Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

I have a lot to say after finishing Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, the highly anticipated prequel to The Hunger Games, focused on Haymitch Abernathy's second Quarter Quell games.

Although Catching Fire told us what happened in his games—through doctored Capitol footage—it didn't tell us how or why, and Suzanne Collins uses that gap in what's told and untold for masterful commentary on propaganda, editing, attentional filters and salience, hindsight bias, dignity and humanization, you name it. I also was not expecting so many twists.

I've been thinking about each of those topics a lot lately. I have a Post-It on my desk that says "Voice is as much what you notice as how you say it" and she epitomizes that entirely: format feeding themes and vice versa.

I've been thinking a lot lately also about kindness as a form of endurance (and arguably the harder, more demanding answer to a world that's beating you down entirely.) Reading as catharsis resolving our need for control, also. The slow lift of what kills you. In my rambling book club note, I also mention trauma research, Rihanna, and yes, you will hear roosters in the background. Occupational hazard. (I also use the words phenomenal and you know at least ten times each.)

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I plan on writing a spoiler-free full review on the blog itself, and likely gushing more about the craft that goes into a book like this because I had to cut myself off on this one. This voice note, however, does have light spoilers, and I let it get a little abstract.

It's 25 minutes long, and I recommend listening at approximately 1.5x speed, if you were curious. I chat a little in the beginning about the reading experience overall, so you could skip to approximately 5 minutes in for straight-up book discussion.

About the Book

The phenomenal fifth book in the Hunger Games series!

When you've been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

Other Books Mentioned

• Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (obviously)
• Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings
• The Warrior Elite by Dick Couch
• After the North Pole by Erling Kagge
• Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
• Mind in Motion: How Action Shapes Thought by Barbara Tversky
• Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
• What Have We Done by David Wood
• The Selfishness of Others: An Essay on the Fear of Narcissism by Kristin Dombek