Sunrise on The Reaping’s newly debuted cover.
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Elizabeth Kalaj, Senior Writer
On March 18, Suzanne Collins released her fifth book within “The Hunger Games” series, “Sunrise on the Reaping”. There was a large anticipation towards this release, being that Collins has said in the past that she “only writes when she has something to say”.
The story is told in first person point of view through the mind of Haymitch Abernathy, the famous Katniss Everdeen’s mentor and friend in the first three books, during the year that he was reaped for the 50th Quarter Quell. Through this narrative, Collins portrays the theme of propaganda in media and government and the difference between truth and deceived truth.
Collins divided the book into three parts that spanned from the morning of the reaping to the victory tour and his time after, with an epilogue covering his time with Katniss and Peeta at the end of the third book in the series, “Mockingjay”. Within each chapter, Collins would often portray events occurring through Haymitch’s eyes, the arguably accurate storyteller, then through the television or cameras of the Capital government. She emphasized the theme of controlling the narrative, specifically in order to reduce the chance of rebellion.
“Sunrise on the Reaping” is chronologically placed after Collins’ most recent book, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” but before the “Hunger Games” trilogy. As a result, Collins wrote in many fan favorites from the other books in the series, including past victors and the main characters’ parents, using this story to create thorough backstories and reference events in the past and future. Collins took the challenge of the audience knowing the ending to the book and used it as a strength, constantly keeping readers on their toes regarding what came next. Regardless of the knowledge that Haymitch would win his games and his loved ones would be killed by the capital, Collins used this to play into her theme of propaganda, reminding the readers how little they truly understand about the history of Panem.
Many avid “Hunger Games” readers commented on the fact that this was the most gory, gruesome and graphic novel Collins had ever written, especially due to the fact that the Quarter Quell had forty-eight tributes, rather than the typical twenty-four. Each of these tributes had been subject to Capital manipulation, highlighting that once again nobody is immune to a biased perception.
Throughout this novel, Collins dedicated several chapters to the treatment that the tributes received within the Capital and by their people. She highlighted the removal from reality that most of the residents of the capital show, including college students worrying about their grade in a fashion class rather than the odds of the tribute they are styling surviving the game. Additionally, each teenager is forced to play into a character in order to receive life-saving resources, emphasizing the extent that these people are removed from reality.
In addition to the story of propaganda, Collins highlights the idea that revolutions and rebellions do not happen swiftly, they are built through the sacrifices, skills and bravery from all the people who come before and after others. Through this book, it is undeniable that Collins took a more direct approach in mirroring Panem and the stories within it to the world we are all currently living in. It encourages readers to apply these same themes and key ways of thinking to their lives every day. In short, the “Sunrise on the Reaping” is a call for free thinking and a call to action.