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4.56 AVERAGE
4.56 AVERAGE
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
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh my goodness! What an amazing prequel to the Hunger Games. I had no idea how Collins was going to portray Haymitch’s story, knowing how he was when he started mentoring Katniss and Peta. The story - and the poetry spread throughout - was hauntingly beautiful. I almost couldn’t breathe when it was over.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
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:
Yes
Hunger game based. Not that interesting. Seems like the same old thing.
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
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
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
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
This book is heartbreaking. I read the original Hunger Games trilogy for the first time in 2022, and absolutely loved it. Sunrise on the Reaping added so much more depth and meaning to the original series in a way I never expected.
I’ve seen a lot of complaints that there’s a lot of fan service, and while that’s true, it doesn’t ruin the book. It’s not unrealistic that there’s all these connections between the victors when they’re all connected over the games. Obviously previous Victors will all know each other, having to get together yearly to continue the ceremony that is The Hunger Games. This continues into District 12, these are families that have lived in this community for years, of course there’s connections and relationships that remain unexplored especially when many of those have broken down by the time the 74th/75th Hunger Games took place. The Hunger Games are all about Propaganda and its not unrealistic that the capital edited the games to remove any elements they didn’t want the audience to see, hence why Katniss didn’t mention much about Haymitch’s games when she watches his tape.
I’ve seen a lot of complaints that there’s a lot of fan service, and while that’s true, it doesn’t ruin the book. It’s not unrealistic that there’s all these connections between the victors when they’re all connected over the games. Obviously previous Victors will all know each other, having to get together yearly to continue the ceremony that is The Hunger Games. This continues into District 12, these are families that have lived in this community for years, of course there’s connections and relationships that remain unexplored especially when many of those have broken down by the time the 74th/75th Hunger Games took place. The Hunger Games are all about Propaganda and its not unrealistic that the capital edited the games to remove any elements they didn’t want the audience to see, hence why Katniss didn’t mention much about Haymitch’s games when she watches his tape.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Suffers from prequelitis. I couldn’t tell if known characters were meaningfully placed or just used as fan service call-backs to tug at heart strings.
I know Haymitch is only 16, but I was often left wondering what he was doing, bumbling from one plot to the next seemingly at random, feeling more like a MacGuffin himself rather than the curt and shrewd mentor we knew him as in the original trilogy. Honestly, Maysilee seemed to be the better protagonist.
The game itself felt like a rushed after thought that was far too convenient and Lenore Dove’s namesake was very on-the-nose. Who would name their daughter after Poe’s The Raven? The foreshadowing was so thick, it didn’t even need to be a prequel for you to know what was going to happen.
However, the end result is devastating nonetheless. If anything, this series is always a way to sit in gratitude and reflect on what you have. We could always use a reminder of that.
I know Haymitch is only 16, but I was often left wondering what he was doing, bumbling from one plot to the next seemingly at random, feeling more like a MacGuffin himself rather than the curt and shrewd mentor we knew him as in the original trilogy. Honestly, Maysilee seemed to be the better protagonist.
The game itself felt like a rushed after thought that was far too convenient and Lenore Dove’s namesake was very on-the-nose. Who would name their daughter after Poe’s The Raven? The foreshadowing was so thick, it didn’t even need to be a prequel for you to know what was going to happen.
However, the end result is devastating nonetheless. If anything, this series is always a way to sit in gratitude and reflect on what you have. We could always use a reminder of that.