Written by: Zoe Yoo
I’m writing this now with tears fresh in my eyes, having just finished Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping. In the fifth installment of her hauntingly predictive The Hunger Games series, Collins continues to stab her readers in the heart and force us to take a hard look at ourselves, others, and the world around us.
Sunrise on the Reaping is a prequel novel to the famed original The Hunger Games. Like her previous prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, this book tells the story of another District 12 winner: Haymitch Abernathy. After years of subtle hints and references, the grumpy yet beloved mentor to Katniss and Peeta finally gets his chance to tell his story.
What results is the utterly heartbreaking tale of the 50th Hunger Games and the Second Quarter Quell. In this book, readers know to expect lots of death and destruction. We’re experienced veterans now—we knew we were reading a story where 47 children were being sent to slaughter. We knew this. And yet, Collins forces us to get attached to each and every one of these kids—knowing that they would die—and mourn them anyway.
There’s something different about this book, though. There’s just something incredibly harrowing about knowing the future fates of some of the beloved characters featured in this book. Many name– drops and familiar faces are integral to Haymitch’s story. And knowing that most of these characters will die excruciating deaths—never to get their happy ending despite everything they’ve gone through—takes away the joy of seeing them again and replaces it with a somber omniscience.
So, what is the point of reading this book? Why did so many people rush to their local bookstore and scramble to grab a copy? There have already been four books detailing the same violent “game.” Are readers even any better than the Capitol when we keep begging for more Hunger Games?
Well, it’s a common saying that Suzanne Collins only writes when she has something to say, and that sentiment certainly holds true for this book. Amid this country’s volatile, unstable, bordering—if not already—oligarchical political climate, this book is more relevant than ever. Before the book even starts, it opens with quotes by George Orwell, William Blake, and David Hume about propaganda, questioning reality, and the dangers of a government ruled by few. These topics have always been relevant, and Collins has been praised for her hauntingly predictive nature of writing. After all, the Hunger Games takes place in a futuristic version of North America. But for the first time, Collins is directly spelling it out for her readers. She’s making sure that there is no mistake—no debate— in the urgent message she is trying to get across. Sunrise on the Reaping is the Paul Revere of the modern world as it screams for the world to wake up and pay attention to the red flags of the world and our country.
For example, the themes of propaganda and reality shine through with the return of a complex yet beloved character. The actions of this returning character question the integrity of recorded history, media literacy, and how to fight a rebellion from within. This character also brings up the critical question of Why? Why do the districts “allow” themselves to be reaped? Why don’t they just revolt again? Why do they submit to the abusive conditions of the Capitol?
Collins does not offer a simple answer to these questions. Instead, she uses these questions, and the story as a whole, to force the readers to really think deeply about why we, as a society, are content to live in a world that continues to do us wrong.
Sunrise on the Reaping is in bookstores now and in theaters on November 20, 2026.