Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping tells the story of Haymitch Abernathy, District 12’s second victor and a mentor in the original trilogy.
Sunrise on the Reaping is a prequel in The Hunger Games, a series that features the dystopian nation of Panem, consisting of the powerful Capitol and 13 districts, marked by starvation and poverty. Two tributes are annually reaped from each district to fight in the “Hunger Games,” a brutal death match orchestrated by the Capitol to remind the districts of their failed rebellion. The first three books follow Katniss Everdeen, a strong-minded District 12 tribute in the 74th Hunger Games. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a 2020 prequel, explores the story of a young Coriolanus Snow before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem. Sunrise on the Reaping focuses on a 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy and his attempts to protect his loved ones while competing in the second Quarter Quell.
With a more direct mention of corruption and a long, detailed account of Haymitch’s games, this prequel is made for a more mature audience. That said, Sunrise on the Reaping highlights important themes such as abuse of power and harmful propaganda that are increasingly topical today. Collins stresses the need for media literacy and distinguishing between perception and reality through this book. As her fans like to remark, “Suzanne Collins only writes when she has something to say.”
There is something very haunting about the references to present day in this novel. Although Panem is written as a dystopian future, I never really thought about how near this future could be. For instance, Collins featured Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven,” and the day of the reaping–which marks the anniversary of the rebellion–is revealed to be July 4th, coincidentally falling on the same day as American Independence Day. It is clear that Collins is attempting to send a message about the state of our society.
Unlike The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the earlier books already provided readers with an outline of Haymitch’s past and showed us his fate. Because of this, I wasn’t sure that this new addition to the series would be as interesting as its predecessors. Fortunately, I was very wrong. Despite how much I already knew, I felt completely captivated by Haymitch’s narrative, which I can only attribute to Collins’s impressive ability to create characters with a fierce, undeniable humanity. Sunrise on the Reaping not only brings depth to Haymitch’s character, but also to the history of the Hunger Games. This book introduces a new perspective of the rebellion which emphasizes that it really does take a thousand passionate attempts to establish something meaningful.
This is not a happy read, but it is a riveting one. Collins does an excellent job of portraying Haymitch’s emotions in a very raw and powerful way, which made empathizing with him easy. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a sentimental, cautionary story. The novel is packed with easter eggs for those who have already read the other books. For those who are new to the series, while you could start with the Sunrise on the Reaping, I would encourage reading in the order of publication to be properly introduced to the world of Panem before diving into the prequels. Either way, fans of the franchise won’t be kept waiting for long: the film adaptation is set to be released on November 20, 2026.
