The fifth “Hunger Games” novel makes a strong case for being the best yet
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
***WARNING: HEAVY SPOILERS BELOW***
Acclaimed author Suzzane Collins is back with a new edition to the Hunger Games series. First completed as a trilogy in 2010, Collins returned to the world a decade later with a prequel focusing on the 10th Annual Hunger Games, and the early adulthood of the man who’d become President Coriolanus Snow. Now, she’s back with another new prequel set further into the future.
“Sunrise On The Reaping” differs from “The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes” in a number of ways. For starters, we’re closer to the timeline of the original trilogy, meaning the Hunger Games themselves are more modernized than they were as seen in their infancy in “Ballad.” This allows long-time readers to be more familiar with the normal structure of the event, as well as be already familiar with its large cast of characters, many of which return from the original trilogy in both similar and different roles.
We’re also re-introduced to a far more likable protagonist than President Snow… that being Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mallark’s problematic and controversial mentor, Haymitch Abernathy. For this novel, the style of writing also returns to a first person perspective, namely Haymitch’s.
During the original trilogy, Haymitch was always kind of a jerk. It was clear that he cared, but he was always somewhat detached, and could be extremely difficult to be around. “Sunrise” reveals that wasn’t always the case, and reveals his close ties to many in District 12… including the parents of the “girl on fire” he’d later mentor to victory.
The bulk of the story is set 40 years after “Ballad” at the 50th Annual Hunger Games, otherwise known as the Second Quarter Quell. Those were the “Games” that ultimately saw Haymitch outlast 48 others to claim victory, which is not much of a spoiler to reveal here unless you’re a new reader to the franchise (in which case, please stop reading and start back from the very first book).
What “Sunrise” does is give an important amount of context to those games, the rebellion beginning to form behind the scenes during them, and the role that Haymitch himself played, both unwittingly and not, in what went down.
The aftermath of the Quarter Quell in “Sunrise” also does a pretty good job of justifying exactly why Haymitch became an alcoholic; he never once drank before entering the Hunger Games arena. Readers familiar with the series already knew the broad strokes of what happened to make him that way, but seeing it play out in real time on the page feels especially brutal. Arguably, it may be the most brutal punishment given to any lead character, including Katniss Everdeen herself. Collins’ writing does not flinch when it comes to describing the horrific consequences of Haymitch’s victory and defiance. “Sunrise” is without question the most violent and dark novel in the series, which is saying a lot considering the violence on display in the other books.
We also learn that what we thought we learned in the original trilogy about Haymitch’s victory (and even selection to participate) was nowhere near the full story, and “Sunrise” makes that full story even more of a tragic event than it already was.
That aftermath, and the epilogue of “Sunrise” will bring a tear to any reader’s eye, and not just because Katniss herself makes a return to the page for what may be the most satisfying ending in the entire series. It really begs the question of if there should be another novel set in this world, as this feels like a good note to leave things on for good.
Full of easter eggs, important and previously missing context, the high-level of storytelling and action readers have come to expect from this series, you really can not ask for a more satisfying piece of literature to consume.
