Speak Now Storyteller

I haven’t done a book review in a while because it’s really been a while since I’ve read a book lol. I read a lot of fanfictions lol but anyway, I got this book from work (the library), and I knew I would have to return it soon. So, I read it in a couple of days.

I don’t particularly like The Hunger Games. If I read the original trilogy as a teenager, I might feel differently but my introduction was the movie, and I didn’t enjoy it that much. Catching Fire I think is the best movie of the 4. I read the books maybe a couple of years ago (I listened to the audio), and I recognize that it’s a very good series, well written, well thought out and executed but I just don’t like it. Catching Fire was once again the best of the trilogy. I do really like certain characters though. Katniss isn’t one of them. I also felt like Mockingjay was the weakest book, so it ended on a bit of a fizzle to me.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was too long lol and I liked Lucy Gray but that was about it. It was fine. The weakest in the series, I think. One day I’ll rewatch the movies and do proper movie reviews.

Now, with all that said, on to my review of Sunrise on the Reaping. 

Summary: As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

Mild spoilers maybe? But this is a prequel. I’ve only read the other books once, so I don’t have an attachment the way others do, nor do I have a major wealth of memory besides major things so I’m reading this book almost as its own thing. But I also feel like this review is short but it’s not that deep for my thoughts to be going on past the emotional moments. 

Pros:

Haymitch & Maysilee specifically. Obviously, it’s a book so there are a lot of characters we meet in this story. Being that this is told from Haymitch’s POV we only really meet and interact with whoever he physically meets and interact with. Some of those moments are quick and fleeting because that’s what they are to him. I liked Haymitch in the original series anyway, but I enjoyed him as a teenager too. He doesn’t have an edge really yet and I like that about him. He’s “lighter” and isn’t afraid of his emotions. He feels very deeply and doesn’t hide them. I like his moments of rebellion at the beginning, that felt like one of the most “his choice” moments of the story. Maysilee is a standout, I loved her and I kind of loved her immediately even if she was originally a mean girl. During the training bits, she was great and snarky and quick. We didn’t get to see her much until the latter half of the games and I thought she and Haymitch worked well together, I would have preferred if they were together almost the entire time. There are other characters I liked but I liked them just because and that’s it. 

Emotional Stakes. Being that this is THG, there are going to be emotional stakes and since this is a Quarter Quell which means double tributes, it was going to be emotional. I think there was a weight to every decision Haymitch made or didn’t make. The things with Louella, Maysilee, Ampert, Wellie and the end had me crying. The end had me sobbing and not necessarily because we got to spend enough time with those characters but because of how it affected Haymitch. I mean, he feels responsible but there’s one sequence where he directly is responsible for a death, and I thought that was handled well. That was a gut punch and both me and Haymitch should have seen it coming. 

Prequel Connections. When reading a prequel, I think it’s always fun to see how people connect to the characters we’re already familiar with. I never particularly mind that. I find that some people’s criticisms were that it felt like cameos, and I think that’s fair, and I totally understand that, but I guess it didn’t bother me too much because I’m not attached the way others are. For me it was like “oh, that’s fun” lol. The inclusion of Effie and Katniss and Peeta’s parents worked for me and outside of the necessity of other characters, I think that was enough. I liked Effie’s interactions with Haymitch and added some history to their friendship in the trilogy. I liked a moment where he was appreciative of her being empathetic just for her to then say something Capitol like and Haymitch saying “and she lost me”. It made me laugh but it was a good showcase of their relationship. But the people in D12, it makes sense because it’s D12 and everyone mostly knows everyone. I don’t think that was out of place much.

• Kind of spoilery? I don’t know but while I like Woody Harrelson’s performance as Haymitch, I am now so annoyed that he was blonde because in the movie, young Haymitch is going to be blonde, and I feel like him being dark haired is kind of important due to the connections with the other D12 victors and their relationship with President Snow. 

Cons:

The Politics. I think they were watered down compared to the other books. THG is a political story, and I think while this has that in there, it’s not as well-implemented as the others. It felt a bit more surface level. This is why I feel like the aftermath was much more important than the games itself for this particular book. We’ve already seen the games highlighted so much and since we see what Haymitch becomes, there was an opportunity to show how people are affected by their win.

The Poems/Songs. I was going back and forth on whether I would include this and how I felt about them, especially since music is a big part of this series. It’s how people show rebellion. Obviously, it was a huge part in TBOSAS because of Lucy Gray but I don’t think it works with Haymitch having so many songs in his head. I feel like his connection to Lenore Dove tries to explain it away and that D12 in general has a lot of songs but it’s really annoying and started to grate on my nerves at a point. Especially at the end, like there’s a poem that’s interwoven so much that it started to feel like it’s just taking up space to meet a page quota lol. 

A lot of Characters. There are a lot of characters in the books, and I know being that there are doubled the number of tributes we weren’t going to get to know all of them, but I would have liked to have more of an attachment to some of them. Louella was sweet but some things were told about her from Haymitch and don’t get to discover. I know it’s hard because it’s from his POV and he already knows her but I’m sure there were new things to discover. Wyatt was the other male D12 tribute, and I felt bad for him, but we didn’t really get to know him well enough. It’s the same with some of the other tributes, we do get to spend some time with them but not in a way that matters. My reactions to their fates were emotional because I’m not made of stone and Haymitch’s moments with them were good, but there was a chance for more, I think. I also wish with the Careers we got to see more of them. One of them had it out for Haymitch but I would have liked to see more of a rivalry. Plus, Haymitch’s family. Lenore Dove is fine, but a lot of time could have been dedicated to his family and perhaps that’s the point but eh I don’t know, I would have liked to have seen more of him with his family at the beginning. I don’t remember much interaction between Plutarch and Haymitch in the OG trilogy, but I was surprised he was involved and maybe it should have been a new character. Plus the stuff with Beetee, like I said, I don’t have a ton of memory of the trilogy but I think he should have also been a new character due to the nature of his involvement.

Pacing. I think the pacing of the book is bad overall. I mean it has a very distinct process: reaping, training, interviews, games, aftermath. But I think the pacing just goes at a breakneck pace after the games and it’s so slow before the games. I feel like with how we know Haymitch is as an adult, I would have liked to have sat in the aftermath more. I mean I was sobbing at what happens, but I think it just ends and tries to speed him up. Someone made a good point about how this book should have been about his life after the games and considering how I feel that the ending was quick, I would have preferred that. 

Overall, I liked the book and now I’m thinking I’m going to go back and reread the entire series even though *sighs* the idea of that is annoying to me lol. I think he’s a good character to follow for this story, even though I do think it would have been more effective to see his life after the game more-so than basically having The Hunger Games again just with Haymitch. If she does a book for Finnick, I think this would be smart. Like the games would be quick but the aftermath is the focus. But anyway, I liked how open Haymitch was with his thoughts and emotions and since it’s told in first person, that helps that a lot. Maysilee was a standout and probably my favorite character in the book. It’s emotional and I cried at the moments that were intended to be gut punches. But I think the bad, as I continue writing is standing out to me more. The politics don’t feel as smart as they have in the previous books. Even though there are so many characters, I feel like there were some we should have gotten to know better. The pacing is also crazy. I don’t need the book to be longer, but I think Collins could have outlined the story better. 

Rating: 3.7 out of 5 stars. Doing this review I had to knock it down from my initial 4 out of 5 stars lol. 

I recommend Sunrise on the Reaping for you to make your own decision on it. I’ve read some intense negative reviews, and I think those people make good points and I agree with some of them, some to an extent. But don’t let that deter you. Read it for yourself.