The Hunger Games #05: Sunrise on the Reaping (A Hunger Games Novel)

best book ever

This book was just amazing. If you like Hunger games you’ll love this one. No damages; no tears. Will definitely recommend

Haven't read the book yet. But if you are looking at this review, you have very much read the previous books ( That is what I am assuming ) So you don't need to know that the book is amazing. Now for the quality, there was a tear on the harback. But I didn't mind it. So the condition can't exactly get 5⭐ but otherwise it was of great quality.

First of all, I know I’m late to the party—but honestly, I think I read this at the perfect time. Hats off to Suzanne Collins for making me feel all the feels. I wasn’t even past the first chapter and my heart was already breaking for Haymitch. The horror of what really happened in the Fiftieth Hunger Games—so different from the tape—and that moment when I realized the meaning behind the title? Absolutely devastating. The parallels between Haymitch and Katniss were almost too much to handle. This book broke me. I can’t remember the last time a book had me bawling like this. If you haven’t read it yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up ASAP. And if you weren’t planning to? You’re seriously missing out on life. Literally. Iykyk, "One of us 2 to be the worst victor in history. Tear up their scripts, tear down their celebrations, set fire to the Victor's Village. Refuse to play their game."

Loved it!!!

This book is an icing on the cake. I could literally imagine Haymitch character. I am waiting for the movie release. The prologue made me feel like this book has been crafted really well by the author. The way Haymitch calls Katniss "sweetheart". Melts my heart. Great fan of this Hunger Games world. Great work. Must read for those who've read other books. Waiting for the next book!

Absolutely amazing tops even the originals three

Book Review: Knowing how this story ends even before you start makes each line hit harder. It's hard to hold on to hope when you've prepared yourself for devestation. But this book showcases how even at the bleakest moments, perceptive have the ability to change. Bonds can be forged. Hope can ignite itself. Survival makes you hunger for more. While I enjoyed reading this, there were times I struggled with how repetitive some instances felt, especially when the world wasn't too different from what we encounter in Katniss' arc, unlike the stark difference in Snow's story. Even with the Easter eggs of characters and moments, I craved for more diversity to Haymitch and Katniss' situations. Somethings took getting used to because of this, but the actual time in the arena was terrifying and stressful. While some moments can feel similar, it's the horror of being in that situation that truly grips you. As much as I was prepared for a gut-wrenching sensation with each page, it still hurt watching events unfold. But like waiting for the sunrise after an eternity of darkness, it reinforced the feeling of fighting for change. And knowing that one day, freedom will be reclaimed. Amazon Delivery: Terrible delivery - the agent didn't even call when when they came and just threw it over my gate onto the wet floor. The package was torn and there were some tears to the cover.

Like Suzanne Collins’s most recently-published previous novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, this brand-new book, Sunrise on the Reaping, is a prequel to her blockbuster trilogy, The Hunger Games. The Ballad was set during the tenth iteration of the games, a televised, bloody, fight-to-the-death “pageant” featuring children ages 12-18 drawn from Panem’s twelve districts. The Ballad tells the story of a young student, Coriolanus Snow, his scrabbling to escape his disadvantaged situation, his becoming a mentor to the female tribute from District 12, his risks and machinations regarding her Hunger Games participation leading to his fall from grace, and his subsequent decisions, which eventually, inexorably, lead to his climb to power. This brand-new novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, opens about forty years after Snow’s story, Snow is now president of the nation, and Sunrise on the Reaping begins on the very morning when district tributes are selected as tributes for the second Quarter Quell, year fifty of The Hunger Games. This novel tells the story of District 12’s Haymitch Abernathy, the sodden, sullen victor of the games who readers will instantly recognize as mentor to Katness and Peeta in the first two novels of the original trilogy. This novel opens on Haymitch’s sixteenth birthday. It follows his journey from unwitting tribute to shattered victor, supplying readers with a much-awaited back story. It is, in my opinion, worth the wait. Knowing what Haymitch experiences as a young man affords readers a richer understanding of the character’s subsequent behavior, and also provides them with a pulse-pounding, suspenseful, action-packed story similar to but distinct from the other hunger games sagas. It’s also fascinating to be introduced to characters whom readers have either known in different timelines or have heard of in connection with other characters in the fictional world Collins has created. Haymitch is a contemporary of the parents of the tributes selected in the first novel, so readers meet them as adolescents. Other Hunger Games victors, such as Beattie and Mags and Wiress, figure into the story as well. This expansion —and/or contraction?—of Collins’s world-building adds another layer of brilliance to this novel. Finally, a note on poetry and music in this book: Suzanne Collins’s intensive use of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” made me do a deeper dive into the role of music, folk-lore and oral tradition in locations where conflict has disrupted or destroyed the flow of history, or the narrative of history, at least. In the novel’s Covey family, gypsy-like nomadic musicians who figure peripherally in both this and previous novels, Collins celebrates the oral tradition of folk songs and protest anthems that resonate through the world of The Hunger Games. From Katniss’s singing her dad’s songs, to Lucy Gray’s proclaiming in song that the Capital can’t take anything away of real value, to Lenore Dove’s serenading her geese in the meadow —and being detained after singing politically-charged songs before crowds in District 12, these young women use song as links to the past, to their forebearers, carrying on the knowledge and agendas of their families and clans, and thus perpetuating the historical, political value of such music, and, correspondingly, the stirrings of rebellion that simmer under the surface of Panem. In Haymitch’s story, the disorienting, hopeless position he is in as a tribute in a year when the games demand twice the number of participants begins to mirror and then coexist with the unsettling, bewildering, sing-songy, dream-like metrical structure of “The Raven.” At first the poem is familiar—if not tremendously important—to Haymitch because the girl he loves is named Lenore, the same name as that of the poem’s speaker’s lost love. He surprises Plutarch Heavensbee (another familiar name from the original trilogy) by quoting part of “The Raven” to him prior to the beginning of the 50th annual bloodbath. (The idea of drinking to forget creeps cleverly into the narrative here, foreshadowing what Haymitch will become.) As the games disorient and plunge him into their particularly nasty chaos, echoes of the poem haunt his mind. It is as if he is performing a dirge for himself in his brain. Memories of death after death make reality unbearable for Haymitch, as he awaits his after-victory fate alone in the training center, during the surreal Capital celebrations of his win, and after he returns home to ashes and tragedy. The narrative is increasingly interspersed with stanzas of the poem. When he implores his former best friend (who readers infer will become Katniss’s father in a few short years) to take him to Lenore Dove’s hidden burial plot, he finds words from “The Raven” engraved on her headstone. The disorienting struggle to keep living with himself and without Lenore Dove compound upon his losses, and all that is left for him at the novel is the echo of “nevermore.”

Fav read of all time, arrived in very good condition as well

’The moment out hearts shattered? It belongs to us.’ Brutal, harrowing and highly disturbing at times ’Sunrise On The Reaping’ doesn’t simply pack a handful of emotional gut punches and flinch inducing moments into its pages; its jam packed with them throughout. Yet, despite its heavy nature, it’s a highly compelling read that is pretty much impossible to put down. Not a combination that is always easy to come by but Suzanne Collins always nails it somehow. Needless to say I was hooked. Truthfully I can’t fully decide if this is the most brutal of The Hunger Games books yet. There were certainly occasions when it felt that way to me with scenes and manoeuvring that felt particularly barbaric. But it must have been over a decade now since I read the original series so maybe time is a factor in me feeling that way; I’ll never forget the hollowed out, bleak feeling that fell over me upon finishing ’Mockingjay’ all those years ago after all. This definitely had more than its fair share of macabre moments though and I have to say that these particular games may just be the most savage yet. Obviously, given the twisted nature of the games they’re always unthinkably horrific but between its misleadingly idyllic setting, its vast array of mutts and the higher than ever number of Tributes the barbarity of this particular set of ‘games’ really stands out. ’Sunrise On The Reaping’ is more than just an account of Haymitch’s time within the arena though. Technically that’s what is covered but there’s another storyline interwoven throughout which will mean a lot to fans of the series. Here you learn just how long certain things have been brewing. This is also a chilling insight into the propaganda of Collin’s world. Its more than simply disturbing to see just how expertly the Capitol can put a spin on any moment. Character wise there’s a mixture of old and new faces involved in this instalment. Some of the individuals from the other books that featured caught me completely off guard. It gave me additional insight into several characters who appear within the other books and also left me oddly curious to discover more of Plutarch’s story. Within the previous books I don’t think I gave him as much thought as I should of; now though...well I have to confess I’m kind of craving an instalment centred around him. Just how insightful an account of propaganda would you get by following in the footsteps of one of the people whose job it is to sell the Hunger Games story? Besides which I desperately crave more insight into his motivations now. Besides these old characters there were a few new faces that particularly stood out to me. I won’t name anyone again – as I think it’s best uncovering what people are like for yourself – but there was definitely one new face that I loathed instantly (trust me, you will too) and another that I ended up coming to root for immensely over the course of the book. Character journeys certainly seem to be something that the author excels at. There’s more that I could say about this novel but truthfully I think this is a review that’s best kept vague. Although I will quickly highlight the beauty of the epilogue too because I can’t share my feelings and not give that segment a shout out. Other than that I’ll simply say that this is a magnificent, brutal and fascinating new venture into Collins’ world that is sure to delight – and devastate – fans of the series. Altogether I definitely recommend ’Sunrise On The Reaping’ ; it’s another glorious book by Suzanne Collins that has left me longing to dive back into the dystopian genre (and re-read her original trilogy too). Its sure to strike a chord with the series many fans but if you haven’t yet read any of the books this could still work as a starting point into exploring the series. Its harrowing, brutal, chillingly disturbing and yet utterly impossible to put down. Needless to say I was utterly hooked and can’t wait to see what others think of it too. Please tell me I’m not alone in wanting a Plutarch book now.

Great book. Arrived as promised. Hard back copy. Well worth it.

Fast delivery but book came without a plastic wrap. Stains visible over the cover and the side of the pages. However, pages content looks fine and serves its purpose.