On March 18th, Suzanne Collins released the fifth book in the 17-year-old Hunger Games series, called Sunrise on the Reaping.
The book follows Haymitch Abernathy as he goes through the process of his Hunger Games. In the original trilogy, Haymitch mentors the main characters, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. Initially, he is portrayed as a haunted and drunken man. In Sunrise on the Reaping, we find out that he wasn’t always like that.
The book starts with introducing Haymitch and his friends and family in District 12 on Reaping Day, which just so happens to be his birthday. A huge emphasis is placed on his girlfriend, Lenore Dove. His love for her is immeasurable, and it shows very clearly.
I think that having an obvious subplot of romance is a nice change for this Dystopian series. Katniss denies her love for Peeta multiple times in the original three books because she is too focused on survival. Even though they do end up in a romantic relationship, Haymitch is introduced as a very caring and emotionally intelligent man from the start.
Every 25 years, the Gamemakers put a spin on the original idea of the Hunger Games. This is called a “Quarter Quell”. Normally, a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 are picked at random from each of the 12 districts to fight to the death in a Capitol-controlled arena. For the 50th anniversary of the war, twice as many tributes are selected.
During the Reaping, Louella McCoy, Maysilee Donner, Wyatt Carrow, and Woodbine Chance are picked. However, Woodbine makes a run for it, resulting in his death at the hands of Capitol soldiers called “peacekeepers”. Lenore Dove attempts to help the situation, which brings Haymitch into it. Ultimately, he is the replacement for Woodbine, and they are sent off to the Capitol.
The people of Panem don’t realize that Haymitch wasn’t actually reaped unless they were physically there. Even though cameras were everywhere, the Capitol still managed to cover up Woodbine Chance’s death. I think that this is a huge thing to pay attention to throughout the entirety of the book. It shows that no matter what, President Snow will always have control over all of Panem.
A major theme is how the Capitol tries to hide everything bad and wrong. Even though Haymitch tries his hardest to shed light on the wrongdoings of the government, it is always covered up. No matter what he does, the truth never comes out.
Right before they are sent into the arena, a parade for all of the tributes takes place in the Capitol. One thing leads to another, and the District 12 chariot is flipped, resulting in the death of Louella McCoy, Haymitch’s one and only ally.
Louella’s death struck a chord within Haymitch, and he made it his undying mission to “stick it to the man”. During individual evaluations with the gamemakers, Haymitch scores a one out of twelve for his sarcastic and cutting comments about how wrong the Hunger Games and the Capitol are in general. Luckily, others thought similarly.
One side character and ally that stands out most is Ampert Latier. He was reaped as a punishment for his father, Beetee, who was introduced in the second Hunger Games book, Catching Fire. He approaches Haymitch to join forces with a bunch of other tributes as they try to take out the best killers early on.
Ampert helps Haymitch in the arena when they try to break the arena and stop the Hunger Games forever. Beetee was a former victor of the 34th Hunger Games where he used his smarts to kill his opponents. Ampert and Beetee concoct a plan where they try to blow up the water tank in an attempt to flood the arena in an act of rebellion. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work out and eventually leads to Ampert’s death from government-controlled squirrel mutations.
During Haymitch’s time in the arena, he sees very little person-on-person murder. He was too focused on shutting down the arena to try to hunt the other tributes. This is very different from the first two books. Katniss and Peeta were constantly witnessing and participating in violent acts in both arenas. Haymitch mainly uses logistics and his surroundings to survive.
Even from before he was in the arena, he conspired and planned on how he was going to get rid of the Hunger Games. This hatred only grew when he eventually won and was forced to relive his Games with Caesar Flickerman for the victor celebration. He realizes that all of his efforts were for nothing because none of the disturbances that he caused were shown to the public.
Another difference in the writing in Sunrise on The Reaping compared to the original three is the constant thought and worry about whether Lenore Dove and his family are okay. Katniss and Peeta were worried about their families, but they were also worried about their survival. Haymitch spent his whole time in the arena trying to take down the government and make sure his family and friends were safe. Katniss only tried to take down the government after she won the first games and was forced back into it the very next year for the 75th Quarter Quell.
After he was crowned the victor and forced to take a tour of the districts to acknowledge all of their sacrifices, he expected to go home and reunite with all of his loved ones. Unfortunately, this is not what happened. President Snow took away everything he loved. Haymitch ruffled enough feathers for the government to not only take away the joy of reuniting with his family but also the future of his happiness and freedom.
His mother and brother were burned in a Capitol-induced house fire, and Lenore Dove was poisoned by a specific type of gumdrop. After that, Haymitch took to drinking and drowning his sorrows until the next Hunger Games, where he is forced to mentor District 12 kids over and over again until the 75th, where Katniss and Peeta officially ended them.
Katniss and Haymitch were very similar in their inner monologues and how they perceived the Capitol. Even though they were in the games at completely different times, they had the same intentions. Katniss had more help, and that’s what eventually led to the demise of President Snow and the Hunger Games system.
A big question on social media is if there will be more books showing more characters Games. Freshman at Central, Taylor Thomassie, said “I think she’ll probably release more books. She releases books when she has something to say about the world and there’s a lot to talk about right now.”
In my opinion, Suzanne Collins has done a really good job with connecting all of the books and not straying too far from the main plot. I really enjoyed reading Sunrise on the Reaping and being able to see more of the characters that I loved in the original books. Learning more about the history of the Games and seeing how complex this world that Collins created was really cool.
Lenore Dove’s last dying wish was for him not to stop the Hunger Games and not let the sunrise on the next Reaping. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen until 25 years later. Although he didn’t do it by himself, he was a huge help in the ultimate demise of the Hunger Games and President Snow’s reign.
