Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, War
Minor: Ableism, Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Torture, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, War, Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Police brutality, Medical content, Alcohol, War
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Torture, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, War
Minor: Homophobia, Rape
This book leans more into the psychological than straight-up action, and honestly that works in its favor. It’s tense and unsettling, full of moments that force you to sit with the discomfort. The way Collins uses propaganda in this book is terrifyingly smart. You can see how calculated it all is, how truth and fiction blur into something weaponized. It feels like watching a modern media machine unravel in real time.
And just when I thought I was emotionally prepared, this book had the nerve to make me cry. The heartbreak is not cheap. It’s raw, it’s earned, and it lingers. Collins does not hold back on emotional gut punches, and the weight of those moments sticks with you long after you're done.
The new protagonist is complicated. You’re not always going to agree with them or even like them, but that’s the point. This book isn’t here to make you feel good. It’s here to challenge you and make you squirm a bit, and it does that well.
If I had to nitpick anything, it would be a few slower sections in the middle, but even those serve a purpose in building tension and setting up that final emotional payoff.
All in all, Sunrise on the Reaping is bold, unsettling, and devastating in the best way. Suzanne Collins still knows exactly what she’s doing. This isn’t just dystopia for the sake of drama, it’s a mirror held up to our own reality, and it dares you to look.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol
I liked getting more background on the other tributes and also like that all of the tributes are named, makes it easier to follow people. Also found the discourse on the nature of propaganda pretty interesting.
Also Maysilee is a queen and is definitely one of my favourite characters. Maysilee Donner, you will always be famous.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery, Torture, Cannibalism
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Torture
Minor: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury