Hunger Games fans, including myself, were ecstatic when the new book, Sunrise on the Reaping, came out last month. Many fans immediately bought the book before spoilers were all over the media. 1.2 million books were sold within the first week of being published, which is a record high for the series.
The book is a prequel to the original trilogy, and it captures the story of Haymitch Abernathy’s road to being the victor of the 50th Hunger Games, and a snippet of his life after the games. The twist of the 50th Hunger Games was that twice as many tributes were reaped from each district, making a grand total of 48 tributes, Haymitch being one of them.
` The book started off by showing what Haymitch’s life was like before the games. He had a very close relationship with his “Ma” and his younger brother, Sid. Haymitch also had a girlfriend, Lenore Dove, who was a part of the covey which is a group who lived in district 12 who were known for wearing bright colors and performing their songs.
The Haymitch and Katniss parallels throughout this book were very noticable, some were subtle and some not. The biggest parallel was that they were both reaped for the games by protecting someone that they love. We find out Haymitch’s name wasn’t even pulled from the bowl, but he was chosen as a proxy tribute because the previous tribute tried to run away, but was killed. Both Haymitch and Katniss loathe the capitol, and both have a strong urge to protect those who they hold near their hearts.
Another prominent connection is that Haymitch was close friends with Burdock Everdeen and Asterid March, who we learn to be Katniss’s parents. We also learn Lenore Dove is distantly related to Burdock Everdeen. This proves that Katniss is a part of the covey family line. Within the first 20 pages, there were already a huge amount of parallels to the other four Hunger Games books.
Throughout this story, we see a lot of characters who we previously met in the other books. We see Effie Trinket, Plutarch Heavnsbee, Beetee Latier, Mags Flanagan, and more. On social media, I’ve seen some readers say they find the constant interactions with these characters cliche, and give the book an unrealistic feel. I can agree with this view to an extent. In my opinion, it makes sense that Haymitch interacts with these characters because they all were a part of the rebellion which we see in the original series. It was also intriguing to learn more of their backstories.
A huge plot point of the book is that Haymitch was a part of a rebellion act within the 50th games, which is why his family and girlfriend were killed by the capitol at the end of the book. Haymitch, while in the games, tried to destroy the arena with the help of multiple different mentors and Plutarch Heavensbee. This left many readers wondering how many other attempts at a rebellion were made throughout the years that we don’t know about. This makes me believe that there might be a sixth hunger games book, from the point of view of someone in the capitol who was a part of the rebellion, possibly Plutarch, or maybe President Snow’s sister, Tigris.
Suzanne Collins, is known for writing when she has something to say. The main lesson of this book was the power of propaganda, and how it shapes societal views. I believe this lesson came across very well throughout the book. Near the end of the book, when Haymitch watches back some of the footage of his games, he realizes that what they’re showing isn’t even half of what truly happened. The gamemakers altered what the viewers saw, so it didn’t look like any of the tributes, and specifically Haymitch, had any power whatsoever.
I believe this message about propaganda is important for everyone to know. I am left thinking about just how little we know about what truly happens in our government. While the Hunger Games is a huge step away from the state of our country, it still teaches us vital lessons.
