Hello everyone! Holy cow! I’m so excited to review this book. I swear I will get to my other books but I had to drop everything for this one! For those of you who don’t know, I have been a longtime Hunger Games fan. I was obsessed with the books in middle school and high school. My first ever midnight movie premiere was the first Hunger Games movie. Needless to say, I was so excited when Suzanne Collins announced that she was going to write another book about Haymitch’s Games. Anyways, I’m going to stop yapping and get to reviewing. Let’s talk about Sunrise on the Reaping.

Content Warning: Violence and Gore, Harm Towards Children, Animal Death, Substance Abuse

It’s the morning of the Reaping for the 50th Hunger Games. This game is a Quarter Quell, which means four tributes will be chosen from each District. It is also Haymitch Abernathy’s sixteenth birthday. He tries to push aside his fears by focusing on what he loves the most: his family and his girl, Lenore Dove. His fears are realized when his name is called during the Reaping. He and three other tributes are ripped from their beloved homes and forced to be the Capitol’s entertainment. Along the way, Haymitch meets other people who want to bring an end to the Hunger Games and he takes a chance on these secretive rebels. Once he’s in the arena, though, all bets are off and Haymitch what’s worth fighting for.

Suzanne Collins has done it again. She has delivered her most poignant, heartbreaking, and remarkable entry to her franchise yet. Before I even begin talking about this, I urge all of you to read the quotes that Collins included at the beginning of the book. Everything about Sunrise on the Reaping is so deliberate and topical. I love the themes of this book. On top of that, we also get some really interesting bits of lore that all Hunger Games fans have been dying to know. Haymitch is a great main character as his personality shines with equal parts charm and reliability. This book, though… This book is brutal. No punches are pulled before, during, or after the Games. I had to set this one aside a few times just to process what had happened. I was in genuine shock, but that was the best part. If this book doesn’t make you uncomfortable, then you aren’t truly reading this book. I could write a twenty-five to thirty-page essay on this book, but I will refrain from doing so. I will leave you with this: go pick it up immediately because it needs to be experienced, especially in the current political climate.