I’ve been a fan of The Hunger Games franchise since shortly after the second movie came out. After watching the first two movies, I immediately sought out the books to find out what happened next, and I was pleasantly surprised by the intellectual depth and the subtle allegory in Collins’ writing. The original trilogy are some of my favourite YA books of all time, and the first 4 movies are among my all-time favourite movies. I wasn’t quite as impressed with the first prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, but I still really enjoyed it and appreciated the fresh scope it gave to The Hunger Games universe. I thought it was incredibly brave of Collins to approach the Games through the POV of their greatest advocate, and incredibly skillful of her to have made readers grow almost fond of future-president Snow while still turning him into the tyrant we love to hate by the end.

And then it was announced that there was to be another prequel, this time featuring Haymitch Abernathy. Maybe it’s because of Woody Harrelson’s adorable and heartfelt portrayal of the character in the movies, or maybe there’s just something about Haymitch that spoke to me while reading the books, but I have a major soft spot for this character and have often wished we could find out what experiences broke him so severely yet left just enough room for hope that he would see the potential in Katniss and become so vital to the movement against the Capitol in Catching Fire and Mockingjay. I knew there had to be a compelling story to tell about this character, so I was excited to get my  hands on Sunrise on the Reaping as soon as I could.

Did it live up to my astronomical expectations? Yes and no. I don’t know how many of the details of Haymitch’s backstory Collins already had in mind when writing the original trilogy, but I felt like his experiences both within the Hunger Games arena and outside of it had to be absolutely torturous, and I think Collins delivered on that aspect of Haymitch’s story quite well. Without giving away too much, Haymitch’s Hunger Games take place during the second Quarter Quell, those 25-year anniversaries when the Capitol likes to put on an extra-gruesome show, so a lot of the tributes’ deaths are especially violent and/or sadistic. And Haymitch’s final torture (once you’ve read it, you’ll know the one) actually made me gasp out loud and put the book down for a minute. I’ve read a lot of tearful reviews of this book, and they’re absolutely justified. If I didn’t have such a jaded heart right now towards the whole world and could cry, I would still be sobbing hours after finishing it. Boy does Collins ever know how to rip a reader’s heart out!

So yes, the level of Haymitch’s trauma definitely lived up to my expectations and explained perfectly how he became the shell of a man we first met in The Hunger Games. I loved getting to know the pre-Games Haymitch, and of course meeting all the tributes whose personalities were drawn just vividly enough to break our hearts with everything they did, knowing the fate that awaited them. I also appreciated the inclusion of certain other characters we know from the original trilogy whose traumas and whose dynamics with Haymitch were explained in a way that did almost feel pre-planned. But that leads me to one of my main complaints about this novel – the sheer amount of references to the other 4 novels.

I understand the temptation to drop in Easter eggs, and I was eagerly anticipating the hunt for a few here and there, but the first few chapters were dripping with them, and it started to irritate me. What are the chances that none of those connections were ever mentioned in the original trilogy? My suspension of disbelief could only hold for so long before I had to start calling it fan service. I’m sure District 12 doesn’t only have one town with a handful of families living in it, you know? So I didn’t start to fully enjoy this book until Haymitch got into the arena. However, by the end of the book, some of the out-of-nowhere connections I’d had a problem with in the beginning turned out to have reasonable explanations behind why they wouldn’t be talked about later, so it didn’t completely ruin the whole reading experience for me. But I do wish the references had been dialed back a little bit.

Another complaint I had (and at this point I might be perceived as crossing over into spoiler territory, so proceed at your own risk) was Haymitch’s lack of thought about potential consequences for his family while making certain decisions in the Games. I suppose the same could be said of Katniss during Catching Fire, but I thought it was odd that it never even seemed to cross his mind until much later in the book that the Capitol might punish his family if he stepped out of line. That seems to be something they’re known to do, so it felt like an oversight on Collins’ part.

My final complaint (and this is definitely a spoiler for those who haven’t read it yet, so PLEASE only read on if you’ve read the book or if you don’t care about spoilers) is a little more tentative, because I did enjoy the Games portion of the book regardless, but… with 48 tributes in the arena, how did Haymitch manage to spend so much time on his own? I expected a more crowded feel to the arena than ever before, but it ended up being the opposite. Like I said, I enjoyed the arena section that we got, but I found that aspect confusing. I wish there had been more of a claustrophobic, hunted vibe to it, and I’m not sure why that was missing.

But these complaints were pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. I really did enjoy this addition to the Hunger Games franchise. Selfishly, I hope that Kiefer Sutherland will take over his dad’s role for the movie, since that’s who was playing Snow in my mind all through the book, and it was EPIC. This is one of those books vs movies debates where I can’t pick a side. The Hunger Games always delivers the goods, no matter what format it takes.

(Note: If you’re in the US and you’re interested in buying this book, please consider using this affiliate link to Bookshop.org, where any purchase you make will earn a small commission both for me and for the local independent bookstore of your choice, at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!)