Sunrise on the Reaping is Suzanne Collins’ long-anticipated return to Panem, serving as the fifth instalment in The Hunger Games series. It’s a prequel and set twenty four years before the original dystopian trilogy. The prequel is concerned with the fiftieth Hunger Games. The Quarter Quell and a particularly brutal one, where twice the number of tributes (forty-eight instead of twenty-four) are reaped as punishment for rebelling against the Capitol. The story follows the protagonist Haymitch Abernathy, who is the cynical and alcoholic mentor in the original trilogy and reveals his tragic backstory.
A book club pick
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins is the second novel for our book club and what follows is a combined review from the group.
Did we know who Suzanne Collins was?
For some of us we had never read or watched The Hunger Games, so Suzanne Collins was an unknown author. However, other book club members had read the entire trilogy and the other prequel.
Did you need to have read The Hunger Games before reading Sunrise on the Reaping?
The consensus was no. You didn’t have to read The Hunger Games trilogy first. For those new to the premise, we felt it was good not having any preconceived ideas and discovering the story as it unfolded.
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins – what was the verdict?
The group was definitely split about the genre itself. This is certainly a dark, dystopian story and the topic of ultimately child torture and murder isn’t for the fainthearted. However, the group felt the strength of Suzanne Collins writing overcame any misgivings. The author has an extremely descriptive writing style and it is easy to visualise the fully developed characters and the settings. One member likened the writing to J.R.R. Tolkien, in that it drew you in and kept you hooked until the end.
For those who were reading Suzanne Collins for the first time, there was also a question mark as to why after fifty years there hadn’t been more of an uprising against the brutal competition. There are murmurings of discontent in the story but in general it appears everyone is happy to watch the blood-thirsty spectacle.
Some of us took a bit of time to get into the story and then really enjoyed it. For others the narrative grabbed us straightaway. Although one person did feel that towards the end, the story was rather rushed and too neatly wrapped up. But then that’s the beauty of stories, we all have our different opinions and enjoy different genres.
Overall, Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins received the thumbs up. Some members went on to read the Hunger Games Trilogy. While for others, this excursion into Panem was enough.