One of the world’s biggest pop culture phenomena returned to shelves on March 18, nearly 17 years after the first “Hunger Games” book was released in 2008. “Sunrise on the Reaping” by Suzanne Collins follows Haymitch Abernathy, a vital character in the original trilogy, as he competes in the 50th Hunger Games. His Games are particularly important because every 25th Hunger Games is known as a Quarter Quell and comes with a “special” twist, the 50th’s being that twice the number of tributes were reaped to fight to the death in the arena. This twist, along with details of how Haymitch won his games, were explained in “Catching Fire”, but “Sunrise on the Reaping” tells us the whole story and gives answers to long-theorized components of “The Hunger Games” series.
Following the release of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, Collins’ other “Hunger Games” prequel novel, she stated in an interview with Scholastic, “I have two worlds, the Underland and Panem. I use both of them to explore elements of just war theory. When I find a related topic I want to examine, then I look for the place it best fits.” Collin’s purpose with the original trilogy was likely to explore how desensitized we are to violence and the global struggle of others. The purpose of the “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is more explicitly clear because of the quotes from thinkers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Mary Shelley that Collins provides in the epigraph of the novel. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” examines the state of nature and shows how the idea of power can permeate and corrupt young minds. “Sunrise on the Reaping” also provides quotes at the start of the book, these being from George Orwell, William Blake, and David Hume. One by George Orwell reads, “All propaganda is lies, even when one is telling the truth. I don’t think this matters so long as one knows what one is doing and why.” Through Haymitch’s story, Collins addresses how propaganda and the manipulation of narratives can be used to control populations.
The novel begins on Reaping Day (which is July 4th, a sort of allegorical addition that I really liked), Haymitch’s 16th birthday. We learn he lives in the Seam with just his mother and younger brother, Sid, as his father died when he was young. He works doing manual labor and brewing white liquor for a woman named Hattie to help provide for his family. Right away, Haymitch introduces his girlfriend, Lenore Dove, who he wants to spend as much time as possible with before the Reaping. Lenore Dove’s character has many callbacks to other characters from “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, and she’s a key part of Haymitch’s story. Many events unfold that lead to Haymitch being one of the four District 12 tributes alongside Maysilee Donner, who we learn a lot about within the original trilogy and is described within the synopsis as “the most stuck-up girl in town”, a young girl who he knows prior to the reaping, and a boy his age who is an oddsmaker. Leading up to the start of the 50th Hunger Games, we see many familiar faces from the previous books, and we learn Haymitch had some resistance and desire to the fight against the Capitol in him as a teenager. We see how the arena that looks like paradise but is filled with poison and deadly animals affects Haymitch and the other 47 tributes, the connections and allies that he makes, and how events unfold to get to his face-off with District 1’s female tribute that ends in his victory. The last portion of the book is heartbreaking, as we see what exactly happened to him once he got home that caused him to spiral into addiction and isolation as an adult.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was an easy read and emotionally packed at the right times. However, I think it lacked the depth of the original trilogy that followed Katniss Everdeen. While it’s definitely challenging to write a book for an audience that already knows how it’s going to end, I think Collins could have done more to throw in twists that are fresh and completely original, rather than ones that are callbacks to the previous four books. That being said, I thought Collins did a great job of this with how the young District 12 girl’s story plays out, and I would’ve liked to see other plots like this.
Something I liked about this book when I first read it was the amount of references to or outright cameos of characters from the first four books, but upon thinking on it more I feel this is another one of its shortcomings. I think Collins spent too much time trying to include these characters to the point where it just seemed unrealistic. It really felt like she was trying to pander to the fandom rather than create the original, inspired plot points that she did in her other books. She could have spent more time developing new characters rather than ones the audience already has an idea of.
I did enjoy Haymitch’s characterization, however. I could see some of that fire he had in the original trilogy within him as a boy, and seeing him describe his development and the change he went through during the years after his Games at the end of the book was really impactful. I also loved his and Lenore Dove’s relationship, I think Collins just writes love stories in such a devastatingly beautiful way.
When the book was first announced in 2024, it came alongside not just a movie announcement, but a release date for that movie as well. The “Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” movie will be released November 20, 2026, and will be directed by Francis Lawrence who directed all of the “Hunger Games” movies except for the first.
As of now, we have four casting announcements. Joseph Zada, age 20, has been cast as Haymitch. Zada is a relatively unknown actor, which many fans have expressed their excitement over, but he will be playing the male lead in the “We Were Liars” show coming out this year. Whitney Peak, age 22, has been cast as Lenore Dove, and she’s known for starring in the HBO reboot of “Gossip Girl” that premiered in 2021. The next casting announcement was Jesse Plemons, age 37, who will be playing the familiar Plutarch Heavensbee. He’s best known for his role in “Breaking Bad” as Todd Alquist. Lastly, Mckenna Grace, age 18, will be playing Maysilee Donner. Grace is a well-known teen actress who has starred in movies like “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and “Gifted” and had supporting roles in shows such as “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Young Sheldon”.
Regardless of its few shortcomings, I would recommend “Sunrise on the Reaping” to anyone who loved the other “Hunger Games” books. I enjoyed getting to see Haymitch’s story play out, and I’m so excited to see it on screens! Be sure to check out the movie next November.
