By VANESSA SKILDUM
Since “Sunrise on the Reaping” (SOTR) was announced in June of 2024, it has had a place on my calendar, and I eagerly counted down the days until its release. Sure enough, this Tuesday, March 18, three friends and I hopped into a car and drove 30 minutes to the nearest Barnes and Noble. The following two days were full of tears and minutes of staring numbly at walls as Suzanne Collins crushed me with her words.
SOTR is the fifth book in the popular young adult “Hunger Games” collection by Suzanne Collins. As a prequel to the original trilogy, the book dives into Katniss and Peeta’s mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, and his experience participating in the second Quarter Quell, the 50th Hunger Games. Starting on his birthday, the day of the reaping, you watch a series of unfortunate events unfold, leading to Haymitch getting whisked off to the Capital, where he quickly shows off his rebellious spirit, landing him with President Snow as an enemy.
I will admit that I was surprised when I first found out that this would include Haymitch. It’s not that I don’t think Haymitch is an interesting character—he is one of my favorites—but in Catching Fire, Collins showed Katniss and Peeta watching Haymitch’s games, so I already knew what the arena looked like, who he teamed up with, how he won, and even what happened to him afterward.
Collins made me eat my doubts as she created a hard-punching tale about David Hume’s concept of “implicit submission,” which refers to the ease with which a few individuals can control the masses. The members of the giant collective passively accept the ruler’s authority even if there is no clear contract or explicit consent. Collins further dives into this idea by focusing on how implicit submission relies on propaganda, precisely how Panem, the Capital, controls all of the districts.
Everything I thought I knew about the arena, what happened, and how it happened was completely and utterly wrong. It was a tale spread by Panem. This concept was so interesting to explore, especially in our society, where clips of videos and photos are taken out of context to create a narrative, even if it is not the truth. False narratives are common in political campaigns, as each side tries to slander the other.
One thing Collins’ never fails at is writing a fantastic first-person narrative. Haymitch, while still sassy, is entirely different in this book. He has a family and a loving girlfriend, and while his family is poor, they don’t live badly by Seam standards, which is the poorest section in District 12. This makes it so he has so much he could lose at any given moment, making his stakes so high that I was terrified for him as he flaunted his rebellious spirit. I felt like I was in Haymitch’s brain as he contemplated every decision. His losses were mine, and the small victories brought me the same satisfaction.
SOTR got a five-star rating and took the top spot in the series for me, beating out the previously held victor, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (TBOSAS). It is not a common occurrence that I love prequels or sequels better than the original, but Collins has done this twice. SOTR delicately weaves strands from TBOSAS as well as the original trilogy, from the inclusion of well-loved characters, songs, sayings, and even a beloved nickname to fill in the pieces I didn’t even know I was missing.
This book should not be read without reading the original trilogy first. While TBOSAS can be read first, SOTR would pack quite the punch it does without having the information the other four books in the series provide. The epilogue would also spoil the ending of “Mockingjay.”
Fair warning: Everything I discuss past this point includes spoilers, and it might be hard to follow if you have not finished the book. I loved seeing the previous victors, Beetee, Wiress, and Mags, and how they were before “Catching Fire.” Beetee’s introduction nearly made me cry, and every time I thought the Capital could go no lower, they took home the limbo trophy. It is known that the victors of the Hunger Games do not get treated well in the slightest, but the fact that Beetee had to mentor his 12-year-old son Ampert is so unbelievably heartbreaking. Beetee knows it’s a punishment and how it will end. His telling Haymitch he hopes his son’s death is quick is something no parent should ever have to say.
I truly appreciate the insight into the rebellion we see as Haymitch joins Plutarch Heavensbee and the victors to try to end the games. Even though Haymitch’s efforts in the arena, attempting to blow up the water tank and then later the generator, don’t result in the desired outcome, that doesn’t stop the rebellion. Plutarch and Haymitch’s conversation towards the end of the book on how the rebellion will still be there so that when someone with more time or simply luckier comes along, they can end it is a jumping-off point to land at the original trilogy.
This setup shows how lucky Katniss’s circumstances were that everything played out how it did. Haymitch had people he loved, but they got erased from the narrative, so the Capital didn’t care about them, which allowed President Snow to murder them all. Katniss volunteered for her sister, who the capital adored, and Peeta was the other half of the star-crossed lovers that everyone was rooting for, making it so that President Snow couldn’t hurt either of them. It was less of Katniss being the chosen one and more like all the pieces laid down for years finally falling into place.
Seeing Burdock and Astrid, Katniss’ parents, young and in love, had me kicking my feet. It is confirmed that Katniss is officially Covey from her Dad’s side, which makes it all the more symbolic that she is the face of the rebellion that finally dethrones President Snow, especially after his storyline with Lucy Gray.
Haymitch is the king of pinning after a woman. Lenore Dove was never far from his thoughts, no matter the circumstances. His promise to end the reaping to her kept him going all those years until Katniss and Peeta came along. Haymitch taking care of geese at the end of “Mockingjay” is not just a random choice but an easter egg of how much he loves Lenore as she kept geese while she was alive. They both say they are like geese and mate for life, which is cringe-worthy, yes, but perfect.
I was thrilled when Effie appeared. I genuinely jumped up and down, but I was disappointed Tigress was not even mentioned once. From Mockingjay, we know she was a stylist for the Hunger Games, so I was hopeful we would see her character more in-depth.
How SOTR tied everything together when I finished the epilogue felt like a proper end, not one that could be revisited, but like a goodbye. The stories of the characters who wanted to be told were told, and that was that. Collins only adds to this series when she has something to say, so she could very well come out with another, but the ending just had a ringing of finality to it, like how the end of “Mockingjay” from the original trilogy did.
Featured Image: “Sunrise on the Reaping” cover; Goodreads
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