This review was written assuming the reader has read The Hunger Games. Watch out for spoilers.
One of the things I admire most about Suzanne Collins is her refraining from milking The Hunger Games franchise. Though five books and almost six films about the world of Panem may seem like Collins was taking advantage of the worldwide Hunger Games craze, each story she writes is deliberate; each story has a purpose. She does not write a novel unless she has something to say.
Thus, when the series’ second prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, was released a couple of weeks ago, I was ever so excited when my dad bought the Kindle version for my brother and me (I am a millimeter and two hundred dollars away from becoming a Kindle girl myself). I finished it in two days over spring break.
The prequel’s June 6, 2024 announcement followed a national sensation for Panem’s story, as it came just four months after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes film adaptation was released on Nov. 17, 2023. All the information we were told is that it followed the story of the second quarter quell—Haymitch’s games.
The book opens with four quotes from various historical figures that seem to introduce the message of the novel. The general themes presented in these quotes are propaganda, the dynamics of power and authority within governments, and the problem of induction. I was very excited to see this new narrative within these lenses but was unfortunately disappointed.
Immediately upon reading the first few chapters, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of lazy references to the other novels. It seemed Haymitch knew the parents of every District 12 character we knew from the original series—Katniss’s parents, Peeta’s father—mentions that lie between references to Lucy Gray’s songs or the famed mockingjay pin. While some of these characters, like Katniss’s parents, are meaningful to the story, others, like Peeta’s father, have an unimportant throw-away line that holds nothing but a blatant reminder of the original story. Each of these references seemed like a flimsy ribbon whose purpose was to tie The Hunger Games series into a pretty little bow.
The body of the novel made up for its disappointing exposition. Unlike Katniss’s games, which mostly centered around survival, Haymitch’s games were all about defying the Capitol. Throughout the whole ritual of the games, from the opening chariot ride, to the scores, to the actual games, to the victor ceremony, we see how the Capitol twisted the narrative in their favor—and how Haymitch stood up to President Snow’s corruption. I do wish his post-game experience got a little more screen time. His victor experience was watered down to all but a few chapters and the epilogue, and I wish I had gotten to see a little more—more of how the games affected him, how the games were propagandized, how Haymitch let the sun rise on the reaping for years to come.
While the exposition of Sunrise on the Reaping disappointed me, I fervently enjoyed reading this book and am so excited to see (and review) the film next year.
