Spoiler-Free Review

Ah, The Hunger Games. One of my all-time favorite series. If Haymitch’s Games interest you, then you need to read Sunrise on the Reaping.

I’ve previously done a deeper dive on the themes of The Hunger Games, which you can read here.

Click here for content warnings for Sunrise on the Reaping.

What’s Sunrise on the Reaping about?

24 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteers in place of her sister, Haymitch Abernathy is conscripted to the 50^th Quarter Quell with double the number of tributes.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

Reading this book felt like being a teenager reading The Hunger Games for the first time. A blast to the past.

In standard fashion for this series, the prose is sparse and direct. This makes it an accessible read, but it’s also jarring – it doesn’t pull its punches when a gruesome death plays out on page. It also moves at a quick pace, so it was easy to fly though the story.

So much of Haymitch’s story mirrors Katniss’s. This can be a good or a bad thing depending on the reader and how you interpret it. On the one hand, the plot beats feel familiar (though the specifics were surprises), but on the other hand, the two stories had to be similar – Haymitch and Katniss are the only two living District 12 victors. Their upbringing, their values, their community were all the same and impacted them the same way. I also feel this gives new perspective to the original trilogy, both to Haymitch’s behavior and to the way his own trauma haunts the narrative of Katniss’s story (in ways we didn’t realize at the time).

Now, my one real complaint is that I felt, thematically, this story didn’t add much new thought to the series. Particularly compared to The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, President Snow’s prequel, which I thought took the themes to new heights from a different angle. This one felt more inspired in the direction of telling Haymitch’s story than in finding a new way to analyze the world of Panem.

As a side note, others have complained that there were too many cameos, but I loved them. And I think it makes sense, given the small size of the victor pool, the Capital, and the rebellion. For a story that only takes place 25 years prior to the original trilogy, I’d be more surprised if we didn’t see any familiar faces.

Also, prepare to be gut-punched a few times.

Should you read Sunrise on the Reaping?

I think it’s a must-read for any Hunger Games fans.

I can’t say for certain whether I think Suzanne Collins will write more in this universe. Many are chomping at the bit for a Finnick Odair story, but I don’t think that’s likely; all of her stories have centered District 12 in some way.

As much as The Hunger Games books are a satire of society and a commentary on politics, they’re also a love letter to the underdog, the Appalachian society District 12 is modelled after, and the down-home way of life that persists despite what governments do. I really can’t picture Suzanne Collins writing a book taking place elsewhere in Panem, but who knows, I’ve been wrong before.