Sunrise on the Reaping

Bloody fantastic. Collins just doesn't write bad books, and all the hype I felt waiting for this release was completely justified. I read the top liked review on Goodreads--a scathing two-star take--and honestly, I think the reviewer misunderstood a lot about the book, especially when it comes to the Capitol's propaganda and how it always manages to win.

Collins nailed the idea that the rebellion didn't just suddenly appear during the original trilogy--it had been brewing for years. The gears were already in motion; they were just waiting for the right opportunity to spring into action. That's what makes this story so powerful. It's a message of hope: even when the rebellion was repeatedly snuffed out, completely out of view of the public, people still found ways to fight back. They didn't stop. Despite the odds, despite the Capitol's control, they resisted.

Haymitch gets screwed over--of course he does. But we already knew that. His story is about how lives can be destroyed for trying to do the right thing. And while he may not be the most traditionally "intelligent" main character, that's not what he needs to be. Not every dystopian protagonist has to be the genius or the leader. That doesn't make his arc any less meaningful.

I don't get the anger at Collins for not delivering your preferred message in your preferred way. She wrote a story--just like she always has. The themes are there, they just don't have to be shouted from the rooftops. Not everything needs to be spelled out.

That said, I do agree with one common criticism: the overuse of cameos. It started to feel a little unrealistic and distracted from Haymitch's own story. You don't need to give a backstory to every character from the original series. The connections are fun, sure, but at times it felt more like Collins flexing than anything else.

I was talking to my sister about this before I read the book--she had just finished it--and I completely agree with her: being back in the Games made this one special. The arena is such a defining part of the Hunger Games universe, and this installment leaned into that. Like in Catching Fire, the Games weren't even the most important part--they were the stage for something bigger. And Collins wrote it all so well.