Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

 By Nate Feldman

Sunrise on the Reaping is the fifth entry in the extremely successful Hunger Games series of books.  For those unfamiliar with the original trilogy and fourth story in the series, the books are about Panem, a fictional country, where an evil Capitol has forced 12 surrounding districts to put a boy and a girl into an arena in an event known as the Hunger Games, where the participants will all fight to the death until only one survives as a means of entertainment.  The purpose of this is to punish the districts for an uprising they had many years before due to mistreatment and inequality.  

Sunrise on the Reaping takes place during the fiftieth Hunger Games, twenty four years before the original trilogy.  The protagonist and narrator is Haymitch Abernathy from District 12, who served as a mentor to Katniss Everdeen, the heroine of the first three books.  The fiftieth Hunger Games, also known as the second Quarter Quell (a special type of Hunger Games that occurs every 25 years), has each district now sending four "tributes" to fight to the death.  

Haymitch is picked to participate in the games along with Louella, Maysilee Donner, and Wyatt.  He is portrayed as an agitator who has run afoul of President Corialanus Snow because he openly shows disdain towards the Capitol and its abuse against the districts.  He plans to disrupt the games by destroying the arena in which it is held.  However, as Haymitch will learn, there are consequences for standing up against the evil Capitol.

This book focuses on different themes, ranging from the power of propaganda to why the majority often submits to the will of a perceived superpower minority.  As usual, Suzanne Collins does not disappoint with her books.  The story and characters are engrossing.  

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