Everyone’s favorite middle school book fair series, The Hunger Games, has returned for its second prequel book: “Sunrise on the Reaping.” This time, Suzanne Collins, author of the series gives readers the tale of the fiftieth game, the second Quarter Quell.
As readers of the series will know, the second Quarter Quell is infamously the game that Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss’ mentor in the original series and the protagonist of this book, won. The natural worry with any prequel released nearly fifteen years after the conclusion of the original series is that it simply exists as a cash grab.
Fortunately, “Sunrise on the Reaping” does not fall prey to such a scheme, but instead successfully contextualizes a handful of characters while telling Haymitch’s story, which was even more depressing than expected.
Characters such as Beetee, Plutarch, Mags and Wiress, all well-known from the original series, have their backstories expounded upon in this book in a way that balances fan service and genuine plot succinctly. Haymitch’s progression from lowly boy snatched away from his life by the Reaping to hermit alcoholic living in District 12’s Victor’s Village alone is finely etched in this book.
Collins manages to flesh out the original books well, as any prequel should, while also not providing any information that leaves the reader questioning why it was not in the original books. Any information in “Sunrise on the Reaping,” had it been originally provided, arguably would have just bogged down Katniss’ story.
The setting of this prequel makes it more interesting than “The Ballad of Songbirds of Snakes.” While it was interesting to see Coriolanus Snow go from a somewhat caring Capitol boy to having those dictatorial traits he is known for was fun, seeing the Capitol full swing in terms of ruthlessness towards the districts makes “Sunrise on the Reaping” the superior prequel, in my opinion. It is just chronologically close enough to the original series that readers can see the early stages of the eventual revolution 25 years later and how the integral characters contributed to the rebel cause dating back to at least the second Quarter Quell.
The book also approaches the themes of revolt and complacency to a fascistic regime with care. It analyzes what a person must lose to forego their complacency while simultaneously looking at what can once again numb them to a dictatorship.
If you have read and enjoyed the original series (please, do not read this book before at least reading the original series), this book will undoubtedly be a joy to read. That said (and this may just be due to the difference in my age during my first read-throughs,) the prose here did feel a bit weaker than in the original series. Thus, I would give this book a solid 4.5/5 stars and a thorough recommendation to fans of the series.
