Name: Sunrise on the Reaping
ISBN: 9781546171461

Suzanne Collins

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.

The Hunger Games 0.5

Sunrise on the Reaping

kaii

The moment our hearts shattered? It belongs to us.

Sadie Hoffman

jean

Cassidy Nolan

They will not use our tears for their entertainment.

Nina May

I didn’t want to let them in, her and Peeta, but the walls of a person’s heart are not impregnable, not if they have ever known love.

Kiran Aftab

“When we enquire by what means this wonder is efected, we shall find, that, as force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular."

The upside of being born on reaping day is that you can sleep late on your birthday. It’s pretty much downhill from there.

No way to control the outcome of the reaping or what follows it. So don’t feed the nightmares. Don’t let yourself panic. Don’t give the Capitol that. They’ve taken enough already.

She gives me a broken-toothed grin and says, “Happy birthday, Haymitch. I figure if you’re old enough to make it, you’re old enough to drink it.”

I have to agree and, though I’m not a drinker myself, I’m glad to get the bottle.

She wasn’t one of Burdock’s Everdeen cousins, but I knew he had some distant ones on his ma’s side.

Clerk Carmine and her other uncle, Tam Amber, have raised her since her ma died in childbirth, seeing her pa’s always been something of a mystery.

“It’s going to be alright,” I say, which rings hollow.

“You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“Maybe not. But I try to. Because the reaping’s going to happen no matter what I believe. Sure as the sun will rise tomorrow.”

“I love it.” I give her a soft kiss. “And I love you like all-fire.”

All-fire is Covey talk, but that expression is ours. Usually it makes her smile but she’s dead serious now. “You, too.”

The place is deserted except for my classmate Asterid March, who’s arranging tiny bottles on a shelf behind the counter.

Besides, Burdock’s nuts about her, so I try to be nice even though he’s got about as much chance with her as a mockingjay with a swan. Town girls don’t marry Seam boys, not unless something really goes haywire.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see almost everybody around me follow suit, but Otho Mellark, a big lug of a guy whose folks own the bakery, seems bewildered.

I locate Lenore Dove in the crowd and we lock eyes, desperation setting in. For a moment, everything else peels away and there’s only us. She lowers her hand and presses it to her heart as her lips form the words silently. 

“Plutarch!” screeches Drusilla. “Plutarch Heavensbee!”

Her little face is so pinched that before I really think it through, I ask, “So, are you going to be my ally or what, sweetheart?”

In fifty years, we’ve only had one victor, and that was a long time ago. A girl who no one seems to know anything about. Back then, barely anyone in 12 had a television, so the Games were mostly hearsay. I’ve never seen her in the clips of the old shows, but then those early efforts are rarely featured, as they are said to be badly filmed and lacking in spectacle. My parents weren’t born yet, and even Mamaw couldn’t tell me much about the girl. I brought our victor up with Lenore Dove a few times, but she never wanted to discuss her.

I’m entirely the Capitol’s plaything. They will use me for their entertainment and then kill me, and the truth will have no say in it.

Good, tragic… but not as good as the first three. I still love me some Haymitch.

Jennifer Palmer

Jordan

Should not have listened to this, wish I had read a physical copy. The constant quoting of the same poem over and over and over and over was much harder to skip and annoyed me. I get it's a semi accurate portrayal of grief but it did nothing for me. Otherwise a fine story just not my favorite. 

Julia Rivera

Suzanne Collins never fails to make a chilling story. She adds to our beloved characters and gives them a backstory that gives her original stories a greater nuance, making you want to hold onto them tighter. Haymitch was one of the characters I didn't really put much notice to in the earlier books so it seemed like the perfect decision to write this. It is heartbreaking yet inspiring and a great addition to the series.

bri (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

tara  (she/her)

This made me weep like a little baby, I haven’t cried that much for any piece of media since reading Mockingjay back in like 2017. This was incredibly emotional and well written and even though fans of the series knew what would inevitably happen it still hit me like a brick in the head. What impacted me the most was definitely the epilogue, when we get reminded that he also calls Katniss his sweetheart and that it is not at all demeaning like some presumed earlier. And Haymitch raising the geese that his two children (at heart) gifted him. 

