Review: Collins’ latest will keep you reading ‘til sunrise

By Hugo Gerbich-Pais     3/25/25 11:15pm

Score: ★★★★★

Nearly 17 years after The Hunger Games was released, Suzanne Collins masterfully transports – no, throws us – right back to our first introduction of the series. Writing with a tenacity that mimics the heroic journeys of her characters, Collins’ second prequel is a delight to read, for seasoned fans and first-timers alike. 

“Sunrise on the Reaping,” the second Hunger Games prequel, follows Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss and Peeta’s drunkard mentor in the Hunger Games. It begins just before his reaping in the second quarter quell and follows him to the arena and his eventual return to District 12. 

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In this regard, the novel is far more similar to “The Hunger Games” than Collins’ other sequel, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” which was released in 2020, as the majority of the book takes place in the arena. 

Impressively, Collins balances a strong sense of nostalgia for returning readers while still offering a novel full of surprise and intrigue. To outline these surprises would be to spoil the book, but trust that they are as stunning as the original trilogy. 

The novel is also rich in symbolism, but Collins demonstrates that she trusts her readers enough to figure things out on their own. 

While there are plenty of references to the trilogy and the other prequel, they don’t feel too forced. Instead, they allow readers already familiar with Collins’ series to continue populating her world with more detail and history. 

A related critique to the genre is that dystopian fiction tries too hard to be a warning to current society and, in doing so, loses all subtlety. This is not applicable to “Sunrise on the Reaping,” and to emphasise the novel’s dystopian elements would be disingenuous to the experience of reading the novel. 

Its dystopian elements are the setting, allowing Collins to put characters in heartbreaking, unjust situations and gain readers’ sympathy, rather than being at the center of the book. 

This is not to say that its critique of authoritarianism is nonexistent, but it is instead highlighted by Haymitch and his fellow tributes’ struggle to maintain their dignity. 

Just after he is reaped, Haymitch thinks that, “The moment our hearts shattered? It belongs to us.” He will spend the rest of the novel resisting the Capitol’s desire to use him for propaganda.  

Unlike the original ‘Hunger Games’ trilogy, friendship, rather than love, guides Haymitch in the arena. This difference will be refreshing for returning readers, and defines the work. At the beginning of his journey to the Capitol, Haymitch is distrustful of his fellow District 12 tributes – he softens to them as the novel progresses, and to many of the other tributes. 

While Haymitch narrates the novel, we still are exposed to the other District 12 tributes. His narration of them is tender and Collins manages to convey Haymitch’s deep appreciation for their presence. 

The District 12 tributes decide to form a coalition with many other Districts, and this emphasis on community was the bluntest message of the novel. But even then, the closing pages of the novel engage with and complicate this rosy idea of solidarity enough to redeem Collins. 

The Covey, a formerly nomadic songwriting and performing people, originally introduced in “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” reappear in this work. Haymitch’s love interest, Lenore Dove, is Covey, and song features throughout the novel, as she sings to him, and he finds solace in her lyrics in the arena. 

The incorporation of song verse in the text is engaging and adds a poetic flair to particularly emotive moments. 

Suzanne Collins achieves with “Sunrise on the Reaping” what few authors do when they release prequels. The book has merit on its own – full of thrills and a protagonist that is dark, complex, but ultimately likeable. 

And for those who grew up with “The Hunger Games,’ it adds rich context to the original trilogy, surely inspiring readers to return to them with a newfound appreciation. 

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