I love reading, and young adult books were my jam a few years ago. Lately the spark hasn’t really been around, a lot of books out these days are very similar to each other. But there is a certain series in particular that I love to talk about the lore and rewatch the movies (no, not Twilight. You only watch those to laugh), but really, it’s The Hunger Games.
I love discussing the books and the world it’s set into, along with the themes (and not just the parallels to our current government). My mind was blown when I saw The Ballad of Snakes and Songbirds, I hadn’t read the book yet (it fell off my radar). I did a lot of research and was thirsting for more about different games and the tributes we have seen and heard about. Haymitch for example, has always been one that I have wondered about since hearing very tiny bits about his games. Thank goodness the day finally came, we got Haymitch’s book, Sunrise on the Reaping. I ran to get it as soon as possible, but it was sold out and everyone reading it was crying. A good sign before hunting down and diving into a new book? Absolutely!
We know going into Sunrise on the Reaping that Haymitch wins his game. We know in the present times that The Hunger Games is set in, he is a sad drunken man who has given up. We also know that President Snow is a very cruel man that can and will do whatever he wants (especially after falling for someone from district 12 and it not going well).
As soon as I got this book in, I was obsessed with it, all I wanted to do was read it. Sleep? Nope. Eat? Nope. Work? God no. I just needed to know more about Haymitch and his story. Well, I got that. I got it all and a broken heart too. I finished the book barely two days ago and I keep crying, and it honestly won’t stop. I’m leaning into it at this point, blasting Taylor Swift and playing all The Hunger Games soundtracks to get me through it.
It’s been so long since reading about the deep and passionate love Peeta has for Katniss, and the selfish and possessive love Snow had for Lucy Gray. Reading about Haymitch’s love for his girl, Lenore Dove, is all consuming. It’s the part of this book that stays with you and digs down into your bones, why even thinking of it now, it’s bringing up bittersweet tears. I never thought that everything that Haymitch has done from book one of The Hunger Games to the last one was for a specific reason. Him falling off stage in book one? To distract away from the acts of defiance of district 12. Him not going to the meadow in book three for B-roll footage? Not because he was lazy, but because he couldn’t face the place that was special for him and Lenore. Everything had meaning and a purpose.
The 50th games that Haymitch were in were very brutal and rigged. There were things in that arena just to kill certain tributes, again, everything was set for a reason. The brutality shocked me and left me stunned and rereading chapters and passages over and over again. I remember that the games we had already seen were pretty horrific, but these were emotional and physiological torture. Snow really hated anything that had to do with 12 and anyone from it who was in love with a Covey. I guess it really is true that some people just can never let go of people they once loved.
Since finishing, Sunrise on the Reaping. I have also been rereading all of the original trilogy and am just getting to Mockingjay. We were robbed of so much true depth that the characters had, and of characters we never got to see in the movies. But I am finding myself having to pause many times while reading these books because my heart just breaks for the previous victors and so much more for Haymitch. I also have even rekindled my love of Peeta (it never really goes away), and a new understanding for Katniss and her indecisiveness about her own feelings. No one should be questioned on romantic love when just trying to survive and care for their loved ones, because Katniss’ only thought was making sure her sister lived.
Haymitch, on the same hand, is very like Katniss. There are just not two boys fighting over him and making him choose and deal with emotions he has never dealt with before. He is focused on surviving, protecting those he loves, and going into the games knowing he won’t be coming out. A lot on the shoulders of a sixteen year old boy.
If you’re ready to hop into a book that will have you crying by chapter three or just wanting to know more about Haymitch (which the answer should always be yes). Please, please, please go grab yourself a copy of Sunrise on the Reaping. Please be devastated with me.
Sunrise on the Reaping is now available.
Are you going to pick up the comic? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
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