By Abigail Holliday
Staff Writer
“Sunrise on the Reaping,” the fifth book and second prequel of Suzanne Collins’ hit series “The Hunger Games,” hit the shelves on March 18.
“Sunrise on the Reaping” transports the reader about 24 years in the past from the first book to witness, once again, the horrors and vicious minds of President Coriolanus Snow and the Capitol.
Born on Reaping Day, the day where two tributes are chosen to partake in the games from each district, Haymitch wakes up year after year, since he was 12, anxiously wondering if he is next to be reaped.
The “Hunger Games” competition originated when the districts declared war and attempted to rebel against the Capitol. Ultimately losing this particular battle, the Capitol decided to punish the districts as a way to remind them of the Capitol’s omnipotent and merciless power by sending kids to their brutal deaths.
This particular Hunger Games happened to fall on a Quarter Quell, the 50th Hunger Games. Every 25 years, the Capitol tweaks the games to make them more entertaining for the viewers of Panem.
The second Quarter Quell doubles the tribute count, making it so there are 48 tributes in the arena. By some stroke of luck, Haymitch manages to avoid having his fate sealed for another year, until he goes to help his girlfriend get out of trouble with a Peacekeeper. The commotion draws attention to him since the previously chosen tribute got himself killed, and they needed a new sacrifice.
The book follows as Haymitch loses loved ones, makes unexpected allies, fights for his life and endures the wrath of President Snow for his actions, intentionally rebellious or not.
He learns that everything can and will be filmed or altered to become an opportunity to make the Capitol and Snow look high, mighty and impenetrable. The death of Woodbine Chance, Haymitch’s goodbye to his mother and brother, Louella McCoy and many more. It also draws attention to the past District 12 reapings; Katniss volunteered, Haymitch was illegally reaped and Lucy Grey was reaped out of revenge. It begs the question of if the Reapings were rigged to eliminate any possible rebels.
The original “Hunger Games” trilogy featured Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl from District 12 who volunteered as tribute in her sister’s place. They followed Katniss and her male counterpart, Peeta Mellark, as they fought and ultimately ended up winning the 74th Hunger Games together, which had never been seen before. Forcing President Snow’s hand by threatening to die together, Katniss was left to learn the same lesson Snow ensured Haymitch learned: no rebellious act goes unpunished. Katniss, nicknamed “The Mockingjay” after wearing a pin once owned by Maysilee Donner, rebelled with the districts and eventually dethroned the power-hungry leaders and ended the Hunger Games for good.
In “Mockingjay,” the reader learned that Haymitch had won his games by accidentally using the arena itself to eliminate the last tribute, propelling her axe right back at her. “Sunrise on the Reaping” paints a horrifying and heart-wrenching story into Haymitch’s game and how Snow took his display as an act of “rebellion” and murdered his family and his girlfriend, Lenore Dove, in return.
“Sunrise on the Reaping” also answers a lot of questions that were previously unknown. The reader learns Katniss’s parents' names and how close they were to Haymitch, why Haymitch called Katniss “sweetheart,” how Effie came to be at District 12 and more background on Wiress, Mags and Beetee.
According to Polygon, Collins “only writes when she has something to say,” and considering she opens up the book with four quotes about propaganda, it’s not a mystery what message Collins wanted to pass along.
“That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will rise,” a quote specifically chosen by Collins from David Hume, a famous philosopher.
In the book, Lenore Dove and Haymitch get into a disagreement about the Reaping day with Haymitch claiming that every year on his birthday, there was a Reaping Day. Lenore Dove argues back, saying that the games had only been around 50 years and that it was not certain that the games would continue just because it was his birthday. She didn’t want Haymitch to lose hope and momentum by believing the games were inevitable; she wants him to believe that one day they would end and that he could even be the one to do it. This argument is where Collins said the title “Sunrise on the Reaping” was born.
The “Sunrise on the Reaping” movie is set to premiere on Nov. 20, 2026. May the odds be ever in your favor to score a ticket.
