May 20

May 20 Book Review: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Lari Li

Lots of tears were shed.

Following A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the second prequel novel to the Hunger Games trilogy—Sunrise on the Reaping—was released in 2025. Sunrise on the Reaping follows the story of Haymitch Abernathy, the mentor of Katniss and Peeta (who were the main characters of the original trilogy).

We discover Katniss and Haymitch have uncanny resemblances and parallels, more connected than readers would have thought with the information given in the original trilogy. Collins masterfully connected all loose ends, having it all come together in this book. It was super fun connecting all the dots to compare past and future with the timelines of Haymitch and Katniss.

Overview

16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy was a tribute for the 50th Hunger Games, a Quarter Quell year. Quarter Quells occur every 25 years and have a special set of rules to them, making them more vicious than a standard Games. The 25th Hunger Games involved each District voting for who would be reaped, and the 75th involved tributes to be selected from the existing pool of victors.

In Haymitch’s year, the number of reaped tributes doubled. Instead of the standard 24 kids—one boy and one girl from each of the 12 Districts—two boys and two girls were selected.

It’s already known that Haymitch won his Games as the last one standing since he lived to mentor Katniss and Peeta in the 74th Hunger Games. While the trilogy painted him as an incompetent addict and drunk at first, Sunrise on the Reaping showed his tragic backstory, gave clarity on why he turned out the way he did, and explained many of his actions in The Hunger Games series. I even had to put the book down and take a minute when Haymitch says, “I’m not a drinker myself,” on page 5.

Haymitch leaves his mother and younger brother as well as the love of his life. As he journeys to the Capitol and makes connections, he gets tangled in a plot and motive bigger than himself—sparks of rebellion.

The parallels between him and Katniss were insane. Haymitch had so many “Rues” of his own (young children that were in the Games that he felt extremely protective over, the way Katniss was with Rue in hers). You’ll also find out more about characters that were essential to the plot of the Hunger Games as well, like Plutarch Heavensbee and Effie Trinket.

Haymitch wasn’t successful in rebellion despite all his efforts. At the end of the book, he was told “we need someone just like you,” just luckier and with better timing. Fast forward to Katniss, all of Haymitch’s decisions make complete sense.

Review

Sunrise on the Reaping and Catching Fire are tied for first in terms of my favorite books in the series. I just love everything that went into this book and how well Collins tied everything together. It’s a very hard feat to write prequels and add sophistication to them as they have to line up with the more recent books, which have writing that can’t be undone.

I get the impression that Collins has always wanted to write a prequel of Haymitch’s story, as his character was very obscured in the original trilogy. There was not much mention of his Games, and readers only got a scene where Katniss and Peeta watched an old recording of his victory.

In terms of what I’d like to see next, a prequel with Effie showing how propaganda affects people would be super interesting. It could also give more insight into Haymitch’s past and Panem during this era.

Overall, Sunrise on the Reaping took around a week for me to read, but I completely swallowed this book whole. It was hard and painful to read at times, but most of the time, I’d get through tons of chapters in one sitting. I’ve seen it take a month for some people, but either way, it’s a super interesting read and would be a great visit down memory lane for Hunger Games fans.