*spoilers* - Sunrise on the reaping

° highly recommend °, a review of
#sunriseonthereaping by @suzannecollins
.
.
.
Synopsis: this book tells the story of Haymitch and ties in the gap between #balladofsongbirdsandsnakes and the #hungergames trilogy. I can't say much more without spoiling it except Haymitch is thrown into the second Quarter Quell and it is as gruesome as you anticipate it.
.
.
My reading experience:
The previous book - The ballad of Songbirds and Snakes- made me like Snow and then we all know what happened. This book twists it: I really wasn't a fan of Haymitch in the hunger games and by the end of this book I was in tears. Back to hating Snow with a passion.
I love how Collins has you knowing how it will turn out, but still has you gasping and crying (possibly tossing your book through the room). You are spared cruelty nor heartbreak and in the end there is nothing left but feeling a book slump coming on.
It cannot be a coincidence Collins uses culture (lots of music/poetry) and a marginalised group in society (the Covey, a gypsy-like folk with a larg musical tradition and free spirit) to be the ones to deliver us the very timely message on how dictatorship works: control the masses with disinformation, cut freedom of speech, install terror.
This dystopian novel/series is so strong, because of its relevance today, because it is a warning:
Don't let the sun rise upon the reaping!
.
.
/5 because it has it all: the world that drags you in, the characters with a tremendous arc (Maysilee my heroine!) and plot with gut wrenching twists. You see them coming, but they are executed so well, that you just don't know what hits you. If you haven't: get to your local library or bookstore and read this novel!