Official Cover for Sunrise on the Reaping

Rebellious, unplanned and calculated are all ways to describe Haymitch Abernathy’s time in the Hunger Games. Abernathy’s journey is the main focus of “Sunrise on the Reaping”, Suanne Collins’ newest book in the series “The Hunger Games”.

“Sunrise on the Reaping”, released on March 18, is a prequel to the dystopian “The Hunger Games” trilogy. This new story occurs 25 years before Katniss Everdeen’s Games and 40 years after Lucy Gray’s game in “The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes”. The new book is written in a way that connects the two prior stories by including characters, songs, and easter eggs from the other books. 

The new insight into Abernathy, an already loved character made the book an amazing addition to the franchise. As well as the inclusion of Effie Trinket, Plutarch Heavensbee and members from the Covey made the book a cohesive flow for the other stories to fit together. Overall, this impacted the story greatly by the already formed connections with the characters. Giving readers more insight about who the characters were had a greater impact than creating new characters that had no previous connections. Even the new characters were tied to the other books as well, like Abernathy’s girlfriend, a member of the Covey, or Maysilee Donner, the original owner of Everdeen’s Mockingjay pin. The characters’ storylines were the parts of the book that had the most impact. Seeing where their life went or where it started added a lot to many beloved characters. 

“Sunrise on the Reaping” really added a new light to the “Hunger Games” series and worked very well with the rest of the series. The sparks of rebellion that were paved for Everdeen in her books were started in “The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes” and were then blown on by Abernathy. When Everdeen made it into the Hunger Games, all she had to do was add wood to the fire and the rebellion was in full motion.