Will I love Sunrise on the Reaping?

Haymitch was a character I loved in the original Hunger Games novels, and his portrayal in the movies by Woody Harrelson only made me love him more. So I was super keen to read his origin story in this book. It didn't disappoint. I enjoyed Collins' prequel novel giving us President Snow's story, but this was even better, because Haymitch is such a sympathetic character. Having said that, there's much more a sense of dread, or maybe hopelessness, in this book, because unlike the Hunger Games, or President Snow's story, you know things aren't going to turn out well for… show more.

As a fan of the original Hunger Games trilogy, I'll admit I was disappointed with the first of the prequels, which I found dull and over-long. In "Sunrise on the Reaping," however, Suzanne Collins returns to form, with an engaging protagonist (the teenage Haymitch), a deviously deadly arena, and a devastating conclusion from which I'm still recovering months after finishing the book. From time to time, I had a perhaps inevitable feeling of "been there, done that," but for the most part, Collins managed to make a familiar story as fresh and shocking as it was almost 20 years ago.

Anything written in the Hunger Games world and I'm bound to devour it and Suzanne Collins doesn't disappoint in this fifth installment. She's a master at character development (or rather 'character descent') and it was suitably tragic and troubling.

One of the best books I've read in years. Heartbreaking. Sickening. Brilliant. Another fitting chapter of the Hunger Games. I loved learning how sixteen-year-old Haymitch won the 2nd Quarter Quell, because I was curious about what exactly had turned him into the snarky, alcoholic loner we see later. This book answers the question in emphatic form. Seeing him stripped down until he he nothing left to live for either, until Katniss and Peeta was heartbreaking.

Woven into this tragedy are many of the players of the future revolution, the seeds of discontent, and the forever evil President Snow. I was… show more.