Suzanne Collins returns with a second prequel to her Hunger Games series titled Sunrise on the Reaping. Set 24 years before the original trilogy, it promises to settle speculations about its protagonist, Haymitch Abernathy, which have long festered since his introduction as Katniss and Peeta’s cynical and stinking-drunk mentor. That Haymitch drinks to drown away the pernicious world of Panem is no mystery, but Collins still manages to deliver a shatteringly vivid account of how his teenage self secured his victory in the fiftieth Hunger Games, where tributes have doubled in number – a sadistic twist for the second Quarter Quell.
Writing a prequel featuring many familiar characters and several new ones, Collins masterfully juggles between logically weaving backstories within the pre-existing series of events while ensuring there is a novel point being made. Sunrise on the Reaping is rich in symbolism, carving out a space for Haymitch’s charm, naïve hope, and defiance to guide his narrative arc in a seemingly non-deterministic way. This is an impressive feat; readers already know Haymitch will win, so this plot point is fruitless ground for generating suspense. Returning to similar themes, Collins further scrutinises the role of propaganda in manipulating truth.
Sunrise on the Reaping perhaps leans too much on its predecessors. Haymitch’s relationship with Lenore Dove, a Covey girl, is reminiscent of Snow and Lucy Gray’s relationship in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The book structurally mirrors The Hunger Games. But the cyclical nature of ill-fated love stories, the annual Hunger Games, and repeated failures to incite a rebellion is arguably what lends the series so much of its devastation.
Overall, Sunrise on the Reaping does well to cater to fans hungry for details (and I am one of them), but not necessarily so for more casual, less invested readers.
Book cover of Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins