BookTok likes “Sunrise on the Reaping”
Suzanne Collins has just dropped her new prequel to the Hunger Games series called Sunrise on the Reaping and fans have been buzzing about it since it came out. It’s the first new entry since 2020’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. People are surprised by some of the plot twists and are watching the films on their laptops getting all emotional during scenes that hit differently now that they’ve read the prequel.
Now I know it’s easy to poke fun at BookTok if you’re not into it but I bring up these quick reactions to show how much has changed since Collins released the first Hunger Games book back in September 2008 which was just a couple months before Barack Obama got elected. There was no TikTok or Instagram back then and Twitter and Tumblr were still in their early days. People were just getting used to fandom stuff on social media. Collins’ first book painted a dystopian America where the government makes teens fight to the death on live TV. At the time, it felt like a wild concept, but it was such an engaging read with serious implications and really solid world-building.
These days, the copycat dystopias that Hunger Games inspired aren’t as trendy anymore. Folks in publishing and marketing say that readers are looking for an escape. But Sunrise seems to be hitting people hard in a different way; it’s got this vibe of instability while still being visually striking. What is it about this book that’s making everyone react so strongly?
Haymitch Abernathy
Our main guy in Sunrise is Haymitch Abernathy, who won the 50th Hunger Games. Like Katniss and her love interests Peeta and Gale, Haymitch’s from District 12 that’s like a stand-in for Appalachia. This district is mostly known for coal mines and pollution with its people showing a romantic kind of resilience, having survival skills and knowledge of herbal remedies and in this story, they also make and sell moonshine. In the films, older Haymitch, who mentors Katniss during the Games, is played by Woody Harrelson and he looks like a messy alcoholic with a bad haircut.
We find out that young Haymitch gets unfairly picked for the Hunger Games since he’s chosen only after the first competitor tries to run away and gets shot in the head by the authorities right in front of everyone in District 12. This gnarly scene isn’t shown on the live stream of the Reaping which has a little delay. A lot of other intense moments from the Games, which weirdly has 48 players instead of the usual 24, also get cut out. Those missing pieces not only make the authorities look bad but also paint Haymitch as way braver and more honorable than we ever thought from the original trilogy.
This difference really shines a light on how media shapes what we think, something that’s been a hot topic in discussions about Hunger Games. Reading Sunrise on the Reaping makes us see we got caught up in Haymitch’s story influenced by the Capitol. It’s just one way that diving into a Hunger Games book seems to reflect back on its readers.
Suzanne Collins has always been about proving she’s more than just a writer with a cool concept. She’s tackling some heavy themes about a government that controls its people through the public execution of children. That’s a lot darker than what Battle Royale did first. The original Hunger Games trilogy took a hard look at themes of oppression and fighting back. By putting the spotlight on Haymitch’s story now, it seems like Collins is really re-committing to the idea that her books have something important to teach their eager readers.