Sunrise on the Reaping Written by Suzanne Collins. Reviewed by Kirsten, Age 14

I was so excited to receive a copy of ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ because I love The Hunger Games, and the book had literally just been released, so it was awesome to get it so early.

As a brief introduction, The Hunger Games is all about a dystopian near future in which children are selected to compete in a battle to the death where the last one standing wins. It’s set in Panem, a country that rose up out of the ashes of North America after a ferocious war, and the games are a punishment for the districts’ rebellion against the Captiol, the richest part of Panem. The whole thing is extremely brutal and bloody but raises some really interesting questions about our society today, as the Captiol could be seen to reflect the modern government today.

Sunrise on the Reaping is a prequel to Katniss’ main trilogy, focusing on her mentor’s own games, 24 years prior to hers. Before this book, we don’t know much about Haymitch, only that he lost a lot after his games, turning to alcohol abuse, leaning on the drink that acted as his family.

I was a little prepared to read something quite similar to the rest of the books, but Haymitch’s story was wildly different and new, even though you knew he survived from the beginning. He is part of the 2nd Quarter Quell, meaning a special condition is added to horror; double the amount of tributes must be chosen to partake in the games, adding a horrible extra layer to the story. Suzanne Collins’ writing is incredibly captivating and, not to use a cliché phrase, but I genuinely couldn’t put it down! I was obsessed with the characters and blossoming relationships. The book was scary and chilling at times, but also intensely upsetting and emotional, especially the ending, which was a complete unwarranted surprise.

I feel like I’m not selling this book enough, but it’s honestly one of my new favourites. Obviously, The Hunger Games are savage and vicious, so I wouldn’t recommend reading this if you’re younger reader or don’t like reading violence (because, unfortunately, there’s a lot of that). An easy 10/10!