A Book A Week

I was reluctant to give in to the hype surrounding Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games series when it first came out. At the time, I was in college and admittedly felt a bit above the YA craze, especially when every dystopian release was being hailed as “the next big thing.” But once I finally picked up the books, I was hooked. Despite some qualms with the storytelling, I was drawn in by the fast-paced plot and the deeper themes of political unrest, propaganda, and control. Reflecting on them now, Collins’s once speculative fiction feels eerily relevant to our own world. 

That’s why I was curious when Sunrise on the Reaping, a new prequel to the trilogy, was announced. Did we really need another installment when the original books ended so neatly? To my surprise, the answer is yes. Not only does Collins expand the mythology of Panem in meaningful ways, but the events of this novel now feel uncannily timely. It makes the series resonate in a way that feels both fresh and unsettling.

In celebration of the 50th Hunger Games, the Capitol announces a brutal twist. Twice as many tributes will be selected from each district. For Haymitch Abernathy of District 12, the Reaping also falls on his sixteenth birthday. He tries to push the dread aside, hoping the day will pass so he can return to the simple comfort of being with Lenore Dove, the girl he loves. But survival, as he quickly learns, isn't so easy. 

From the start, political unrest simmers beneath the surface. The first Reaping descends into chaos, an eruption of violence that the Capitol swiftly erases from memory by staging a second, sanitized drawing. This time, Haymitch’s name is chosen. It becomes clear that the Capitol intends to script these Games for their own purposes, but Haymitch refuses to play the role they’ve written for him. If he’s destined to die, he’ll do so on his own terms, and perhaps leave behind a spark capable of exposing the cracks in the Capitol’s carefully maintained facade.

Sunrise on the Reaping might just be the strongest installment in the Hunger Games series. The familiar structure is all here. There's the Reaping, the Capitol training, the brutality of the arena, and the crowning of a victor. But Collins adds a new layer of depth that elevates this novel beyond its predecessors. We already know the outcome. Haymitch will win. His survival was predetermined by the original trilogy. That inevitability frees Collins to craft a story that is sharper, more emotionally resonant, and devastating in its execution. The result is a book that feels at once familiar and startlingly fresh. Sunrise on the Reaping is more mature, more urgent, and ultimately, the most powerful entry in the series.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2025, 74)