitch‘s story. I want to read Snow‘s story now. I wasn‘t all that interested in it when it was first published but my curiosity has piqued after reading this one. I‘ll have to check in with my 6th grade neighbor who is currently reading this.

I could not be more thrilled to read this month's #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin books! I'll likely start listening to the audiobook of The Woman Who Died A Lot while I'm packing today😁

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 I was balling my eyes out throughout this book! Can‘t wait for the movie next year💜I think I‘ll have to bring tissues ❤️‍🩹 I love Haymitch

So glad I read this *after* Songbirds and Snakes—there is stuff in this book that is really enhanced by knowing Snow‘s story, and perhaps more important, I liked this one a lot more. I thought I knew how Haymitch‘s story would go but this kept surprising me, even though I knew the broad strokes. It was fun to see so many familiar characters—and some of them surprised me, too. I‘m thinking about rereading the original trilogy now.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Started reading the HG series with the bf back in March and we've finally reached the end 🫶🏻
I can't explain how much I loved this book
✅ brilliant story with just the right amount of focus on the actual games
✅ great bunch of characters (&loved the return of some familiars
✅ sobbed endlessly the last 10%
❌ would have loved a longer epilogue

Hard not to give this book a “pick”. It‘s not high literature by any stretch. But it‘s imaginative and consistent with the original three books in the series. It was a nice easy read.

Finally finished. Enjoyed it much more than The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

Very good, but quite graphic. More so than what I remember of the original Hunger Games.

I thought I could be detached while reading this and wouldn‘t be surprised by anything. If you‘ve read or watched The Hunger Games, you know Haymitch. What could possibly shock a reader?

But oof was I misinformed. The last few pages, Collins pulled out the PAIN, and I was left a sobbing mess. The Hunger Games remains unsurpassed and Collins continues to add great stories to the series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A much needed book that takes us back to a fan favorite character and allows us to get a better understanding of why he is the way he is. This also takes a deeper looks at how fragile the system of the hungers games is and how hard the capital need to work to keep it in place for so long.

Elements felt heavy-handed (even for YA) in an attempt to tie up so much that arguably didn‘t need any more tying. That being said, the gruesome thought behind this series doesn‘t get easier to stomach with time. Poor Haymitch.

Off to rewatch the film series to see the implied connections. 🥹

This book had me in tears throughout the entire work. I listened to the audiobook on Audible in a single listen-through one night because pausing it was not an option. the book itself was eye-opening with some of the current world events. This was my first full read of 2025.10/10

The wheel has spoken and next up for my summer reads is Haymitch‘s story!

Food for thought considering today‘s events in the real world.

Also no real spoilers, but I‘m 100 pages in and there‘s already two significant deaths. Suzanne, you‘re trying for tears and will probably succeed.

I didn‘t plan to read this this month but my library hold came in after months. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Given the “birthday parade” happening this weekend, perhaps it was kismet. Suzanne, you never disappoint.

Just finished Sunrise on the Reaping the other day. Absolutely loved it but it was definitely hard to get over it. I never really liked or disliked Hamitch but I definitely understand him. His trauma was way worse than I imagined.

One of my May books is finally done. 🎧 read by Jefferson White. Haymitch and his backstory were even more tragic than was alluded in the original trilogy. Reading a book that doesn‘t have a lot of hope in it, but lots and lots of pain is hard, so it took me a while to get through it. A pretty gorey book. More connections to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I am looking forward to the movie.

Interesting story, with lots of tie-ins to the other books. It felt like there was a huge build up to the game, then the game, then an incredibly rushed ending. But I enjoyed it.

I devoured this, even with knowing the ending. It‘s been a long time since I‘ve read about the reaping, training, parade, trying to overthrow the Capital with disastrous results, and the arena where all things go to hell. This pairs fantastic with sitting poolside and is nostalgically wonderfully dramatic.

