Suzanne Collins is a genius
When Sunrise on the Reaping was released at midnight on March 18th, I immediately purchased it on my Kindle and began reading. I had class that day so I only read a little bit that night before consuming the entire rest of the 400 page book during the day of the 18th. When I finished the book, I promptly left my review on Goodreads which was “Damn, I’m speechless.” I stick by it, but as this is a review, I must try to organize all of my thoughts and feelings into words.
To begin, Sunrise on the Reaping is the fifth published novel in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins and tells the story of the 50th hunger games which Haymitch Abernathy participated in. For those who may not know or have forgotten, Haymitch is the only living victor in District 12 and the mentor to Katniss and Peeta, the main characters in the original trilogy.
I read this book without having recently reread or watched the previous four Hunger Games books/movies and I think that greatly impacted the way I perceived the novel. Unbeknownst to me, in the second novel Catching Fire, Haymitch’s game is fully described, or what is known by the public. It is only a few pages in the book and having not read them recently, I had forgotten about it. Because of this, I went into the book partially blind because I didn’t remember what was going to happen, other than a few details.
To start off with all of the aspects that I loved about the book: I loved all of the small nods towards the previous published books. Some examples are the characters mentioned in the other books like Maysillee Donner (the original owner of the mockingjay pin), the Mellark bakery, Mags, Wiress, Beetee, Plutarch Heavensbee and the Covey’s. We also finally learn the names of Katniss’s parents, Burdock Everdeen and Asterid March, who shockingly, are two of Haymitch’s best friends. In addition, we learn that Haymitch’s mentors were Wiress and Mags who happen to also be two out of three of the victors that Katniss chooses to be her allies in Catching Fire. Her third chosen ally is Beetee who also plays a big part in Haymitch’s games. We learn that Beetee’s son Ampert is reaped in Haymitch’s game as a punishment for Beetee because of his attempts against the Capitol.
One heartbreaking detail we learn at the beginning of the novel is that Haymitch claims that doesn’t drink or really like alcohol. Knowing he later becomes an alcoholic due to his trauma from his games and the aftermath is truly heartbreaking. Throughout the novel, I couldn’t stop thinking about how Haymitch goes through all of this trauma and attempts at resistance just to not get even close to any sort of rebellion for 25 years. He goes on to mentor 48 tributes who all die before mentoring Katniss and Peeta, which is the exact number of tributes that were in his game due to the doubled number.
In this book, we learn that Haymitch had a girlfriend, Lenore Dove, who is a Covey and a descendant of Lucy Gray, the main character of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Before the reaping, Lenore gives Haymitch a birthday gift that is a necklace with a songbird and snake pendant that doubles as a flint striker. This is significant because of what we learn at the end of the novel: Haymitch is told by Plutarch (a rebel) that the rebellion needs someone “just like him, but luckier.” Having read the original trilogy, we know that this person is Katniss. This connects to the flint striker because Haymitch is the one who sparks the fire and Katniss is the one who catches it and burns down the Capitol. The imagery and symbolism is a work of genius.
While Collins has always made political references and metaphors in her books, this novel took the cake. At the beginning of the book, she includes quotes from many renowned writers that reference facism and political resistance. In addition, we know that there are a total of 1776 tributes that are reaped before Katniss and Peeta’s games. This is significant because this is the date that the U.S. became a country. If you think that is just a coincidence, the official reaping day every year is July 4th and there were originally a total of 13 districts, like the 13 colonies. Suzanne Collins has always made political and historical allusions in her novels in order to make statements about the state of our country. I thought this was super cool and unique, especially in a novel that is targeted towards teens.
One of the most important takeaways I had from the novel was the significance of the title. On the morning of the reaping, Lenore and Haymitch have a conversation about the inevitability of the reaping. Haymitch says that he can’t do anything to prevent it just as the sun rises every morning without fail. Lenore disagrees with this sentiment and says that thinking like that is what prevents change from happening. Before Lenore succumbs to Snow’s poison, she makes Haymitch promise that he will prevent another sunrise on the reaping. While it takes 25 years to accomplish, Haymitch does finally fulfill his promise. Not only that, but technically Haymitch is the last person ever reaped in the hunger games. District 12 is always reaped last with the boys after the girls. In the 75th hunger games, the tributes are reaped from the previous victors. Haymitch’s name is reaped, and while technically Peeta volunteers as tribute, Haymitch is the last person ever reaped in the hunger games.
There is so much more I could detail and analyze, but it would possibly go on forever. My overall thoughts of the book is that it was deeply meaningful and heartbreaking and I recommend it to everyone, but especially those who have watched or read the original trilogy. It adds so much depth to an already deep universe of characters. I will now definitely have to go back and reread the previous books because there is probably so much more that I missed.
I hope you all choose to read it. Have tissues at the ready!