After rereading all the other Hunger Games books and doing a movie marathon, you might be coming up short on what to do after finishing Sunrise on the Reaping. Look no farther! Below is a comprehensive list of books you might want to pick up next.
You can find a full list of links to the books mentioned in this article at this link.
if you want a book with similar dystopian themes…
- The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
The novel is set in a world where girls are released into the wild for a year at the age of sixteen. This is because they are said to emit an ‘aphrodisiac’ from their skin, as they are on the cusp of womanhood, and once they return, they can be married. On this year in the wild, though, not all of them tend to survive.
I read this book when I was fifteen, so it’s been a while, but I still remember the plot twists. Likewise, the themes were cleverly woven into the novel, and I enjoyed her writing style. There’s a running cannibalism metaphor in the book that I thought was particularly brilliant, so I’d recommend the novel just for that.
The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the romance, but I am particular about romance in novels, and it’s hard, in my eyes, to get it right.
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
This book should just be a must-read for everyone. It centres very much on memory, and builds quietly over the course of the novel, until the ending is an absolute blub-fest. I couldn’t recommend it more.
Frequent readers of my articles will know that Ishiguro is a favourite author of mine, and I tend to recommend him in lots of different situations. That’s because his books are so versatile and yet so unique — you can almost recommend them in every situation.
What makes me want to recommend it in this section is due to it’s scientific themes. Never Lets Me Go asks: what happens when science happens without ethics? Though Sunrise on the Reaping is not necessarily innately scientific, a similar ethical question is posed within that book and has echoes here.
Ultimately, however, Never Let Me Go questions what it means to be human. What do you choose to do in spite of impending death? Where can we, as humanity, draw the line between human and sub-human? And what gives us the right to choose, anyway?
if you want a book with clever allusions…
Sunrise on the Reaping has so many allusions to other novels by Collins embedded within it, from the last names and family histories of the people in District 12 to the entirety of Haymitch’s games. It’s certainly an impressive feat she took on, and one other books have also emulated, both within themselves or across a series. As well as this, Collins even directly quotes Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven in Sunrise on the Reaping.
- Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
First of all, I think it should be said that there is a lot of time travel in this book. Therein lies most of the allusions I’m referring to, as the events of the novel are mirrored across time. It is a very quick read; the narrative just rollicks along.
That’s not to say the book doesn’t tackle some heavy themes: like all of the ones on the list, it does. There are multiple stories being told, with a switch in every chapter, but they all build and come together as you keep reading. The writing is also exquisite, very fitting for the sort of novel she is telling.
If you’ve read The Glass Hotel by the same character, you also get some extra points, because some characters from that pop up in this one, too! If you haven’t, no worries. It isn’t something you have to do before reading.
if you want a book with insane plot twists…
Personally, I didn’t find Sunrise on the Reaping to have plot twists that were too crazy, but there were quite a few in the original series. If you want a book that will leave your jaw hanging on the floor with twists that really pay off, read on!
- Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
This book has maybe the craziest plot twist of all time. There are actually three, but when you read it, you’ll know the one I’m talking about. I don’t want to spoil anything about the plot, but it basically follows a maid trying to help a man seduce the woman she is working for. Things change, though, when Sue begins to care for her employer in ways she did not expect…
In addition to the insane plot twist, the themes of class in this novel are certainly reminiscent of Sunrise on the Reaping.
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
This book holds my heart. It has one of the craziest plot twists of all time—one I did not see coming, which is unusual for me—and as soon as it’s revealed, you don’t know how you didn’t see it. Reading a book like this makes you realise how clever writing can be, and how some writers are just on a different level when it comes to ingenuity.
- 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough
I read this, again, when I was younger, but it shook me to my core. Most of the characters are pretty unlikeable, but that doesn’t stop you from wanting to work out the mystery. The plot twists and dynamics are similar in style and tone to Sunrise on the Reaping, but the use of social media in this one is not. It certainly experiments with its style, to great effect.
if you want a book with similar commentary on propaganda…
- 1984 by George Orwell
It’s hard to mention books about propaganda without at least mentioning 1984 in passing. It’s clever but grim, so get ready for a tough read. 1984′s themes are rooted in manipulation of the mind, particularly through politics and policies. It is a very important fiction read if you don’t want to delve into non-fiction at the moment.
- The Medium is the Message by Marshall McLuhan
Now this is non-fiction, which obviously marks it as different from Sunrise on the Reaping, but this book is very important. The commentary on visual bias is compelling, just like the novel’s discussion of technology and, of course, propaganda.
overall…
If you want to read some other great books that aren’t necessarily connected to Sunrise on the Reaping, this is one of my other articles on reading, all about my top books of 2024!
Of course, if none of my picks interest you, you could always re-read Sunrise on the Reaping. What’s stopping you?