Sunrise on the Reaping
Sunrise on the Reaping (Hunger Games #0.5)
By: Suzanne Collins
[On my list of Most Anticipated Books of 2025]
“That’s part of our trouble. Thinking things are inevitable. Not believing change is possible.”
This is the second prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy, the sequel to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
BoSaS was kinda a weird prequel because it was President Snow’s ‘origin’ story and so you aren’t sure how to feel sometimes while reading, knowing what he turns into.
But Sunrise on the Reaping is Haymitch’s story— a beloved character— and so there are no mixed feelings, just rooting for him. And I liked it more for this reason. Everyone wants to love the hero.
Again, we know he doesn’t die and that he wins his Hunger Games, but we also know he turns into an aimless drunk. So what happened to him that leads to that?
The tension is definitely there because he seems like the perfect hero and this, the perfect opportunity, to make a change in Panem. But if there’s anything people in the districts have internalized, it’s pessimism:
“‘Where there’s life, there’s hope.’ But from where I’m siting, hope seems a lot like white liquor. It can cook you in the short run, but like it or not, you’ll end up paying for it twice.”
I guess the ironic thing for Haymitch is that at the age of 16 he is a bootlegger. He doesn’t really drink it but it’s a source of income/trade for his family. It becomes his ‘persona’ in the games— the rascal.
What was once a source of life for him eventually erodes him.
One of my favorite things about this book were all the familiar faces showing up! It’s set 24 years prior to the first Hunger Games book and 40 years after BoSaS but there are crossover characters from both segments.
Haymitch’s love, Lenore Dove, is from the Covey and two of her uncles were in BoSaS. Haymitch’s best friend is Burdock Everdeen— a bowhunter who is in love with Asterid, the town apothecary— so yes, Katniss’s parents. I loved getting a glimpse into Katniss’s dad and what kind of man he was since he has died by the time the trilogy starts.
We also see faces from the future like Wiress, Mags, Beetee, Effie, and Plutarch Heavensbee. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another book written that comes after this one that follows Heavensbee more. We know what eventually happens with him; at the time of this book he’s working for the Capitol, assigned to District 12, but making comments to Haymitch that allude to his desire to rebel and almost egging him on to be the one to instigate it:
“‘Why do you submit at all? When you consider the sheer difference in numbers…’”
It was interesting to look at some of the parallels between Haymitch’s Games and Katniss’s Games and how similar they are, even in their personalities. (I’ll try not to spoil anything.)
Haymitch’s name is not pulled to compete, but something happens to the boy whose name was pulled and so they needed another tribute. During the chaos Haymitch steps in to protect Lenore but finds himself in trouble with a Peacekeeper who ‘volunteers’ Haymitch as tribute. On, by the way, his birthday!
He also has a younger tribute that he cares for just like Katniss with Rue. And their names even rhyme. They both rebel against President Snow. They both lost their fathers.
Haymitch is also involved with a mockingjay pin.
The difference, we already know, is that in ways that Haymitch fails, Katniss succeeds. In ways that Haymitch’s story is tragic, we find ways Katniss’s finds redemption. Haymitch is the precursor and Katniss is the exclamation point. She is the completion to what he started.
It makes me want to go back and re-read the Hunger Games trilogy to revisit Haymitch and see him and his relationship to Katniss (the daughter of his best friend) in a new light.
I know not everyone has liked the Covey songs and poems that have found their way into these prequels, but I actually do. Just like Lucy Gray voiced her opposition to the Capitol in her music, Haymitch’s love, Lenore does as well.
“Lenore was less interested in pretty melodies, more in dangerous words. The kind that lead to rebel acts.”
They also share similar last names— Gray and Dove (a shade of gray). The Covey’s first names come from a ballad or poem, the last name from a color.
Lenore’s name comes from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, The Raven. I’ve recently revealed in different review that I have read very little poetry, so no, I’ve not read or studied The Raven. But it is a pretty big piece of Haymitch’s story and really the whole poem is printed in this story— I had to go do a little more research.
I love how Collins wove Haymitch and Lenore’s story within that poem.
“Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—”
The poem is about a man who loses his love, Lenore. And then a raven shows up at his house and repeatedly says one word— Nevermore. Throughout the poem the man talks to the raven and we see his slow progression into losing his grip on reality and giving in to despair and grief. The poem depicts how powerful love can be, even after death.
