Book Review: Sunrise On The Reaping

I, like many others, made time this week to read Suzanne Collins’s most recent installment in the Hunger Games world, and I have lots of thoughts! I’ll do my best to keep this bite-sized, like the rest of my book reviews here, but it’ll be an exercise in restraint for sure. I'll also do my best to keep it spoiler-free.

What’s it about?

We all thought we knew Haymich’s story, and how his Games played out, but we had absolutely no idea. In Sunrise On The Reaping, we follow Haymich and the 2nd Quarter Quell. For these 50th Hunger Games, twice the amount of tributes are torn from their homes for a battle to the death in a Capitol arena. Haymich, along with the three other children from District 12, form alliances with each other and several of the districts, attempting to survive as long as possible. Haymich left his mom, brother, and love (Lenore Dove) behind in District 12, but at least he’s not completely on his own in the Capitol… he has Louella/Lou Lou, Wyatt, and Maysilee. Together, they find unlikely friendship, comfort, and hope, but only one will return.

What I Loved

We know from the start that Haymich will survive the 2nd Quarter Quell, because he’s a key character in the original trilogy, mentoring Katniss and Peeta in the 74th Hunger Games. But that didn’t stop Suzanne Collins from using that foreknowledge to create the most agonizing tension I’ve felt in a book since reading The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin last year. Despite knowing how it all would end, I was unable to put this book down. Everything I thought I knew from the previous books in this world was pulled out, questioned, reexamined, and recontextualized by the end, and I left this reading experience completely heartbroken for Haymich.

The 50th Games are brutal, and I can’t overstate that. Although we’re told about Snow’s revenge against Haymich in the original trilogy, seeing it as it plays out is something entirely different. And understanding the layers and moments leading up to it all is devastating. It’s like being on a train careening toward a cliff, completely unable to stop it or change course, yet we stay locked in and fully engaged the entire time, because we can’t help but connect with every character, from the tributes themselves, to their loved ones back home, to the familiar Capitol faces.

It was a pleasure seeing characters we know and love from previous installments. We got to understand who they were, long before the outright rebellion sparked by Katniss. This includes some of our favorites: Wiress, Beetee, and Effie. Learning more about them is both wonderful and horrible. I’m not a Hunger Games scholar like many others are, but there were so many names I recognized and connected from the other books, and it was really satisfying!

And on a personal note, I feel intrinsically connected to District 12, and this particular book had so many references that inspired deep nostalgia. My paternal grandfather was born and raised in Appalachia (West Virginia). On my mom’s side, we’re the Hatfields (of the Hatfields and McCoys). Although I talk more about my Japanese, Scottish, and German heritage, it’s actually my Appalachian roots which have probably affected my daily life most, in the small ways we don’t really notice unless we’re looking. I had to make ham hock and bean soup this week while reading, because the references made me ache for that comfort food. And the music of the Covey reminds me of my Grandpa Hatfield playing gospel or folk tunes, family of all kinds sitting in rocking chairs or on the porch steps. I can smell Grandma’s pie and hear the banjo and guitar if I close my eyes.

What I Didn’t Love

I wanted more Maysilee! She is an unexpected favorite, and I couldn’t get enough of her. It could be the post-book glow clouding my ability to remember anything else, but I truly cannot thing of something I didn’t love about this book. The pacing was great. The descriptions lush. The tension incredible. The characters believable and relatable. The deaths unbearable. If I think of something in the future, I’ll come back and edit to include it, but for now, assume this is it, which might give you a hint as to what my star rating is going to be at the end. ;)

Bigger Picture Stuff

Suzanne Collins is often quoted as saying she won’t write unless she has something to say, and her Hunger Games books certainly say a lot. Sunrise On The Reaping is no exception. If anything, her messaging was even clearer and more direct than any of the series predecessors, and I love that she didn’t shy away from anything. The entire book itself is a call out to the reader, because we all fell for the Capitol propaganda, too! We read the original trilogy and believed the history of the Games at face value, even knowing the corruption of President Snow and his regime. I don’t know how many times I had the realization of just how easily we fall victim to these carefully curated lies.

The entire Hunger Games world is a commentary on war, politics, and the fight against oppression. It’s more than that, of course, but if I had to distill it down, these 3 themes would rank highly on a top 10 list. What this book really drove home for me, and perhaps for many others, is just how long it may take for resistance to become full-blown rebellion in a way that creates the kind of dramatic collapse we see in Mockingjay. We truly had no way of knowing just how long the resistance was present, actively seeking to sabotage and disrupt the Capitol machine.

One of my criticisms of the original trilogy had to do with the way it portrayed a successful rebellion as happening over the course of a couple years, with Katniss as the primary catalyst, because that’s not entirely realistic. It’s great for a dystopian novel because it’s exciting to think of it happening that way and it makes for a compelling story, but the truth is that it sometimes take decades (or more) to create the kind of momentum which seemed to come all at once in the Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay books. I mean, we could definitely logically infer there were years of preparation, even then, given the level of organization and the fact that so many were in on the plan to destroy the arena and rescue the tributes in the 75th Games (the 3rd Quarter Quell). And we could also assume the districts were experiencing unrest long before Katniss came along, given their conditions and the way they rallied so quickly behind her as a symbol. But we really didn’t know for sure. Now we do.

Aside from the warning about propaganda and our susceptibility to it—the ways the powerful use it to further oppress and control—I’m also taking away the reassurance that, although it may take 25 years, fire will catch. Today’s spark will become tomorrow’s inferno, so we can’t become discouraged by the lack of flame right now. And I’m guessing Haymich’s “posters” (and those of his allies) in Sunrise On The Reaping aren’t the first ones, either. With the way the Capitol is able to spin and rewrite the narratives, it’s likely they were rebelling all along, and the world just didn’t know. It reminds me of here and now, in our own world. And oddly, it gives me hope.

Final Thoughts

Sunrise On The Reaping may be my favorite book in the series, for the way it made me completely reassess my knowledge of this world to begin with. I’ll be rereading the rest of the books now, doing so with this new perspective. I have a feeling it will be an entirely different reading experience! I listened to this one on libro.fm but will be buying the hard cover to add to my collection, for sure.

Another 5 Star Read!

While this felt like the completion of the series, and I’d be satisfied with it if it is, I can’t help but hope to hear more from Suzanne Collins within this world she’s created. I highly encourage you to pick up Sunrise On The Reaping if you haven’t already.

Happy reading!