Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games #0.5) by Suzanne Collins

I did not care overly much for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Collins's earlier prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy, so it was much with much trepidation that I started reading reviews of Sunrise on the Reaping. 

I found this as satisfying as I found the original trilogy. It's not great literature, but it's good. It's fun. If you're into plot, well, maybe this isn't your best bet because we know the ending at the beginning (if you've read the original trilogy) and a ton of the book parallels other plot lines in the original trilogy. BUT. It's still an imaginative world and Collins introduces unforgettable characters here that I'll be thinking about long after today.

Haymitch Abernathy was Peeta and Katniss's mentor in the first Hunger Games novel. He was District 12's only surviving Games victor, cynical and drunken, and he obviously quickly became a fan favorite. How did he win those Games and become the District 12 mentor? Well, the answer is in this book. Through a series of unfortunate incidents, he is chosen as one of four Tributes in the second Quarter Quell Games. So Haymitch leaves his family, his girlfriend, and all his hopes and dreams and heads to the Capitol. But Haymitch doesn't want to give the Gamesmasters what they want. He wants to fight back. And he does fight back. But the consequences are not exactly what he had hoped for.

There are some criticisms that this book is more heavy-handed in its criticism of things like totalitarian governments, spineless media, and disaffected citizens than previous books. That might be true, but in 2025, what would expect from an American author? As we start to fall more and more into the world of 1984, The Handmaid's Tale, and The Hunger Games, I can see why so many authors feel like subtlety is a luxury of the past. 

In general, I really liked this. I'm not a Hunger Games superfan, so it's likely a lot of easter eggs were lost of me, but if you're a fan of the original trilogy, I'd say give this one a shot. If you've never read any of this series, this is not the one you should start with. 4/5 stars

Line of note:

"You can't choose your parents."

"You could reject their business," I point out.

"I couldn't," says Maysilee. "I was going to spend the rest of my life behind that candy counter, no matter how much I hated it. And I'm guessing you'd have been wearing miner's overalls to your grave. We never, none of us, had any choices." (page 82)

Hat mentions (why hats?): 

...with matching thigh-high boots and a tall hat with a visor brim. (page 20)

Feathers fan out from the top of the hat, making her look like a deranged daffodil. (page 20)

...yanks off her daffodil hat by the chin strap. (page 29)

Her hat, a two-foot pillar of red fur, jauntily tilts over one eye. (page 60)

cheap plastic coal miner hat (page 71)

...flips the light in Maysilee's hat. (page 72)

Wyatt picks up Louella's hat...(page 76)

Four black hats stacked on her head...(page 171)

"Made yourself a hat, did you?" (page 275)

...yellow hat feathers bobbing...(page 340)

****************

Have you read The Hunger Games? Are you interested in reading this prequel?

****************

If you are interested in voting for our next book for Cool Bloggers Book Club, don't forget to vote if you haven't already done so! The Google form is ready for you. The vote is tight, so your vote could make all the difference. 

****************