I wrote an article earlier this semester highlighting the most exciting book releases of 2025, and, in my opinion, the most exciting one was Sunrise on the Reaping. The book came out on Tuesday, March 18th, and I read the whole thing cover to cover on Tuesday, March 18th. The 8th-grade Hunger Games fanatic in me defrosted, and I physically could not put the book down. The book was a young adult masterpiece, and needless to say, I have some thoughts.
(Warning: Spoilers ahead)
Sunrise on the Reaping follows the story of Katniss and Peeta’s mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, in his Hunger Games. Haymitch is unfairly reaped (forced to participate) in the 50th anniversary of the Hunger Games, also known as the Quarter Quell. The Quarter Quells are famous for the twist the game makers throw into an already twisted game. Haymitch’s twist was double the tributes, meaning he outlived 47 other children by the end. While minor details are revealed about how Haymitch “won” the games in the main series, little is known about Haymitch’s personal life (which seems to not extend beyond the bottle) or his backstory. Sunrise on the Reaping changes everything, leaving the fictional book characters and the readers victims of the Capitol’s/President Snow’s (the governing force in the series) intense propaganda.
Readers like me knew they were in for a gut-wrenching story when Haymitch—a known alcoholic in the main series—said, “I’m not a drinker myself” (Collins 5). From the first 10 pages, questions are answered, parallels are drawn, and hearts are shattered. It’s revealed that young Haymitch was in love with a Covey girl, who was undoubtedly related to Lucy Gray Baird. Both of Katniss’s parents are mentioned, as well as Peeta’s family and the symbol of the revolution, the Mockingjay pin (not to mention Plutarch’s large role and an Effie Trinket cameo). Critics argue that with all these perfectly drawn connections, the book isn’t nothing more than fan food or a money grab. However, I will personally defend Collins and this book to anyone. Collins is famous for saying, “I only write when I have something to say,” and she had something to say.
Throughout the novel, Haymitch laments that he does not want to become one of the Capitol’s “posters.” He doesn’t want to play their game, he doesn’t want to be their pawn, he does not want to be complacent. This leads him to scheming to destroy the arena from the inside. His first plan is to blow up the water tank; while he successfully damages the tank, it doesn’t destroy the arena as speculated. Finally, when it is down to him and a girl from District 1, Haymitch uses the force field and explosives hidden in fallen tributes’ tokens to blow up the arena. For a split second, Haymitch thought he had won. However, Snow and his team were already one step ahead of him. The “live” footage of the games was far from live; being on a delay allowed the Capitol to edit the footage and cut it to black before anyone from the districts saw Haymitch’s heroic act of defiance. Haymitch sees what the capitol has made of him during the highlight reels: a selfish, cunning, heartless player. Snow takes everything Haymitch loves from him, killing his family and Covey girl he loves. No one will believe what Haymitch did; explaining himself just doesn’t seem worth it. Haymitch becomes the one thing he sets out not to be: a puppet and a poster. He is forced to “mentor” tributes each year, doing nothing but raising them for the slaughter.
Collins’s cries about the dangers of authoritarian figures, censorship, and propaganda are not coincidental with our current administration. Sunrise on the Reaping shows readers how history is controlled by those who win. Just as the story of Lucy Gray winning the 10th Games wasn’t lost but buried, Haymitch’s story was rewritten by those in control. This is especially relevant in a time where our own history seems to be getting scrubbed “clean”—Navajo code talkers were removed from the Pentagon website at the same time the Black Lives Matter mural was taken down in D.C.. Collins is urging readers to question our history and the stories we are being told. The book is more than a reminder, but rather a grim warning on what could be. History, stories, and truths are so easily manipulated, we need to be exceptionally careful and purposeful with what we believe, and what we stand for.