Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins is the fifth book in The Hunger Games series, the second book if you read them in chronological order, but more importantly, it’s a cleverly written, emotionally traumatizing novel that reconceptualizes the original trilogy in ways that fans could never have dreamed possible …
Reaping Day
Sunrise on the Reaping starts with Haymitch Abernathy waking up on his sixteenth birthday, which just so happens to be Reaping Day, too. For those who don’t remember who Haymitch is, he would eventually go on to become the troubled, albeit beloved mentor to Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. But I digress … It’s Reaping Day, but Haymitch is more concerned about spending some time with his girlfriend, Lenore Dove, a Covey girl who has the same allure as Lucy Gray Baird.
Without giving away any spoilers, I can confirm that things don’t go as planned on the day of the 50th Hunger Games reaping. The theme of the Second Quarter Quell was choosing 4 tributes from each district. Here, we get to meet Maysilee Donner — the twin sister of the mayor’s wife in The Hunger Games, Merilee — and she’s a real treat! We also meet Wyatt Calloway, a self-proclaimed “oddsmaker” and Louella McCoy, Haymitch’s “sweetheart.” While we get to meet them, we also learn the names of Katniss’ parents, as well as, presumably, Peeta’s father.
That said, I will advise readers to be ready for the first of many jaw-dropping moments as Reaping Day commences.
Meeting Old Friends for the First Time
I need to skip ahead some, because a lot of lore gets dropped, but once our tributes from District 12 is in the Capitol, things happen quickly. We watch them get an insecticide shower before being prettified for slaughter, we meet new characters — some are nice, others are not — and we meet old friends for the first time. Now, full disclaimer, this is actually heart-wrenching once you realize that back in Haymitch’s day (the 50th Hunger Games), they were still … well … fully functional. So, you already get this horrible feeling that something happened, and that President Snow was somehow, some way, involved in said “something.”
And then, author Suzanne Collins drops multiple bombs that start from the chariot section up until the very last page. Honestly, the words: “Oh, Suzanne, darling … who hurt you?” were uttered multiple times throughout my reading of Sunrise on the Reaping.
It is Painful and Necessary
In order to understand Haymitch in the original trilogy, we needed this book. More importantly, we needed this book to understand that the rebellion didn’t merely start or end with Katniss Everdeen. Don’t get me wrong, she was a pivotal puzzle piece to a successful rebellion, but overthrowing President Snow was a long, arduous, and extremely dangerous plot. What happened to Haymitch to make him who he is in the original trilogy is horrible and, I’m sorry to say, will wreck you. However, it’s necessary, because without sacrifice, true change doesn’t occur.
Propaganda
The most important theme that Suzanne Collins tackles with this book is that propaganda can, and will, brainwash the masses. What we see happening in Sunrise on the Reaping makes us question Katniss’ POV entirely in the original trilogy. She can, for all intents and purposes, no longer be seen as a reliable narrator because we only see her version of events and, thanks to Sunrise on the Reaping, we notice that she was kept in the dark for most of what happens.
This, in turn, makes us question whether the media today employs the same tactics as the Capitol to keep the people in line (spoiler: it does and we only see what governments want us to see) … So, this book definitely will make you question pretty much everything.
What Comes Next: A Theory
Already, readers are throwing around theories about whose POV the next book will be — and most are calling for a book from fan-favorite Finnick O’Dair’s POV. Well, firstly, we simply won’t survive a Finnick O’Dair book. I’m sorry, but it’s true. The things Collins merely alluded to in the original trilogy that Finnick faced since his victory in the arena is probably Diddy-level stuff. If she does write it, it will no longer be a YA book either, which is the point of this entire series (make information accessible to younger readers so they don’t fall into a trap).
Another prominent character’s story that folks are asking for is Tigress’ story. Again, Collins hinted at some non-YA things that Tigress had to do to keep her family alive. As much as we want it, it doesn’t fit in with the series’ overall goal.
So, who else is there?
My theory is that we will get a Caesar Flickerman POV book. It is completely possible that his predecessor, Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman is Caesar’s father, and that Caesar was alive, albeit probably an infant, during the 10th Hunger Games when Lucy Gray Baird won. This means that he would have been around 15 or 16 during the 25th Hunger Games, which — if you’ll remember Peeta saying in Catching Fire that Effie may have forgotten to include the tapes for the Second Quarter Quell — we know nothing about. And seeing as Lucky was the host, it stands to reason that fifteen-year-old Caesar may have been shadowing his father during these historic events …
Perhaps he grew fond of, let’s say, a District 7 tribute (maybe her name was Aspen?) and maybe she became a victor nobody spoke of after her untimely demise when Caesar wanted to upset the status quo? I’m calling this tribute “her” for no other reason than the fact that Katniss said there was a previous female victor from Joanna’s district, so don’t come at me.
What’s more, Suzanne Collins is extremely intentional with her names, and our favorite peacock, Caesar Flickerman, may have ended up just like his namesake for being the mastermind of all of the rebellion.
Back to Haymitch
Theories aside, Sunrise on the Reaping is a brilliant book that will make you want to reread the original trilogy just to see how it changes everything — side-characters will become more appealing merely for the way they interact with one another and Katniss. What’s more, this book basically makes you realize the majority of the world is not rich enough to be Capitol citizens, is not brave enough to be rebels, and will rather do what we’ve all been programmed to do because we can’t see a different world. It’s sad, but it’s true …
All in all, Sunrise on the Reaping is a must-read whether you’re a devoted fan of the franchise or not. If you love Easter eggs and Edgar Allan Poe, this is also a book for you. If you enjoy thinking for days, weeks, maybe even years about a book, you’re going to need Sunrise on the Reaping in your life pronto …
Make sure you have your tissues and emotional support plushie with you, though, because you will need a helluva lot of comforting by the time you get to the end of the book.
