Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games #0.5) by Suzanne Collins (2025)

YA Fiction | Dystopian

Blurb:

When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

Goodreads | Amazon

Book One: THE HUNGER GAMES

pooled ink Review:

I’m not really back, but for some reason I can’t stop wanting to share my thoughts about this book lol.

Fans who preferred the original trilogy over Snow’s standalone will definitely enjoy every moment of this dystopian nightmare. While I prefer Snow’s book over this one, I do have an appreciation for how both Snow’s and Haymitch’s stories help really show us readers how The Hunger Games is indeed a big world with a long game and not just a series with a special teenage girl who happens to be perfect and capable for overthrowing a government.

Collins did an incredible amount of note taking and story weaving crafting together Haymitch’s true story versus what most believe in the trilogy. That being said, and despite this being a fantastic book, I think I find that reading about a falling hero (Haymitch) simply isn’t as interesting to me as reading about a rising villain (Snow). Not sure what that says about me lol but there it is.

I had every confidence that I would devour Haymitch’s story, as devastating as we all knew it would be, and while I was definitely entertained from start to tragic finish I couldn’t help but wonder if we really needed this book after all? It gives some insight for sure (and having the trilogy books fresh in your head will add even more detail and revelation), but it was also mainly just another Games starring District 12. Different arena, different tributes, different horrible deaths, but basically the same as what we’ve already read before. Sure we get to see how the Games have continued to evolve from Snow’s book to Haymitch’s reaping to Katniss’ tale and it does reveal a lot of setup as far as the slow-boil revolution goes. I’m not saying it didn’t fill in any cracks, answer any questions, or tell a well-written story about an interesting character, but I am admitting that to me the Games felt repetitive (versus in Snow’s book where you get to witness the Games from a totally different perspective). BUT as I’ve mentioned before I’m sure those who complained about Snow’s book being too cerebral with its battle of philosophies crafting its foundation and not near enough action, will be very pleased indeed. This is definitely an action story more like the original trilogy was. (And far less quotable apparently lol as in my review of Ballad I kept highlighting quote after quote as it inspired endless musings and challenges while this one it turns out I didn’t highlight a single quote for this review at all. Ah well. As I said, it was very entertaining but in a more action-centric way.)

Look, I liked Haymitch well enough in the books, but Woody made us all fall in love with him in the movies. The Haymitch in this book tries to be more true to the original book character which I appreciate, but he still felt meh to me and I struggled to connect with him. His voice often seemed juvenile rather than unique. Maybe because I already knew his ending, I didn’t find myself rooting for him as much as I wanted to for other characters but of course I knew not to bother because, again, we know the ending. This is a prequel that informs and adds, but does not surprise. I’m not sure I felt surprised at any point in the story. I was entertained for sure! I gasped and cringed and pitied and felt…but I was never surprised the way I was in the original trilogy when the horrors were new or in Snow’s book when the horrors were made. With Snow we also knew how that story would end, but somehow there remained a captivating mystery from his start to his finish, a need to understand how and why. Maybe it’s just because of who Haymitch is that there wasn’t as much of that with his character (he came across sort of like a lesser version of Katniss…which is also sort of the point in a way). But yes, for me even in Haymitch’s own book, Snow was the more interesting character. Not every character has to be the most…but a main character rather does and unfortunately, for me Haymitch in this book was largely forgettable.

Now I mentioned the complex story weaving between the original trilogy and this prequel…I get it and it’s clever and enticing and more, but I can’t help but wish there wasn’t quite so much name dropping in this book lol. It felt like she was cramming in a cameo, clue, or reference every opportunity she got and it more often than not felt forced. We don’t need a family tree or explanation of how every character in the original trilogy is connected before they connect during the timeline of the trilogy. In fact, I didn’t love how they were all connected so long prior (I know that will likely be an unpopular opinion though). I just feel it takes away from the stakes of alliances forged in the trilogy even if it does help explain them. Like did he have to meet everyone? Couldn’t he have just known or met a few of those key characters here or there? Did he have to be so closely (sorta) connected to Katniss’ family? I guess I just wish it left a bit more to have evolved after he was sixteen and before the 74th Games. That’s super nitpicky though haha so definitely not an important complaint or opinion.

I still think this was an entertaining (if at times grossly gory lol) read and a fantastic addition to The Hunger Games series and as far as secondary character spin-offs go I do think Haymitch was a viable choice…but I find I’d rather have read about the Games from yet another perspective such as a tribute from another District, perhaps one of the Careers, Plutarch would even be a possibly fascinating POV to explore, or maybe one of the mentors. Still, what a book! I genuinely look forward to anything else Collins may choose to write within The Hunger Games universe.

Cheers.

Check out the rest of the series: The Hunger Games (book 1), Catching Fire (book 2), Mockingjay (book 3); The Hunger Games (my series review); The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (book 0)

Meet Suzanne Collins!

Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been busy writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children’s author James Proimos, who talked her into giving children’s books a try.

She currently lives in Connecticut with her family and a pair of feral kittens they adopted from their backyard.
-Goodreads

Website | Goodreads