Noumbé Diop

At first, inevitably, the story felt too repetitive, but it was still captivating. I loved the way of showing its not just the character, their strength, and courage that ends the ongoing fight, but the chance and the timing plays a great factor. Haymitch could have been the face of the rebellion, but he didn’t have enough chance, and strong people by his side, which cost him his loved one. Katniss could have had the same ending, but she had luck and the right people. I really enjoyed that message. The games were still creative, but again a bit repetitive. 

ovgun

I understand why Haymitch was such a wreck in the OG books..he has the WORST story so far, poor guy. Loved learning about all the other characters and what happened to them/why they are a certain way in Catching Fire. Also makes me think the 75th Quarter Quell was DEFINITELY rigged to get rid of all those “rebels.” Probably why Haymitch was picked before Peeta volunteered. Ugh and then Haymitch had to watch them all die too 😭😭 The guy literally lost everyone

Miranda Watson

The hunger games universe just isn’t for me. 

Samantha Waterson

“You were capable of imagining a different future. And maybe it won't be realized today, maybe not in our lifetime. Maybe it will take generations. We're all part of a continuum.”

Oof my heart hurts. You’d think that reading a prequel makes the pain easier to bear because you already know what happens in the end, but that’s not how it works. Haymitch Abernathy was the mentor of unfortunate District 12 tributes from the original trilogy, but by then he was a middle-aged alcoholic who was so jaded and disillusioned that he wasn’t much of a role model. This is a story of how he ended up so traumatised.

The first prequel, TBOSAS, showed how the Capitol turned what was meant to be a straightforward punishment delivered to keep colonies in check into a spectacle that served the dual purposes of objectifying and flattening the tributes into consumable media, while implicating its own citizens in its ritual massacres so that they no longer want to rebel against their own government. It is more than a little on the nose. Haymitch’s story happens several decades later after Snow has had time to consolidate even more power, but even so, Snow still feels an affinity with Haymitch simply by virtue of them both loving a Covey girl—his lifelong obsession with the emblem of an insuppressible District 12 runs deep. 

Maysilee says, “We never, none of us, had any choices.” What she means is that under Capitol rule, the only thing one gets to choose is their degree of suffering. The only way to live a worthwhile life under such circumstances is to be principled and not close your eyes to another’s pain. SotR is a reminder that revolution must come at a great cost—generations and generations of death—but also that revolution is coming nevertheless. Do your part and trust the process.

What am I supposed to do with my life after reading all the THG books again.

Sobbing as per usual with these books, and honestly I hate Snow with a passion. 

Definitely not the best book out of the series but gets extra points from nostalgia. 

Denisse Garcia Ramírez 

What am I supposed to do with my life after reading all the THG books again.

Sobbing as per usual with these books, and honestly I hate Snow with a passion. 

Definitely not the best book out of the series but gets extra points from nostalgia. 



I really liked the cheeky nod to AI. God, I hope it gets banned.

Jonnie

flies by. but this is not the best of the hunger games. it can only get a 3 for nostalgia honestly. & maybe ampert & maysilee. haymitch is a phenomenal character in katniss’ story and this backstory makes sense. but there were too many nods to the original series, falls into the prequel traps a bit much for me

mara henderson

Saffy

Suzanne Collins is an evil genius. I’m always hesitant to read prequels, but this was just as good as the OG series. I cannot believe how much these she puts these people through. 

what happened here…. i hate to say that i didn’t love this :( but it was not very good 

mallorie 🦌

It's Suzanne Collins. Her books flow tremendously well. You can finish her books in a sitting with how well she handles her writing. Overall I liked this add on better then a Ballad. Haymitch is a super fun character and reading into his hunger games is a whole lot of fun, but some parts felt shallower then the original trilogy. Still very much worth a read!

Max Riley

It was a perfect portrayal of Haymitch’s background and it was really interesting to learn some more of the lore about the character and the world of the hunger games. So many likeable characters and it was cool to see the early stages of the rebellion

Nathan Rogers

I think Suzanne Collins just took my heart out, stomped on it, and then put it haphazardly back into my chest

Sunrise on the Reaping The Hunger Games 0.5