All Haymitch wants is a quiet life with the girl he loves. But when his name is called, his world shatters. Alongside three other District 12 tributes – a dear friend, a calculating oddsmaker and the town’s most arrogant girl – he is sent to the Capitol, where the odds are stacked against him. As the arena’s horrors unfold, Haymitch realizes he’s not just fighting to survive. He’s fighting to make a statement that could shake the foundations of Panem itself.
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Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Sunrise on the Reaping takes place 24 years before the original Hunger Games trilogy and 40 years after the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. This isn’t a book to take for granted or to take lightly. Suzanne Collins simply doesn’t churn books out. Fans love to declare Suzanne Collins doesn’t write unless she has something to say, which is trite but true.
This could have been a boring, straightforward story. Readers know that Haymitch won his games; that’s the whole reason he exists in the original trilogy. They also know how he won — or at least they think they do. That thought process reveals the main premise of Sunrise on the Reaping. The narrative we know, the narrative the government supplied, isn’t the truth. Is it enough to trust the story we’re being told by the people in power, or should we dig deeper?
Propaganda is the main issue at the center of this story. The heart of Collins’ message is the realization that it’s so easy to fall prey to propaganda when an entire narrative can be manipulated. The Capitol is truly skilled at twisting the truth and has every resource at its disposal. While it was horrifying to see, I loved the chance to look behind the narrative we knew from the events of Catching Fire to discover the real truth.
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A Life of Suffering, Loss and Loneliness
On a similar note, this is a tough read, even though you know how it ends. Readers know that 25 years after Sunrise on the Reaping, Haymitch is a broken, lonely, drunk man. The path to get there, however, is devastating. Every element is a blow, more so because we know what the future holds. While Haymitch wins, he’s destined for a life of suffering, loss and loneliness.
If you’re a Hunger Games fan, you need to pick up Sunrise on the Reaping immediately. If not, go back and read the original trilogy as soon as possible. You won’t regret it.
Sunrise on the Reaping is out now and available from your local independent bookstore or Bookshop.org.
TW: alcoholism, animal death, blood, body horror, child abuse, child death, classism, confinement, death, death of a parent, emotional abuse, fire/fire injury, gaslighting, gore, grief, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content/trauma, murder, panic attacks/disorders, police brutality, psychosis, rape (mentioned), suicide, suicidal thoughts, torture, trafficking, violence, war
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