Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

It has been a year of YA literature for me as my book pick for October 2025 is Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping. I am not usually a fan of excessive sequels for a writer or movie franchise regurgitating the same story lines, however, Sunrise on the Reaping is an origin tale of Haymitch Abnerathy, Katniss Everdeen’s mentor in the original Hunger Games trilogy. It was not a regurgitation, but rather a deep dive into the psyche of the human suffering from the long-term effects of the traumatic events of years of the reaping in Panem.

The book returns readers to the Quarter Quell of Panem’s Hunger Games “celebration” and explains how the unlikely, and unlucky, Haymitch became a champion. The social commentary is once again strong in the book at a time when it is strikes a chord with some Americans.

Haymitch appears in the original Hunger Games as a victim of PTSD from the arena who lives alone in the Victor’s Village in District 12 as the sole champion of the games. He drowns his sorrows in alcohol until he is called upon to travel with the chosen contestants for the yearly blood bath with Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark.

Haymitch’s story begins on the morning of his 16^th birthday, which happens to also be the day of the reaping. He ends up committing himself to the games after attempting to protect his outspoken girlfriend, Lenora Dove, from the Peacekeepers. Thrust suddenly into the spotlight, despite another tribute having been chosen before him, Haymitch’s birthday present is a free trip to the capital where the farce of justice is in his hands. Despite himself, he befriends a group of Newcomers in the arena and his attempt, with the help of mentors in the capital, to break the arena unfold. The events allow the reader to understand the losses and horrors he endured during his time in the games that eventually formed him into the drunken, shallow man that Katniss encounters. Told as he is writing his tale for Peeta and Katniss’ Chronicles of Panem, Haymitch becomes a likeable guy – despite himself.

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