5/5 my new favorite book in the series. Couldn‘t put it down. Very graphic compared to the others in the series. Only negative-it left me emotionally exhausted

I ate every crumb. Idc if it was “needed” or not. This one was for the fans. 💜 4.5/5

I‘m not much of a cryer while reading books. Too many tears and I can‘t see what I‘m reading! However, this book definitely got me in the feels. #sundayfunday

I loved this book! Definitely on my list of favorites for 2025. I kept describing it as brutal & it is (not sure how they‘ll make a pg-13 movie out of this one). As I‘m sure everyone knows, this is Haymitch‘s story, so readers of the trilogy know how it‘s going to end. That doesn‘t take away from the emotions throughout. There‘s also a lot of connections with characters from Catching Fire & Mockingjay. 5/5 ⭐️

For me, this wasn't as amazing as the 'Hunger Games' trilogy or 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'. However, I did really enjoy it - it was heartbreaking to read Haymitch's story and discover everything he suffered. This is definitely one of my all time fave series.

Follows the formula of the first 2 books: reaping, training, the games, the aftermath. It was excellent
💔😭💔😭💔

My husband's out of town, so I decided to spend my Friday evening reading this book for 7 hours straight and making myself miserable 😂😭 It was like being transported back to Christmas 2008, when I was 14 and had just received The Hunger Games as a gift from my dad, and I stayed up all night devouring it. Much more so than the other prequel, this one enthralled me and broke my heart.

My #readingbracket2025 as of April 2025. Sunrise on the Reaping told Haymitch's story the way I knew it had to go for him to cope the way he does as an adult victor. But then Collins took it up 10 notches and absolutely decimated my heart with the other tributes' stories/deaths, the spotlight on the insidious nature of propaganda, a small glimpse of what it takes to start a revolution, and the reality of how long it can take to effect change.

This is a gut punch of a read. If you read the original trilogy or saw the movies, you know this is going to be tragic. However, the author still gives us hope@and keeps us reading and then crushes you to itty bitty pieces. Still an excellent read, but now I need to go rewatch/reread the original so I know it is not all for nothing. 4.5⭐️

I really liked this one. The set up to get us to the events of the original series were some of my favorite things to see.

I used this one for another Orilium prompt. This time was Inscription.

My best April book knocked out some really good books in the battle for my best book of the year. 🤩

May hopefuls.

This doesn‘t include my ebooks or audiobooks.

I had two five star reads in April so I decided to use one of my wild cards #BookBracket2025 @CSeydel

What were the best books you read in April?

This was a hard choice for April!

33.2025

Finally got my hands on this one! Can‘t wait to cry hysterically!

Good but I didn't love it like the original trilogy. Which I now want to reread!

Time flies, it has been forever since I read the original books.

As a prequel, there are certain things that won‘t come as a surprise in this book, but that doesn‘t mean they don‘t pack a punch!

Haymitch‘s hunger games was an excellent choice for its own book, and really shows how he became the man we meet in the hunger games trilogy. It was great to see some other familiar people in there too, along with Snow being as despicable as ever.

3.5/5 🌟

I liked it better than the last book, but it still didn‘t measure up to the original trilogy. Just okay.

5✨ Loving the Hunger Games Series so much that my husband had to remind me to eat. I knew I needed to pick this up. I was not disappointed. While we know the outcome of the games if you‘ve read the series it doesn‘t stop the excitement. With obvious dread as we near the end, and then it also has information of after the games that leads up to the hunger game series.

1. I‘m still thinking about the tagged book on a regular basis…
2. I‘m sad to say that I tried two Leigh Bardugo books and bailed on both. Maybe at another time…
#wondrouswednesday

Finished this and I really enjoyed it. I liked the small details this added as well.

Haymitch‘s backstory gripped me just as hard as when I read Katniss exclaim, “I volunteer as Tribute.” Loved stepping into Panem again. Seeing characters in earlier years and knowing where they end up was bittersweet. Quite a satisfying emotional rollercoaster. If Collins has more of these kinds of backstories in her pocket, I‘m here for them!

This is incredibly dark for a YA book, and it is really difficult to read a dystopian at this point in history, but Haymitch's story is well told. The book is not uplifting, but it is gripping. I appreciated the Poe quotes.

Unlikeable though Haymitch initially was when he was first introduced in The Hunger Games, there was always an indication that there was more to him; a reason why he had become a miserable alcoholic. SOTR does a brilliant job of capturing the feel of the original books, making the reader feel for the characters, and keeping us smack dab in the thick of the battle both inside and outside of the arena.