“Sunrise on the Reaping” by Suzanne Collins was published on March 18, 2025. Fans of the original trilogy were shocked when it, alongside a movie adaptation, was announced in June 2024, due to the fact that Collins has not published a book in the Hunger Games universe since 2020.
This is the second book in the Hunger Games universe that does not have Katniss Everdeen as the protagonist. “A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” featured the perspective of President Snow in the 10th games, whereas “Sunrise on the Reaping” is focused on Haymitch’s perspective as a tribute in the 50th games.
Although we are vaguely familiar with his games from the information provided to the readers in “Catching Fire,” Collins still manages to catch the readers off guard. Readers only know a handful of things walking into the book: Haymitch is the victor of the 50th games, there are twice as many tributes as normal, one of his allies is Maysilee Donner, who is related to Madge Undersee, a character we meet in the original trilogy and that after the games, Haymitch loses both his family and his significant other.
The rebellion plotline serves as a parallel between Haymitch and Katniss. They both attempted to challenge President Snow and change the outlook on the games. There were 24 years between the events of “Sunrise on the Reaping” and the original trilogy. Although the rebellion likely started even before Haymitch became a tribute, it’s interesting to see how everything done behind the scenes eventually led up to the events of the original trilogy.
One thing that I was pleasantly surprised by is how Collins managed to flesh out Panem, particularly in District 12. In the original trilogy, there wasn’t much information on Katniss’ parents. However, “Sunrise on the Reaping” not only gives them names, but also adds the fact that they were close to Haymitch before and after his games. We also met more victors from the other districts who were present in “Catching Fire.” The new given context explains why these characters automatically have an air of trust to them by the time we read about them in the original trilogy.
As of the time this article is being written, five characters have already been cast for the movie. Joseph Zada was cast as Haymitch, and Whitney Peak was cast as Lenore Dove Baird on Apr. 23. They were quickly followed by the announcements of McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner and Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee. Kelvin Harrison Jr. was announced to play Beetee Latier on May 13.
Everything else aside, I think that in general, this was just a phenomenal book. Not only did I manage to get my hands on it the day it came out, but I finished it in the span of eight hours. I feel like Collins’ writing has a way of immersing readers into her stories. Just when you think that things are about to get better, you are faced with a tragic punch to the gut.
