'Sunrise on the Reaping' REVIEW - An Important and Timely Addition to the Hunger Games Saga

For those who know me, I love talk a lot about a certain dinosaur franchise, with bits of fantasy, intergalactic and comic booky adventures in the mix. But, The Hunger Games franchise both in book and film format is something that’s grounded me in a sense that it uses a compelling fictional premise to drive forward a cautionary tale in the Y/A format.

A bit of backstory of how I got into The Hunger Games franchise. I was experiencing the lows of the last Harry Potter films and right around the Deathly Hallows film releases, I won a raffle basket of books at my middle school that contained the first Hunger Games book. I was really close with my librarians, giving me some fun book recommendations, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to get into this one. But then, I saw the trailer for the movie adaptation and I realized, hey, I have this book. Maybe I should read it. And so, I read the first book and immediately bought Catching Fire and Mockingjay on Amazon to read in time for the first film’s release and I was hooked. Being fairly young and just so enamored with this series, my parents were rather concerned because they didn’t get why this sweet innocent boy is interested in such a violent story. (And mind you, I’ve grown up on the Jurassic Park films and a lot of Indian cinema that has some gore in there, so I was baffled by their responses too). But, I had to convince them, that this story is more than just the games, it’s about a revolution. How, one little spark can make a difference for the better.

After I saw Mockingjay Part 2 in theaters, I felt a little sad that the journey was over but also peace because the story was told, of the girl on fire. Around then, I was also able to finally get siblings in to it and they finally understood what I saw in this franchise. And it’s helped me overcome some rough times personally and politically.

Now fast forward to Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I was surprised as any other Hunger Games fan that we were getting a prequel story on President Snow. Though it took me a while to read before seeing the film, I really appreciated that Suzanne Collins gave insight into how a man like Coriolanus, who’s given every opportunity to make morally good decisions ends up going with his own morals that lead him to the path that we see him in the original series. The movie adapatation, equally showcased that and Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth very compellingly brought their characters to life.

And finally, with Sunrise on the Reaping, I was even more surprised that we were getting another prequel book so quickly in relation to the last film/book. To top that off, an announcement that a film adapation would follow suit increased my hype along with the fact that it was covering the highly anticipated story of Haymitch in the Second Quarter Quell.

I honestly want to give my thanks to Suzanne Collins for somehow coordinating a release timeline for this book just when I needed it the most. Without going to deep in my own political stances in this review, I’m not a fan of this current administration and never was even the first time. But, what this franchise has done for me on top of personal growth and wisdom is that I feel mentally stronger to stand for my integrity when the going gets tough.

So, Sunrise on the Reaping, what did I think of it?

I LOVED IT.

Though I think many people like myself envisioned a young Woody Harrelson, I was moved by Haymitch’s story. At the start of the book, he seems to have things going for himself just okay. It may not be perfect given the circumstances of District 12, but you could see very clearly that he was not going to let the Peacekeepers or the Captiol break him.

Then, when the reaping happens it becomes very clear how corrupted this version of the Capitol is where they clearly modify their own recordings of the mayhem just to ensure viewers in the Capitol or the other districts don’t create a riot or uprising.

Suzanne Collins also builds on the world to show how far things have come from the 10th Hunger Games but not quite there to the 74th. That still doesn’t justify any of this, don’t get me wrong. But, you also get insight into everyone is not always whom they seem.

Additionally, there are many younger versions of characters that we have known from the original series. It feels a little sad but at the same time nice to revisit characters whose fates were sealed later down the line. There was a point though that I felt it was a bit much, but Collins made it work.

Take Effie for example, you see a tinge of compassion in her spirit, but she still very much sees her involvement in the pageantry of the games as her civic duty.

Having Mags and Wiress as Haymitch’s mentors made me emotional because you get to see why he thinks so fondly of them in helping Katniss and Peeta deciding allies in Catching Fire.

Then, with Beetee, I was infuriated how the Capitol was punishing him for his intellect by sentencing his son, Ampert, to the games.

With Haymitch’s fellow District 12 tributes, you get to see a little into how Maysilee Donner’s legacy carries forward with the Mockingjay Pin.

And speaking of pins, the flint striker. I did not expect that to be what the symbol of the book cover meant. But, that was really cool- a songbird and a snake locked and intertwined in a forever battle.

I already mentioned this, but how many times they altered footage to prevent uprisings was shocking.

Louella’s death in the chariot sequence followed by Haymitch giving the metaphorical finger to President Snow, had me screaming on the inside. And, I can only imagine the movie version will have me screaming just as much, because this is where things go downhill for his Ma, Sid, and his sweet Lenore Dove.

Plutarch showing his compassion at such a young age was fascinating to see because we still don’t really know at what point did he change sides towards the rebellion, but it’s clear he is in it for the long game.

The Games also were such a surprise because you only get snippets of it in the Catching Fire novel, but Collins make it clear that footage was heavily altered to prevent the public from seeing Haymitch’s attempts to disable the force field.

The mutts and obstacles were unique in that many of them were of the deceptive kind, butterflies and ladybugs, to water streams and the volcano. You never really know what the gamemakers are up to.

I also forgot to mention, Lou Lou?! What a twisted move on Snow’s part so that they give the McCoy’s at home some hope even though they’re oblivious to what really happened.

And finally, after the Games, Snow wishing Haymitch well on his return trip, the sense of dread with what becomes of his loved ones. You really get a sense of what turned this boy into the drunken mentor we are first introduced to in the 74th games.

You could technically just go into reading this, if you are only familiar with the Mockingjay trilogy. But, you get to see some threads of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes play a part in the legacy here.

President Snow, for example, when he has a chat with Haymitch before the games, he alludes to Lucy Gray Baird with his knowledge of the Covey and uses that as leverage to ensure he has the high ground.

Then with the songs that Haymitch sings much to himself, you can tell that Lenore Dove learned from many of the Covey who grew up around the time of Lucy Gray.

There’s also mentions of how The Games were handled in earlier years compared to their time, especially how tributes were ushered into the Capitol.

One of the more obvious references is a taping of the 10th games’ interviews that Haymitch watches when he’s in recovery limbo post games.

For me, the one that hit the hardest was the funeral, and Burdock Everdeen, who’s revealed to be the father of Katniss and Primrose, singing “The Old Therebefore” and the Mockingjays following along with him.

The story still makes Lucy Gray’s disapperance a mystery and honestly best to keep it that way unless we get another prequel in the mix.

“This is not the blood they want to paint their posters with” and “Maybe this is where I paint my own poster”. These are mentioned around the time of Louella’s death and Maysilee convinces Haymitch to fight for Louella. And he does so with a spectacularly grim poster carrying his fallen tribute and ally in front of Snow, showing how wrong all of this is. But, as we see it, the capitol cuts that out, because they don’t want that kind of poster out there.

“They will not use my tears for their entertainment”. Lenore Dove gives a similar line to Haymitch and it gives him the motivation he needs to carry through the games. It’s very much in line with Peeta’s line in the first Hunger Games.

“They can’t destroy what really matters”. It ties into the material and immaterial. The love people of the districts have for one another, the bonds, the legacies, the songs, and so forth, those can never truly be destroyed.

“A teaspoon of trouble in a river of wrong”. Haymitch and Lenore Dove mention this one quite a bit and in the grand scheme of the chaos, what they do is justified.

As I’m typing this up, I saw the CinemaCon teaser trailer of the logo where they hinted towards the volcano in the arena and Woody’s Haymitch saying “I think these games are going to be different.” Like, OMG, HYPED.

But, seriously, there are some really gut wrenching moments in this book that I know they will have to find a way to balance the PG-13 rating while adapting the story just as effectively.

In terms of cast, I have little to no expectations on that and I do like the idea of Walker Scobell playing Haymitch. Though I really want him to complete the Percy Jackson series as I think that show has a lot of potential.

One fan cast I am a big fan of is Wiress being played by Maya Hawke. She was fantastic in Stranger Things and I think she captures the look and quirkiness of Amanda Plummer’s Wiress.

As for Beetee, I am not sure, but I hope they can get someone just as good as Wright portrayed him.

Finally for Snow and Plutarch, legacy acting could be great, but it needs to be done genuinely and not just because they are the sons of those actors.

This franchise thrives in being faithful to the books and I hope it continues to deliver.

And that epilogue, I hope our familiar friends do return as I would be emotional to see that happen.

Two questions: Do I want another book and who should be the focus on the next book?

Obviously, it should be another prequel, but these questions have me torn.

The epilogue does tie things in nicely by conveying the long game that sets up Katniss’s time. But, I would also be interested in seeing at least one more story.

The focus, I think could work amongst three characters: Plutarch, Finnick, or Johanna.

I could even argue all three could be intertwined into one big book. Plutarch talks about how he’s all about the long game, but at least he’s still in the game. We can see what his next attempts were in the later years after what happened with Haymitch.

With Finnick, we know that through the selling of himself he was able to fineagle the system by learning a few “secrets”.

Johanna’s victory aftermath is not far off from Finnick, but shows how her resolve, which is much different from other victors we’ve seen, could not be broken despite all the loss.

If we had a book that covered all three into one, we know these stories do tend to break into three parts, so we could cover different eras focusing more on each character, but still keeping one of them as an anchor for moving forward the rebellion.

Ultimately, I trust that Suzanne Collins will write out another if and only if “she has something to say”. And with all that she has said, this series and the franchise continues the message to be inquisitive, don’t be complacent, and find hope even when it seems like there isn’t much out there. It may take a while, but we’ll get there.

Share your thoughts in the comments of what you thought of the book and what are your hopes for the film adaptation! We’ve got a good chunk of time to theorize what’s in store.