Sunrise on the Reaping is the latest book in The Hunger Games series, written by Suzanne Collins. It is set during the 50th annual Games, the second Quarter Quell, in which double the usual number of young tributes are reaped to battle to death in an arena. One of these tributes is Haymitch Abernathy from District 12, who must face his grim fate along with the three other kids from his District. Here are my non-spoilery thoughts:
Playing with our expectations
The Hunger Games is a series about freedom, love and survival and the tension that exists between all three. Sunrise on the Reaping tackles these familiar themes in what we may expect to be a predictable story. After all, Haymitch's Games are outlined fairly comprehensively in Catching Fire when Katniss and Peeta watch them. It's a section I only vaguely remembered since it doesn't feature in the movies, but I'm actually glad I didn't because I was able to experience this story without being 'spoiled' by the subsequent books.
In fact, throughout the book, Collins utilises our knowledge of future events to subvert our expectations. We expect the reaping, training and Games to unfold in a certain way, but this isn't always what happens. On the other hand, there are events that are inevitable - we know, for example, that Haymitch wins and what the price of that victory is. It allows Collins to convey a sense of inexorable tragedy, woven together with her usual literary and musical sensibility.
There's an interesting meta quality to that subversion of expectations, where events unfold slightly differently to how we are told they were, reflecting the way the Capitol censor the Games to present Haymitch in a certain light.
On the other hand, I did sometimes wonder if Collins was constrained by the narrative she put together in the short summary from Catching Fire because there can be a strange sense of pacing within the Games themselves, where the characters repeatedly journey back and forth between two different locations, and a lot of things happen quickly with not much time to sit with the full emotion of it all. Collins also weaves in a rebellion thread through the narrative, which is interesting from a wider story point of view, but I did sometimes feel that it came at the expense of some truly impactful character-work.
Easter eggs galore & the power of a prequel
The power of a great prequel is to add depth to future events. Fans will be more than satisfied with tie ins to previous books in Sunrise on the Reaping if we're going by sheer number. I won't spoil any of the cameos here - though many can be guessed if you think about the timeline - but they have varying degrees of impact. Many add depth to characters that appear later during Katniss' story, especially adding context to the rebellion and the many ways in which the Capitol abuses the Districts. Learning about a few familiar victors, for example, is really fascinating, and a glimpse into the struggles of a post-Games life. However, other appearances feel a tad unnecessary and detract from the central story, making it feel more like a who's who of Panem... and, at worst, very slightly fan-fictiony. What works much better is the threading through of familiar themes and imagery, especially from a musical and symbolic point of view, adding to the thematic tapestry of this world.
The tragedy of a tribute
If there's one thing Suzanne Collins is great at doing is brutally ripping your heart out. The entire concept of the Hunger Games means that tragedy is baked into the story, an inevitability that grows closer and closer. And the characters know it too, and that only makes their struggle to face their violent end all the more bleak.
Here, with double the number of tributes, there's a lot of characters for Collins to juggle. Of them all, Maysilee Donner was the most memorable to me - a snobby but witty and willful tribute from District 12 - as is a character called Ampert.
The subplot about a non-Career alliance is really compelling, but this is bizarrely put to the backseat in favour of a rather underbaked rebellion arc. As a result, Haymitch's bond/antagonism with other characters can feel a tad thin because of the lack of dedicated time to allowing characters to organically interact in the way that, say, Katniss got to with Rue. We don't get to truly sit with the impact of deaths, or even feel the tension and stakes of the Games themselves, and I would really have liked Collins to have pared back the plot to focus more on character.
The Lenore Dove conundrum
We hear a lot about Lenore Dove over the course of the book. She's an integral part of Haymitch's character. Along with his mother and brother, she's the reason he finds the will to try and survive the Games. Unfortunately, I think we hear too much about how much Haymitch sincerely loves Lenore, rather than feeling their love. It's true, I never disliked her, but I also never felt that there was much depth to their relationship, and some of it relied too much on connections to A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Having said that, Collins does wrap things up incredibly well in spite of the lack of depth (more on that below...)
Haymitch Abernathy - who are you?
There was a huge amount of hype for this prequel. That's partially because of the promise of another Quarter Quell, but mostly it's because of Haymitch himself. In the main trilogy, he's abrasive, cynical and mean, but we understand that's only because he drowns his hidden sorrows and trauma. We see him genuinely grow to care about Katniss and Peeta, and he's one of the most memorable characters of the franchise. We understand that, as a youth, he was arrogant but charming, and the promise of reading about a pre-Games Haymitch was incredibly compelling.
In Sunrise on the Reaping, Haymitch comes across as a likable, sincere and loyal young man, but I did feel like that spark was missing from his character. I understand that much of his snark comes from years of bitterness, but I'd always envisioned the sly, charming arrogance to have been part of his pre-Games personality too. Collins does play into this, but it doesn't entirely work even as a 'persona' put on for the Capitol. The idea to subvert our expectations, as I wrote earlier, is interesting but I think we're missing a trick by getting rid of Haymitch's 'rogue with a heart of gold' personality.
Summary
Sunrise on the Reaping offers readers the familiar thrill/dread of following a tribute getting thrown into the Hunger Games, within the backdrop of a dystopian society. There are a few great supporting characters and a continuation of the fascinating themes of the original trilogy. However, a rebellion subplot and limited time with key characters can make the pacing feel a little off and the plot over-stuffed.
Luckily, the last couple of chapters and epilogue really brings the entire story home. Throughout the story, Collins uses songs and poetry - including the famous Edgar Allen Poe poem, The Raven, for which Lenore is named after - which are particularly effective in evoking a truly impactful sense of sorrow and tragedy. It's a poem that could summarise the entire franchise - the idea of not being able to let go of the people you love, how their presence lingers in everything, how grief can quickly turn into obsessive despair, eventually driving you mad. One can channel that madness into spiteful villainy like Snow, or into hope and resilience like Katniss and Haymitch.
Thanks for reading this article, you can check out my thoughts on one of my favourite movie scenes from Catching Fire here.
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