‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ brings all the feels

By Libby D’Orvilliers

To quote Haymitch Abernathy, “They will not use my tears for their entertainment.” Well I am not sure if Suzanne Collins finds particular entertainment in knowing that she made thousands of readers absolutely sob over this quote from her latest novel, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” what I am sure of is that many tears were shed over the course of reading this book.

The latest book installation in the beloved dystopian universe of the “Hunger Games” franchise, “Sunrise on the Reaping” was released on March 18 and serves as a prequel to the well-known original trilogy that follows Katniss Everdeen. The novel takes place around the time of the 50th Hunger Games, or the games in which Katniss’ mentor, Haymitch, emerged as victor when he was just 16 years old.

To say that book lovers were excited about this novel would be an understatement. Bookstores had fans show up in full force, costumes and all, to midnight release parties in hopes of being the first to get their hands on a copy. Breaking stock on more than one occasion in stores across the country, making several bestseller lists and showing library queues with a wait time of “several months,” the numbers show that this book is a hot commodity and is already shaping up to be denoted as “best book of the year” by many.

Panem — the setting of the illustrious “Hunger Games” series — is a dystopian country, and the series has, rather obviously if you ask me, been made to be a political commentary and reflection of the current corrupt areas of government and serve as a warning for the future of the country. By this point in the series, readers are overly familiar with the fact that Panem exemplifies all the key features of a corrupt government, a particularly notable feature being a malicious president with only his personal interests in mind. What additional commentary on the current state of the world that “Sunrise on the Reaping” has to offer is the media’s role in shaping our perception of the world.

The media, or those in charge of it, can manipulate how one’s images and actions are presented to the public. Such as cutting and editing video footage to make Haymitch seem to be malicious during the games and conveniently leaving out the clips where he risks his own life to help others, in order to show him as being an “enemy of the state.” Through recurring, and often overly obvious, emphasis on how the television broadcasts of the Hunger Games tournament is presented to the public of Panem, Collins made sure that nobody misinterpreted this element of the book.

In a world and story full of malfeasance, bloodshed and great injustice, Collins offers words of hope for us all to keep in mind: “You were capable of imagining a different future. And maybe it won’t be realized today, maybe not in our lifetime. Maybe it will take generations. We’re all part of a continuum. Does that make it pointless?” 

Collins again reminds us that we must continue to persist in spite of the world’s great injustices, not just for ourselves, but for those that come after us.

For those of you who have found yourself enthralled with the “Hunger Games” universe as I have, it is time to return back to our 2013 obsession with Panem. Whether you have been eagerly awaiting this novel or not, it is time. Braid your hair, lace up your pleather combat boots and pick up a copy of Haymitch’s journey. You might even meet up with a few recognizable characters along the way. 

“Sunrise on the Reaping” left me emotionally devastated. I cannot wait to read it again. “I volunteer” for round two.

Libby D’Orvilliers is a junior psychology major