My Review on ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’

*Includes spoilers from “Sunrise on the Reaping”*

In the “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins, one of the main characters, Lucy Gray Baird, said “I don’t sing when I’m told. I sing when I have something to say,” but it isn’t just the high-spirited girl who goes by that notion. 

Author of the revolutionary series, The Hunger Games, Collins wrote her new novel, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” because she had something to say.

Delving into the psyche and inner turmoil of the character Haymitch Abernathy, Collins unveiled the drunken, elusive front we knew and showed us the warm heart and kind soul beneath. 

As someone who wore her hair in a side braid in honor of the original series, I was eagerly waiting for the release of the novel.

Collins’ writing is subtle, but moving. Unassuming, but radical. So as soon as the purple and gold novel fell into my hands, I knew I would soon again be transported to the cruel world of Panem. 

Telling the tale of Haymitch’s games in the Quarter Quell, we see the then-teenager in a whole new light. Collins shows us the life he used to live, the family, friends and a lover he used to have and surround himself with.

But after he was illegally reaped to be in the deadly Hunger Games, he lost it all, including himself. 

What I loved most about the novel and learning about Haymitch’s circle was seeing the crumbs of clues Collins left us, allowing the readers to connect the dots in all of the books.

We see Katniss’ parents before she was even born, and we see the origins of characters we wouldn’t see again until Catching Fire. Parallels from the other books, including many of the tributes from District 12, were laid out before our eyes, igniting a spark within me to digest everything I was reading. 

During his games, we see that fire of rebelliousness boiling deep within Haymitch, so eerily similar to Lucy Gray Baird and Katniss Everdeen, showing that a revolution doesn’t start with one person. It’s a trail that ignites from the matches lit before you.

I thought Collins did a marvelous job of so deeply curating and developing the revolution we already know happens, making me realize how much work, blood, sweat and tears were put into it.

Losing his love, his family and friends, Haymitch goes through all of the worst things possible, breaking my heart with every new chapter I read.

But in the end, I saw that it was all worth it, because with all of his pain, something amazing was done. Like his promise to his love, Lenore Dove, there was never another sunrise on a Reaping ever again.

His name was the last to be pulled — it all ended with him. 

This was a heart-wrenching read, but deeply moving and so inspirational — something our generation could learn from. Every word Collins wrote was ingrained into my brain, showing me the deeper meaning of how corruption starts and how it could be ended. 

• books
• sunrise on the reaping
• Suzanne Collins
• The Hunger Games