Novel Published: 18th March 2025
I can't remember why I picked up the first of the Hunger Games novels. It was certainly before the film adaptations were made.
I remember reading the back cover of The Hunger Games and thinking this sounds a lot like the Japanese film Battle Royale but it could be an interesting read.
Suzanne's world building skills meant that I was very quickly absorbed into the world of Panem and the Hunger Games. I soon consumed all three of the original novels (and then enjoyed the four movies when they came out).
Later the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes took us back to the 10th Hunger Games and gave us some incredible insight into the very twisted mind of Snow.
I hadn't realised Sunrise on the Reaping had been released until I was given it as a gift. I put it to one side due to our house move and only picked it up again once we were in our new home.
Sunrise on the Reaping tells Haymitch's story, how through his actions and reactions he ended up in the Hunger Games arena, his journey through the 50th Hunger Games, his interactions with Snow and the consequences of those interactions.
Suzanne's writing style means that I was very soon back immersed in the world of Panem and was deep in District 12 with all the soot and dust of the mines and the beauty of the area just outside.
The juxtaposition of the day to day struggle to make a living and the surrounding beauty is palatable, and this sharply contrasts with the excesses of the capital.
The story starts on the day of the reaping which also happens to be Haymitch's 16th birthday. In the morning he has enough time to sneak into the woods to gather firewood for the still to ensure Hattie has enough fire to make the local gut root alcohol (an illegal activity but one that the Peacemakers ignore and or consume themselves.)
The reaping process doesn't go well and activities conspire in the way of such things and Haymitch, through his actions, is forced to join the games.
Having read the other books we know that Haymitch will survive and knowing what state Haymitch is in during the earlier books we wonder if we will get to know what drove him to become the character we recognise.
Even knowing that Haymitch will survive doesn't turn off the intensity of the story. In preparation for the games, strong alliances are built and more insight into the games are discovered. Those alliances are soon destroyed by other tributes and the sadistic game makers themselves. Even when the games are over there is a reasonable chunk of story to go. Here we learn a lot about what makes Haymitch into the person we first met in The Hunger Games.
I really enjoyed finding out more about Haymitch and Sunrise on the Reaping helps to fill out and round off what is essentially a relatively two dimensional character in the first book.
I really enjoyed the book and hope that they decide to make it into a film in the future - I'll also keep a lookout to see if Suzanne creates any more Hunger Games books in the future.
If you enjoyed the other books in the series then this really is a must.
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