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dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
😭 this has wrecked me and will haunt me even longer. I thought Mockingjay was bad but this wasn't war, it was uncontested dictatorial vengeance. I hate it but it was so well written and beautiful. Suzanne has words to say and she is not pulling punches.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If you are reading The Hunger Games universe in timeline order - don't read the epilogue. It will spoil the ending of the trilogy that follows. I know there's someone out there who will just now be getting into it, whether they put it off for years or they're a young reader just being exposed for the first time. The epilogue should be saved for after you have read the full series. Even if it didn't spoil the trilogy, I would have still deducted 0.25 for its inclusion because it doesn't add much of anything to the story. I have not read many epilogues that actually improved the story, and this one certainly won't be making the list of exceptions for me.
The 0.5 deduction is because Collins quotesEdgar Allen Poe very heavily in the final 14 pages - like it is legitimately a 1:1 ratio of quoted words to her original ones. It was difficult and boring to read, rendering the emotional impact of Haymitch's consequences... almost pointless? I hate that I'm saying that because I love this universe and series so much, but I'm firm that it was a downer in the wrong way. Every page was another stab to my heart in so many ways, and then to just be glad to be done because of the quotation inclusions were so disruptive, what a disappointment.
That said, this is still a wonderful story. If you told me before I read Ballad and Sunrise that I would prefer Snow's origin story to Haymitch's games, I would have considered beginning a verbal altercation because nobody wanted Snow's villain origins. So many people for years wanted Haymitch's games - so, so many! Alas, I do think Sunrise is the weakest of the books in the series. It's not just the reasons above, but I do think the other issues are so negligible that If the previous issues didn't exist, then I would have still rated this a perfect five book.
---
Something I do in all of my reviews now is a trigger break down, since I know a lot of readers want context for certain triggers, so here's what I want to make sure that I give some limited-spoiler context for ahead of reading:
Police Brutality & Gun Violence:This is scene primarily at the beginning and early chapters through the Peacekeepers. Peacekeepers kill a child in a brutal manner using guns. There is also an incident where chaos ensues and Peacekeepers start detaining, brutalizing, and chasing tributes.
Kidnapping:There is a child character whose real identity is unknown who dies without the characters and readers never learning that child's identity.
Insects/Bugs:Many of the mutts in this games are bugs and insects that are described in varying levels of detail, but additional have strange abilities that are used to cause harm and sometimes kill the tributes.
Confinement:This is not in reference to putting the children into the arena. This is actually in reference to events that transpire after the games are completed. It will take place in two different locations over the equivalent of a two-week timeframe.
Body Shaming:Even though this is minor mention, capital teens and young adults talk about "maintenance" and other body modifications that are popular in the Capitol, one of which talks about how she has not started yet and that she thinks she should despite being very young (early twenties, estimated).
The 0.5 deduction is because Collins quotes
That said, this is still a wonderful story. If you told me before I read Ballad and Sunrise that I would prefer Snow's origin story to Haymitch's games, I would have considered beginning a verbal altercation because nobody wanted Snow's villain origins. So many people for years wanted Haymitch's games - so, so many! Alas, I do think Sunrise is the weakest of the books in the series. It's not just the reasons above, but I do think the other issues are so negligible that If the previous issues didn't exist, then I would have still rated this a perfect five book.
---
Something I do in all of my reviews now is a trigger break down, since I know a lot of readers want context for certain triggers, so here's what I want to make sure that I give some limited-spoiler context for ahead of reading:
Police Brutality & Gun Violence:
Kidnapping:
Insects/Bugs:
Confinement:
Body Shaming:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Torture, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting
Minor: Body shaming, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, War
Insects/Bug
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Amazing, haunting, and poignant like all of Suzanne Collins's books.
The narrator's performance was also ab olutely stunning and the emotion portrayed through his voice is painful to listen to in many parts.
The narrator's performance was also ab olutely stunning and the emotion portrayed through his voice is painful to listen to in many parts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Classism
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Suzanne Collins I can never forgive you for the trauma all of my faves go through but I acknowledge that is the point
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The audiobook destroyed me again, and I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Suzanne Collins you have done it again
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was skeptical about reading this but I’m glad I did. Loved hearing about Haymitch’s backstory and it gave so much insight into the character he was in The Hunger Games.
My only complaint is that it felt like there was a LOT of capital involvement in the actual games… I didn’t feel like there was as much of that in the later series? I know it existed, but in this one it felt a lot more common and ended up kind of minimizing Haymitch’s victory. Maybe that was the point, but it felt like a quick way to kill off some of the characters.
Otherwise, loved this book & it makes me want to jump into the other books again!
My only complaint is that it felt like there was a LOT of capital involvement in the actual games… I didn’t feel like there was as much of that in the later series? I know it existed, but in this one it felt a lot more common and ended up kind of minimizing Haymitch’s victory. Maybe that was the point, but it felt like a quick way to kill off some of the characters.
Otherwise, loved this book & it makes me want to jump into the other books again!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Torture, Death of parent
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Blood, Classism
adventurous
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Still interesting concept and if you wanted to read more about the characters after the first trilogy. Has the same issues in aspects that don't make sense at any point in the franchise, and it's not really clear why this book was necessary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death