The newest novel in the Hunger Games universe, by Suzanne Collins, is here. You will travel back in time and revisit Haymitch’s 50th Hunger Games to hear his version of the story. Ever since Haymitch’s story was first introduced in Catching Fire, fans (including us) never let it go. Collins finally delivered with the highly requested novel The Sunrise on the Reaping.

This book, simply put, is devastating. Physical reactions included: crying, staring at walls, not being able to move, the urge to throw the book across the room, actually throwing the book across the room, sobbing, screaming, and the general feeling of appallment. Spoilers ahead as we dive right into this mess (you have been warned and so can’t blame us for the emotional instability that may follow)!

I hated that I knew what was going to happen. We all knew what was going to happen and how this book was going to end the moment we picked it up, which made reading it so much harder. I knew Lenore was going to die and though I desperately didn’t want her to, she had to die to cement the Capitol’s totalitarianism. It was also tragic waiting for all the tributes to die because I knew Haymitch would win the games.

The pacing near the end of the book, when Haymitch was in the hospital, was a little weird because the span of a few weeks was smushed into one or two pages, but other than that, I was completely engaged. I love Suzanne Collins’s writing style and her storytelling and have very few complaints. 

The first things that stood out to us were the many connections back to the original trilogy and also the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes:

1. Lucy Gray and the Covey

There were so many references to Lucy Gray and the Covey. Lenore Dove, Haymitch’s girlfriend, was Covey and knew of Lucy Gray; Lenore wore part of Lucy Gray’s famous rainbow dress in parts of her clothing. Also, when Haymitch is in the Capitol, they play a clip of Lucy Gray singing from her Hunger Games—I was screaming; I love Lucy Gray so much. Then Haymitch met Snow and he recognized symbols on the flint striker that represented the Covey—which he would have learned from Lucy Gray. And the gravestone!! At the end of the book, Haymitch walks through the hidden graveyard of the Covey and sees Lucy Gray’s headstone (he doesn’t know it or recognize it, but fans know), which is marked by an excerpt from the song/poem her name came from.

2. Backstories and additional information that relates to the trilogy

• • Effie: I can’t. She was a good person…. Seeing her deeper relationship with Haymitch was devastating because she and Haymitch were more distant in the trilogy (this is in part because Haymitch kind of became distant from everyone following his games). Effie goes from an innocent girl with the dream of being a fashion designer to essentially a mind-controlled Capitol puppet—it hurt to hear her story. It humanized her more, especially considering her actions and attitude in the first book.
  • Beetee: I also can’t. No. I refuse. What do you mean he had to train his son to kill only to watch him die in the games? Beetee’s son, Ampert, only twelve, was targeted by the Capitol brutally and violently. His death was gross; there’s no other way to put it (this is the part where staring at the wall occurred). I didn’t know he had a son, which I understand he would have wanted to keep secret, but I still feel like I should have known. It was interesting to see that Beetee was always involved in the rebellion (and also wanted to help Haymitch); seeing his son die gave him even more of a reason to join the rebellion.
  • Mags & Wiress: Mags and Wiress were Haymitch’s mentors because District 12 had no living victor to mentor him (cause Lucy Gray’s gone ahhhhhhh). They were victors of previous Hunger Games and were part of the plot of Catching Fire. I loved hearing their backstories and stories of how they won their Hunger Games (especially hearing Mags’s story of why she volunteered for the games). Both of them were friendly to Haymitch and genuinely wanted to help him, which better showed Haymitch’s relationship with the former victors.
  • Plutarch: What are you doing in the Capitol? Plutarch didn’t play a big role until Mockingjay, and I was very surprised to hear he worked for Snow. Yet, he was still on the side of rebellion, willing to protect Haymitch from Snow, and assist him in the arena (and offering him the call with Lenore Dove which broke me emotionally).

3. Haymitch’s relationship with alcohol

When you first meet Haymitch in the trilogy, he’s an alcoholic, and you get no sign that he was ever anything else. However, at the beginning of this book, while Haymitch illegally makes alcohol to support his family, he is staunchly against drinking and says he will never consume large amounts of alcohol. Knowing that he would later become an alcoholic, this scene was heartbreaking to read. The games and the Capitol’s “punishments” took such a toll on his life that he became what he swore he would never be.

4. Nightlock

We don’t know for sure, but are pretty certain Lenore died via nightlock in the gumdrops that killed her. In the trilogy, Katniss stops Peeta from eating nightlock because she knows it is poisonous. I actually died when Haymitch said Katniss was “just luckier” than he was—Plutarch says to Haymitch the rebellion will happen in the future when someone lucky comes along and Haymitch finishes this sentence with “someone luckier than me” (which he now claims is Katniss as she survived the nightlock but Lenore didn’t).

5. “Sweetheart”

Haymitch calls Katniss “sweetheart” in the trilogy—not romantically, but out of fondness or what seems like a habit. In this book, we learn he called Luella McCoy “sweetheart” because she was like a younger sister to him and he cared very dearly for her. Knowing this shows Haymitch truly cared about Katniss; it wasn’t just a nickname.

Moving on from connections, there’s the book itself: 

1. Haymitch’s reaping story 

Long story short, Haymitch wasn’t reaped; he was unfairly chosen because he attempted to save Lenore from a Peacekeeper attack. This was absolutely devastating knowing he was almost safe. Also, as hard as it was to read, I appreciated how it wasn’t a copy-and-paste reaping where his name was just drawn. I’d also like to point out that none of the District 12 victors we know ended up in the games because “the odds were ever in their favor.” Lucy Gray was unfairly targeted, Haymitch was chosen, Katniss volunteered, and Peeta volunteered when Haymitch was later named for the 75th Hunger Games.

2. Luella and Lou Lou

One of the District 12 tributes, Luella McCoy, died in the tribute parade from a carriage crash. The Capitol kept her death a secret from the larger public because they didn’t want their games to seem imperfect or that the Capitol was weak. They declared “the games must go on” by finding a replacement in a brainwashed girl Haymitch would end up calling Lou Lou. The Capitol is demented. You can’t do that. She’s an innocent girl being tortured for something she did that angered the Capitol—she may be from District 11, but we never find out for sure. Lou Lou’s just a pawn of the Capitol (like everyone else), and her identity is completely erased. 

3. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” 

One of my only complaints is that there was a bit too much Poe. The additions of his poems were nice sometimes, but most of the time I got a bit lost in them, primarily because there was often no explanation of why they were there.

4. Haymitch’s birthday on Reaping Day

Awful. Enough said.

5. Haymitch’s family being killed/punishment from the Capitol

Just after Haymitch “escaped” the game and the Capitol (supposedly), he returned home to find his house on fire with his family inside. This was no doubt the fault of the Capitol who wanted to punish him for his attempt at rebellion. He was so close to being happy and then just wasn’t (especially after Lenore died too ?). Haymitch was happy at the beginning of the book (unlike Lucy Gray and Katniss) and all of that gets stripped from him by the end. This is especially true when he forces all his friends to leave him alone because he’s afraid of them being hurt. I was reminded of Snow’s (and the Capitol’s) brutality after Ballad attempted to give him some humanity. Snow didn’t have to kill Haymitch’s family but did anyway, and everyone in the Capitol just went along with it. I guess Snow really does land on top.

One more thing: Capitol propaganda and the way they twist Haymitch’s story for the public (some parts of this book are frighteningly realistic). What we hear from Haymitch in Catching Fire is different from his story here and different from the video the Capitol makes of his games. The Capitol cuts out parts of what he does in the arena to portray Haymitch as a power-hungry tribute who only wants to win—someone who’s willing to sacrifice anyone who gets in his way. In reality, Haymitch cares for many of his fellow tributes and protects them. Also, Haymitch went to great lengths to destroy the arena and none of that was shown on TV; the opening parade where Haymitch defied the Capitol was also cut out. It was interesting to view his games through different lenses.

Honestly, after reading this book, I can see why Haymitch was the way he was in the original trilogy—anything in those books would have reminded Haymitch of his games. The Capitol is the same: brutal and relentless; Snow is the same: insane and murderous; the system is the same: no one can get out of it. 

This book was both amazing and difficult to read and would recommend it to anyone; just prepare yourself for emotional turmoil. We rate it 4.5/5 stars and are crossing our fingers the movie adaptation next year is just as good…if only it were coming sooner.