“They will not use my tears for their entertainment.”
Did Sunrise on the Reaping just become my new favourite Hunger Games novel? I can’t say for sure considering how nostalgic I am for the iconic main trilogy at this point, but this was absolutely everything I was hoping for from Haymitch’s story, and then so much more. Let’s get out the booze and raise a glass to this absolute banger of a prequel, cheers!
Sunrise on the Reaping transports us back in time for the celebration of the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, a.k.a. the brutal Quarter Quell Games that turned young innocent Haymitch Abernathy into the broken alcoholic that we meet in The Hunger Games. Twice the participants, twice the bloodshed, infinite times the emotional destruction.
Now, similarly to the original trilogy, Sunrise on the Reaping just grabs you by the throat from page one and doesn’t let go until the very end. Even though we spend quite a bit of time preparing for the games instead of actually being in the arena, I think there wasn’t a single dull moment to be found, and I personally loved how that relatively ‘slower’ start allowed for so much time to get fully emotionally invested in Haymitch’s story and latch onto the dynamic cast of side characters that creep their way into his (and my) heart.
Be it the spunky love of his life Lenore Dove (seriously, the way that this boy SIMPS for his girl is just… AAH, chef’s kiss), all the defiant Newcomers (Maysilee for Queen, thank you very much), or all the cameos from some beloved and hated characters from the main trilogy; everyone just came to life off the page, and I loved seeing young Haymitch navigate all the various complicated relationships that lie at the core of his story.
And don’t ask me why I felt so extremely anxious and emotionally distressed while reading when I already knew the fate of most people considering that this is a prequel, but Collins just had me in a chokehold from start to finish. Also, just when I thought I couldn’t hate President fucking Snow any more than I already did, Suzanne Collins said: “Hold my beer”, and then just continued to mercilessly shred my heart to pieces. And even though I can’t say I was the biggest fan of the sudden deluge of symbolic Edgar Allen Poe quoting during the gut wrenching ending sequence, it still all hurt just oh so good. I mean, I am not a crier while reading, but if you are, you better get the tissues ready.
Now, The Hunger Games has always been a tale of rebellion and defiance with deep political undercurrents, but the themes of propaganda, censorship, oppression, indoctrination, classism and authoritarianism have never felt more relevant. Seeing how the Capitol manipulated Haymitch’s gloriously rebellious journey into something that benefits their narrative both broke my heart and made me want to scream in desperate rage, and I love it all the more for it. Sunrise on the Reaping is an angry book with claws and teeth, and it isn’t afraid to show them.
I don’t know if I devoured Sunrise on the Reaping or if it devoured me, but I can safely say that this was one of the best reading experiences I have had in a long while; cue the book hangover, how ironic. To me, The Hunger Games has long transcended its YA age range, and I think this newest instalment will resonate with a lot of readers regardless of age or level of fandom of the series.
