Sunrise on the Reaping 2025 (Novel)

 

Sunrise on the Reaping

A Hunger Games novel by Suzanne Collins

"All propaganda is lies, even when one is telling the truth. I don't think this matters so long as one knows what one is doing, and why."
-George Orwell, BBC Broadcast, March 14, 1942

"A truth that's told with bad intent. Beats all the lies you can invent."
-William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

"Quoth the Raven “Nevermore."
-Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven

Choices, our choices have consequences. It seems rather morbid and frankly unaware to praise Suzanne Collins for Sunrise on the Reaping. Though, as I am thinking about it, if that statement is true then it should apply to all four of the previous Hunger Games novels. If anything is true about these novels, it is that truth comes at a cost. That cost may be a steep price to pay, sometimes it is worth it and sometimes it most certainly is not.
This quandary is not the thematic focus of Sunrise on the Reaping, but it is one of many questions, as you turn the book's pages or ponder Jeffrey White’s engaging and skillful narration that reminds you why these young adult novels will stand the test of time. They are novels that engage you on all levels no matter what age you are.
The Hunger Games series is something special when it comes to young adult fiction, and that truism remains the same with Sunrise on The Reaping. Suzanne Collins injects a sense of realism and honesty into this chronicle of the 50th Hunger Games. As always, she does not speak down to her young audience, far from it. With Haymich Abernathy as our guide we are led through a winding maze of intrigue and manipulation. Discovering as we go the importance of media literacy and the reality that the truth may not always be what it seems.
Sunrise on the Reaping is both poignant and prescient, often in the same instant. It is social and political commentary as only Suzanne Collins can write it. Though seemingly lost in the darkness, Sunrise on the Reaping ultimately reminds us that, even the darkest of nights can give way to the brightest of days.

I found Sunrise on the Reaping to be insightful, thought-provoking and powerfully thematically resident. I hope in some way you do too.

Content wise this novel is probably best for 14 and up. Though if you've had children younger read, and understand Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Then Sunrise on the Reaping should be okay. Though parents should probably still read it before they do.

Sunrise on the Reaping is available in audio format on Audible and CD. It is also available in hardcover wherever books are sold.

Lionsgate will be releasing a film adaptation of Sunrise on The Reaping on November 20, 2026. Francis Lawrence will be back to direct with his whole team. The previous Hunger Games prequel, Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes was my number 1 film of 2023.