The success of Sunrise on the Reaping and the continued legacy of the Hunger Games trilogy

Suzanne Collins famously only writes when she has something to say. The newest addition to her Hunger Games series is no exception to this rule. Sunrise on the Reaping tells the story of Haymitch Abernathy, victor of the second Quarter Quell (50th Games). Considering that Catching Fire Chapter 14 seemingly told us everything we needed to know about Haymitch’s Quell, where he was the sole survivor of 48 (instead of the usual 24) tributes, through the eyes of Katniss and Peeta watching tapes of previous Games, why have we all been so eager to read this story in full? What does this say about the things we find entertaining? And how does our continual demand for every Game in all its gory details compare us to the citizens of the Capitol?

The Hunger Games has a lasting legacy not because of a magical world or an intergalactic adventure, but due to its foundation in our reality and its easily accessible political messaging

Without risking spoilers, if you go into this new book thinking you already know the story and are just searching for extra details about Haymitch’s games, fan service, or evidence of a money grab, you thought wrong. Collins once again teaches us all a valuable lesson: we can all be easily fooled by propaganda; history is not difficult to rewrite in an era of media control.

The Hunger Games has a lasting legacy not because of a magical world or an intergalactic adventure, but due to its foundation in our reality and its easily accessible political messaging. Ultimately, the series focuses on individual moments of rebellion against an authoritarian dictatorship which systematically oppresses the citizens of the Districts for the benefit of those in the Capitol. President Snow is presented as a merciless leader who has ruled by fear for decades. This latest addition to the series comes after Collins’ first Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, in which we witnessed a young Coriolanus Snow’s desperation for power and the lengths he’ll go to to obtain and maintain it.

Overwhelmingly, the response to Ballad featured many favourable edits of Tom Blyth as a young Snow, with audiences romanticising his character and diminishing the moral reprehensibility of his actions due to his conventional attractiveness. Sunrise feels like a direct retaliation from Collins, reminding us in no uncertain terms of the monster that is President Snow, and the depths to which he’ll stoop to maintain Panem’s oppressive system and his authority.

It is safe to say that readers can find both [political commentary and character development] in this latest addition to the series

I spoke with other Hunger Games fans who delved back into the series with the release of Sunrise on the Reaping and they shared some interesting thoughts. Their investment came largely from a place of nostalgia – from growing up with these characters and wanting to learn more about them and interact with them once more from within the adult experience.               

One reader shared that it was exciting for Collins to have expanded the course of igniting a revolution from just a few years in the original series to a decades-long process with multiple failed attempts and sacrifices. Another expressed that she is particularly interested in the political commentary of the series and its discussions of propaganda and power. Despite this analytical approach, other readers found that they were invested due to the actual concept of the Games, not concerning the political climate of Panem or of our society. They were hoping for character development, not politics, and expansion upon Collins’ worldbuilding. It is safe to say that readers can find both in this latest addition to the series.

Collins uses her literature judiciously to teach us, the Capitol, various lessons, rather than to simply entertain

Haymitch is not the only familiar character who becomes recontextualised throughout this novel. Aside from Haymitch and President Snow, we also interact with Capitol aristocrat Plutarch Heavensbee, victors: Mags, Wiress, and Beetee, and Effie Trinket, to name a few. This has answered many questions, provided heartbreaking backstories, and raised further questions, leading fans to speculate on whether Collins may return to The Hunger Games universe yet again in the near future. Catching Fire will certainly be a more emotional read post-Sunrise!

For now, though, Sunrise on the Reaping feels like the missing piece to The Hunger Games series. It effectively bridges the 65-year gap between Ballad and the original trilogy. The (slightly contradictory) desire to read about the other Games is a futile one, it seems, as Collins uses her literature judiciously to teach us, the Capitol, various lessons, rather than to simply entertain. Being privy to the perspectives of those outside the system (the poor, the rebels) exposes us to the injustices of that system. Sunrise fundamentally warns us to remember our history and question every detail, as media manipulation can erase, disassemble, and reimagine all that we thought we knew.