Review of Sunrise On The Reaping (Spoiler Free & Spoiler Review)

Spoiler free review 

This past week I read the book Sunrise on the Reaping. This is a prequel in the Hunger Games series. The book follows the character Haymitch Abernathy, as he tries to survive the 2nd Quarter Quell. For the 50th anniversary of the Hunger Games they made the districts send double the tributes, so instead of the normal 24 it was 48 kids sent for the Hunger Games. The book is very emotional as it follows Haymitch’s story. So before I get into spoilers I will give my spoiler free review, I would give it a 9/10, the book was very good and got you very invested in the characters, and told a very sad story of haymitch and was overall just a very good book. 

Spoiler review

First I will talk about what I liked about the book (which was a lot). First off i loved the characters, Haymitch was my favorite character in the original series. So it was really fun to be able to fully see his story. I also really liked the other district 12 tributes. Wyatt was a nice surprise. I didn't expect to like him but he actually was a decent character. Louella was a nice character and then when she died and was replaced by a double Lou Lou I also liked her and it was sad how the capital tortured her. Maysilee I loved. She was easily the best character in this book, and her death really affected me badly, especially when Mags sent down the coffee for haymitch, because it was Maysilee’s favorite thing. I also really liked Lenore Dove and her death scene was so sad and tragic especially since Haymitch just got back to her. I also liked the Carrers. They were intimidating and presented a nice threat. Ampart was good in this book and his death scene was brutal getting eaten alive. Mags and Wiress had a minor role in the book as the district 12 mentors, but in their short time they were fun. President Snow was an amazing villain in this book making Haymitch live through hell in the games and then after as well. So overall the characters in this book were a strong point and in my opinion easily the best part of this book. When it comes to the plot I also was very impressed. The story of Haymitch trying to ruin the games was very engaging, and the Capital targeting only made it better. One of the best scenes in the whole book is when Haymitch tries to blow up the water tank under the arena, it had my heart racing when he was running away from the bomb. The last scene in the games where Haymitch in a last ditch effort to try and ruin the game exploding the generator and trying to kill himself to save his family back home so they are not punished for what he has done against the Capital. There were also no real plot holes and everything was tied together nicely very well. I also loved the worldbuilding in this book, really showing how the capital uses propaganda to control people. Also how much they changed the games Haymitch was in, making him look like a douche, that was only for himself when in reality he went by himself to protect his friends in the games. The arena in this book was also really fun. Everything in the arena was poisoned, so food was very limited for the tributes. They also talked about Wiress’s games which were completely mirrors and it got me very curious about other arenas in the history of the Hunger Games. So now some things that I didn't like about the book( which is almost nothing) I couldn’t really get attached to Haymitch’s family or friends in district 12. This is because I knew they would die or no longer be in his life because this was a prequel, so I struggled to get attached to these characters when you spend next to no time with them and you know they will die. Other than that though i had pretty much no problems with this book and it is just amazing. It is definitely a book I would recommend to someone in a heartbeat.