“They will not use our tears for entertainment,” is one of the quotes that summarizes the main point and idea of “Sunrise on The Reaping” by Suzanne Collins. Scholastic Press released the newest installment in the Hunger Games series March 18. It is 382 pages long and costs $27.99.
The book follows the story of Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss’ drunk mentor in the three-book mainline series. It is considered a prequel, but it chronologically takes place after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes but before The Hunger Games.
Haymitchs’ games are a Quarter Quell, which means that the rules of the games are tweaked for entertainment. Instead of trying to survive among 24 tributes, he must survive against 48, twice the amount of tributes.
Suzanne Collins explores the themes of propaganda, and throughout the book, she depicts how the government uses propaganda and twists the story in its favor to expand and solidify their control over the district civilians. The exploration of those themes is explicitly depicted in so many ways.
Her writing style is easy to follow, and the vocabulary and diction is easy to understand which makes the novel accessible to a wider audience. Each character she introduces has a clear motive and morals, especially the main character, Haymitch. I can clearly understand his character development from a mischievous but loving boy to a jaded alcoholic.
She also mentions events from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and weaves that information into the story, which connects the book to the overarching Hunger Games series. It was fun to read the little easter eggs and take a glimpse into the lives of the descendants of Peeta and Katniss.
The depiction of President Snow is consistent with his mannerisms and the cold cruelty he has in the other books. Each character makes sense and their actions align with what they did throughout the series. Exploring Haymitch’s story adds context to how and why things are set up the way they are during The Hunger Games.
She also portrays the true dystopia of that world with clarity. The book does not go into gratuitous gory detail, but the details are clear enough for the reader to know and understand the tragedies that Haymitch undergoes. She tends to balance the hopeful and inspiring moments with harrowing and deadly scenes.
All in all, it’s an interesting and fast-paced read with a lot of references to the mainline series and the prequel book. But it also works well as a stand-alone book. The novel is available to purchase in Barnes and Noble, Target, Amazon, and on Kindle.