As you can see, the poem has a strong connection to Lenore and Haymitch.
We see the beginning of his descent into his future self when he reflects on what he has to look forward to:
“I can’t say I have no future, because I know that every year for my birthday, I will get a new pair of tributes, one girl and one boy, to mentor to their deaths. Another sunrise on the reaping.”
As is the theme with this whole series, it’s more commentary on power and influence and ways that people are manipulated and lied to using propaganda and violence.
“The Gamemakers must have been scrambling like crazy to control the narrative by this point. Whatever the case, the audience here in the auditorium has embraced this version, cheering and jeering on cue. Their lack of discernment transforms the recap, validating it as truth. I hope those in the districts can still see it as the piece of propaganda it is, but no telling what they’ve been fed.”
You can’t read that and not think of the ways the media functions like this. Maybe they’re reporting everything honestly, but you never know who is really pulling the strings or the purse strings. ‘Controlling the narrative’ is a core principle for every political party or group in power of any amount of people.
Lack of discernment validating something as truth. We see this all the time. Just because a voice is loudest or more prevalent doesn’t make it true. We need better discernment and critical thinking so we can see past the modern day propaganda we’re no doubt consuming in some way.
So what are the naysayers saying?
BoSaS had its own group of haters. Most completed series with added books typically do. Some are purists who never needed more information. Some love the nostalgia and are always in for more.
There’s a lot of people that admit their love of Haymitch is largely founded on Woody Harrelson’s portrayal and I can’t say I disagree. Once you see the movie version it’s really hard to remember the version you had imagined in your head while reading.
There’s debate— did we need this one? Does it really add anything or is it just a regurgitation of the same formula from the trilogy? I can’t really argue that the formula is different. BoSaS had a new angle but I can see how Sunrise on the Reaping feels very similar to the others. I guess for me, personally, I didn’t mind or really have other expectations. I think to tell Haymitch’s story and to compare it to Katniss’s you kinda have to follow the formula.
There are people who complain that there was too much about Haymitch’s love for Lenore when she wasn’t really even part of much of the story. They would have rather had more Maysilee Donner than Lenore. I can understand that sentiment. It’s hard to feel like you really know Lenore like we got to know Lucy Gray but in some sense, Lenore IS Lucy. And if we’re truly to understand Haymitch’s descent after the Games we have to know how much he loved Lenore. I did like Maysilee a lot; her character had a lot of depth and her spunk and rebellion against acting like an animal was a good angle to pull in. I wouldn’t have been diappointed with more of her.
Of course, you also have the haters that lament how Collins is adhering to the Capitol’s rules (capitalism) by putting out more books— appeasing the fans and accepting the money. That seems like a silly stance to take. She’s an author and her livelihood is selling books. She created a world that people love so she’s going to keep writing about it. I doubt her main purpose in writing this series was to try to overthrow capitalism in America so let’s stop pretending she’s failing at a mission she never accepted.
All in all, I understand some of the criticism but overall, as a fan (not a superfan) of Hunger Games, I’m happy with this book and really enjoyed reading it.
One other bit of advice: when you read the chapter where Haymitch meets President Snow at Heavensbee’s house, don’t be eating. It’s a pretty gross encounter and I made the mistake of eating lunch during that situation.
Recommendation
If you’ve never read the Hunger Games books but are curious, I would recommend getting involved. If you don’t plan to or don’t care for it, then you’re probably not even reading this review.
If you have been a fan of the Hunger Games books and/or movies, then I would definitely recommend this book. It didn’t feel like an afterthought-prequel that tries to shove itself into a pre-existing story. It read like I had just read the books out of order. It fit in well; it made sense; it sucks you back into the world and alongside the beloved characters.
There is just something about the world of Panem that somehow has a beauty to it even amidst the tragedy and the violence. Somehow Collins keeps us coming back for more, even though we know we’re in for feeling sad and angry.
I guess we just need to adopt this super-helpful mantra as well:
“I try to keep a positive attitude, since that’s ninety-seven percent of the battle.”
[Content Advisory: no swearing or sexual content; some gruesome deaths]
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