Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne

“You were capable of imagining a different future. And maybe it won’t be realized today, maybe not in our lifetime. Maybe it will take generations. We’re all part of a continuum. in Sunrise on the Reaping, a book by Suzanne Collins.

The book starts with the main character, Haymitch Abernathy, being chosen for the 50th Hunger Games for District 12, the dirtiest Capitol, along with 3 other people. Once they get to the Capitol, Haymitch and his district form a big alliance with the other districts to counter the Careers, who, according to Haymitch, are the biggest, most brutal kids from Districts 1, 2, and 4. Once in the arena, Haymitch tries to blow up the arena, showing that he isn’t entertainment, but fails. As punishment, the Capitol kills all his allies using mutts, special genetic mutations that the Capitol created themselves. In the end, , Haymitch’s mother, brother, and girlfriend are killed.

I think the book would be most suited for kids 10-15, as it is somewhat brutal and may not suit well with younger children. During the story, Collins uses lots of terms for freedom and not being exploited. Haymitch’s entire plan for the Hunger Games was to not be used as a puppet, as he remembered what his father told other tributes before him, and he tried to bring down the games.

Overall, the book is very solid and clean, and with a good plot, Collins ties the book back to the other Hunger Games books, called Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, and Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, introducing Katniss Everdeen’s (the heroine of the first 3 Hunger Games book) dad and Plutarch Heavensbee, with both of them playing big roles in the first 3 books.