"suzanne collins gently kissed this brick before she launched it 100mph at my head "

"“I love you like all fire.��

6 ⭐️’s of sheer agony and pain and tears and suffering. If someone so much as utters the word gumdrop in my presence I’m punching them in the throat.

I will never be the same. I want to crawl into a hole and die a slow painful death. I actually can’t stop crying. How does one just continue living after this???????

No you will not be getting any more of a review from me I simply lost the ability to form thoughts.

“The nightmare always starts with me feeding her that gumdrop.��

“I roam around the yard like a stray dog, curl up under her window, yearning for her ghost to find me.��

“Tough and smart, her hair in two braids then, reminding me for all the world of Louella McCoy, my sweetheart of old.��

“Like the geese, we really did mate for life.��

“Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping, and she is the most precious thing I’ve ever known.��"

" “Sure as the sun will rise tomorrow.��

I honestly have no words to describe this masterpiece. It was honestly so good, like it’s been days since I finished it, and I'm still hungover from this book. I am honestly trying to move on, but it's not happening. Sunrise captured me so easily, and it literally enveloped my brain—like, I CANT SLEEP because the events just replay in my mind. I just know the movie will traumatize me even more, but I feel like everybody will end up liking this book because this is her best and certainly my favorite by her. But the people who have read the original trilogy and have met Haymitch AND the ones who love Haymitch would absolutely devour this book because we desperately needed this story, to fill some gaps left for his character in the original trilogy and honestly, the satisfaction that I got when I read and understood. This book in one word would be heartbreaking but there is so much that this story covers, and I love how so many of the events in this book reflect real-world problems.

“Lenore Dove, I love you like all-fire. That’s for always.��

There's so much that I want to talk about before I actually dive into the characters and expand from there, but the thing that won me over here and in her previous books would be her writing style. I love how when Suzanne picks up her pen, she targets the problems/conflicts/injustices/atrocities committed in the real world and writes about them. Honestly, I feel like The Hunger Games is one of the best books that basically built this dystopian world, which slowly shows what our world is turning into, and Suzanne is such a brilliant writer for being able to capture it. She made this book so complex but addicting—like, the only reason I stopped reading this book was because I needed to go to my uni, and bro�� I usually sleep on the way to my uni, butttt I didn’t just for this book. It had me so hooked and so engrossed that I couldn’t even stop if I wanted to. The way she writes such horrifying stories with such a brutal, unflinching style—she doesn’t shy away from the details either. I loved how impactful her whole style is. The wording and the quotes that she uses to reflect the story, the way she symbolizes them, and how there's a deeper meaning behind them—if you read between the lines, you'll know how hard it would hit.

"The moment our hearts shattered? It belongs to us."

Sunrise on the Reaping transported me back to the 2010s when I read this book, and the rush of nostalgia that crashed against me tipped me over into the memories that I had of reading and loving the original world and being transported into this dark and gritty world of Panem. She captured that feeling beautifully, and honestly, the feeling didn’t change when I read this book because when some authors release books set in the same universe after years (prequels or spin-offs), they feel different in some ways—either the author’s writing has changed or the way she saw the world changes, and it reflects on the book. But this book?? It made me feel exactly like The Hunger Games did. Like, I remember sitting and reading it, and the feelings that I had were the exact same that I had here. Suzanne’s writing is already perfect, but the way she was able to capture that intensity of emotions that we felt 15 years ago is just insane.

“They will not use my tears for their entertainment.��

Since I am rambling, I might spill some SPOILERS, so proceed with CAUTION!!!
SPOILERS!! ONLY WARNING!!

Haymitch �� A Deep Dive into His Character:
Let’s take a deep dive into his character. He's the second character from whose perspective we experienced the reaping and the Games, and I thought that there would be similarities when it comes to his character with Katniss, but they were so different. His entire inner monologue was so good. Where I found Katniss to be very outspoken when it came to rebellion and more fierce, Haymitch was more silent and observant. His character was so well written, his inner turmoil, his whole arc, the way one might think that his story is about hope, but for me, it's about survival in a place where there is no hope and how it turns into survival with a tinge of hope as the story concludes. My heart broke for Haymitch—like, it broke into pieces and was then stomped on. Everything that happened to him was some of the most cruel, dark, and traumatizing storylines that I have ever read. The way it was able to capture that depressing nature so naturally was also very impressive. He lost so much, he tried so hard to save people, but it ended up just him losing them, and the way the Capitol was so unjust towards him—they did everything to break him. They gave him hope and took it away. Whenever he thought he could be happy, they would take that away as well. Everything that happened to him looks even worse when you actually see how he saw so many tributes from District 12 being reaped before Katniss, and how he tried to help them and mentor them to survive, but they would just end up dying, and how he had to live with that was soooo sad.

Haymitch's breakdown and how the side characters fueled that:

I honestly just have to dissect everything and analyze it because I am honestly so feral about this book, but I loved the representation of how we got to see Haymitch break piece by piece, and it hit so hard. Like, you knew that it would happen, but the writing was so impactful that it hit more than anticipated. The character he was before the Games, during the Games, and after the Games were all so different. Before the Games, he was just a boy who was in love. He was always clever and smart, but he was somewhat happy, and then the Games started—that's where his downfall began. There were so many characters that fueled that, like Wyatt, a fellow district member who he grew close to, and his death hit Haymitch harder than he anticipated. Uff, the way he was thinking about Wyatt and thought he would survive when he was escaping at the start, but when he heard the cannon boom and started sobbing when he found out about Wyatt—I think that broke a piece of him. Then came Ampert. His death felt like a promise broken to Beetee, and it hurt even more because Beetee was put in the Games and had to watch his son die. Haymitch tried so hard to save him, so I feel like that was another step toward his descent into madness. Then came Maysilee, and I LOVED HER SO MUCH!! She was so badass, but the way she was so brutally murdered by the Jabberjays showed Haymitch how the Capitol could change and get whatever they wanted, and it hit him more because he felt that she died because of him, and she was the last one from her district!! Their banter was so good, and man, I felt so bad when she died because, honestly, Haymitch's breakdown was so much worse than I anticipated. Another character who contributed was Louella, both the real and fake one. Their deaths showed how much Haymitch was willing to do for his people. I do feel like Maysilee's death was the major step toward his destruction. Wellie was one of the last hopes of Haymitch ruining the Games by saving her so there would be no victors, but he COULDN’T SAVE HER EITHER. How much did this man have to suffer? I think that's where that hopelessness started. During the Games, we slowly start to see implications of who he'll turn into with all the deaths that he witnesses, but then we move to the aftermath of the Games.

Imagine coming home after surviving the Hunger Games, thinking you'll meet your family, but you see your house burning with your mom and little brother in it. They were used as a threat against Haymitch by Snow, showing who the one with power is, and it broke my heart so much because he wanted to meet his brother so badly, and they were so innocent. This wasn't the worst part, though. The worst part was him being with Lenore Dove, the woman he loves. The woman he fought everything for, only to lose her at the time when he actually thought he could be with her. That too was a ploy of Snow, and I hated how Haymitch noticed it but was too late. The way she died in his arms—that is one of the most heartbreaking deaths that I have ever read, and I fully believe that it was Haymitch's final descent into madness because she was his light in this cruel, dark world. After her death, he literally lost everyone, so after the Games, we see Haymitch slowly let his depression take over him, and he would drink himself to the point where he could forget everything. It was so sad to see such a beautiful boy break because of the cruelty of the world.

“In fifty years, we’ve only had one victor, and that was a long time ago. A girl who no one seems to know anything about.��

The side characters besides the ones I mentioned—the ones we already met—stole the show. Mags, the woman who captured our hearts in Catching Fire, showed us why in this book. She was so good and so kind that Haymitch trusted and opened up to her. He felt comforted by her presence. She knew the cost of losing everything, and I think Haymitch resonated with that. I loved Wiress so much, and Beetee as well. Wiress was such a queen, the only victor to win a game without killing anyone. You deserved so much better than what this vicious world gave you. And Beetee, who was destined to do so much but ended up being forced to be a pawn and was tortured so much!! He lost so much—imagine being in the Games, then being forced to watch your son die in the Games, only to go to the Games yourself and lose your closest friend. MY HEART BROKE FOR HIM. Plutarch was one of the most clever characters ever written. The way he was able to control the media and create a spectacle and entertainment for people eventually led to him earning a role as the head Gamemaker in the future books. I loved how he secretly was working for the rebellion, how he was so sly and knew how to manipulate the media, but I also loved how he realized that what the Capitol was doing was wrong and tried to change it.

Parallels and how this book perfectly fit as a puzzle piece:

Snow’s methods to maintain power led to victors and their loved ones being punished. We saw Katniss being tortured, Finnick being forced into prostitution, Beetee witnessing his child’s death, Johanna's entire family being killed because she refused to accept prostitution, and Haymitch losing everyone because he challenged Snow and won. This was also shown through the Quarter Quells, where Snow tried to crush the victors' influence—first by doubling the tributes in the Second Quarter Quell and later by forcing all previous victors back into the Games for the 75th Quarter Quell.

Wellie dying was a parallel to Rue dying.

The Capitol’s fear of music as a form of resistance—Lucy Gray inspired people and incited a rebellion through her songs, and we see the same with Lenore and later Katniss. Every time, the Peacekeepers tried to kill the idea of it, repress it, and shut it down.

Media propaganda—Haymitch's family being used for entertainment paralleled Katniss and Peeta’s relationship being manipulated. The tributes themselves being used as media pawns was another clear parallel to the original trilogy.

The Mockingjay pin as a symbol of resistance—Maysilee initially wore it, and it later became a vital emblem when Katniss wore it.

The way the story also fit in so well—we now understand why Haymitch drinks so much and fully grasp the extent of his trauma. I always thought he drank because he was tired of losing the victors he mentored, and while that was part of it, this book solidified the true depth of what he endured. It also explains why Snow was so afraid of the victors—specifically Katniss—because he saw the same defiance in her that he once saw in Haymitch. The way both of them publicly challenged Snow and tried to destroy the forcefield, changing the perception of the Games, was a direct parallel. This book also helps us understand why there was such a strong sense of trust between Beetee, Wiress, Mags, Finnick, and Haymitch. It also provides insight into Plutarch's character, his past, and his ability to manipulate the media, which ultimately shaped his role in the original trilogy. Finally, it reinforced how important and significant the Mockingjay pin was.

“I know that every year for my birthday, I will get a new pair of tributes, one girl and one boy, to mentor to their deaths. Another sunrise on the reaping.��

The setting was much darker here—District 12 felt more desolate, gloomy, and harsh. The Peacekeepers and the Capitol were portrayed as even more ruthless, wealthier, and crueler, going to the extent of punishing double the tributes for their own entertainment. This was captured so well. It created a perfect atmosphere that fully immersed us in that world and allowed us to feel everything this book had to offer. I feel like that is incredibly difficult to achieve—to create a world so heavily influenced by real-world problems and give it such depth—but she did it! And I will always praise her for it.

“I will pay for it with my death and with the broken hearts and lives of everyone who loves me.��

This part is personal to me and how I felt this book and its themes related to real-world events and the many similarities I noticed as I read, which I absolutely could not deny or overlook:

I could not deny the parallels between what the Palestinians are going through and this entire series. It's widely known that Suzanne targets real-world oppression in her books, and the human rights abuses, military occupation, and corrupt regime of the districts parallel the events unfolding in Palestine. Specifically, the way the Peacekeepers oppress civilians by overwhelming them with military weapons and power, using propaganda to silence the oppressed, starving and killing people, and destroying homes all mirror the genocide being committed in Palestine. Additionally, the way the Capitol makes the districts hopeless by continuing the reaping ceremony year after year, inch by inch, trying to eradicate any remaining hope, parallels what is happening in Palestine, with the so-called brief periods of "ceasefires." Even the role of media manipulation shown in this book directly reflects the propaganda used to control the narrative surrounding the Palestinian genocide.

"Don’t you . . . let it . . . rise . . ."
"I can’t stop it. You know I can’t stop it."
". . . on the reaping," she whispers.
.
"She releases her grip enough to lock her pinkie around mine. Looking, I think, for a final confirmation of the promise we made to each other."
.
"Pain stabs my chest, and I wonder if a person’s heart can really break. Probably. The word brokenhearted had to come from somewhere."
.
“Fire is catching, she’d say, but if this one burns down the arena, I say good riddance.��
.
“I’m entirely the Capitol’s plaything. They will use me for their entertainment and then kill me, and the truth will have no say in it.��
.
“I don't want to beg. Or plead for my life. I want to go out with my head up.��
.
“But she was smarter than me, or luckier. She's the one who finally kept that sun from rising.��
.
"Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping.��
.
A cannon fires. Somewhere, Beetee’s heart breaks into fragments so small it can never be repaired.��
.
"I lie on her grave and remain there as night falls, dawn breaks, and blackness descends again. I tell her everything and beg her to return to me, to wait for me, to forgive me for all the ways in which I have failed."
.
"Maysilee leaves the world the way she wanted, wounded but not bowed."
.
“Every year we let them herd us into their killing machine. Every year they pay no price for the slaughter. They just throw a big party and box up our bodies like presents for our families to open back home.��
.
“I want to scream out the truth. A boy’s head was blown off! People in 12 were shot! My reaping was rigged! But I just sit there, mute and radiating implicit submission. Snow has me by the short hairs and he knows it.��

Overall, this was a spectacular book, and I would urge everyone to read it!
__

This felt like a piece of a puzzle that fits perfectly in. It made me understand so many things and the depression that this book caused me 😭😭😔 RRTC because I need to unload.

Buddy read with Buket
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MOVE BITCH 🏃🏻🏃🏻🏃🏻 HAYMITCH IS HERE!
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Since I can't update on this book, I'll just use this space to write my cr thoughts because I'm spiraling 🤸🏻

Part 1,

Chapter 5: That slap that maysilee delivered was soooo satisfying to read 🤭

Chapter 7: BEETEE, WIRESS AND MAGS HOW I MISSED YOU 😭

Chapter 8: what kind of drug didiss Collins add to this book.

Chapter 9: If there's one thing common in every book, it's beetee getting tortured 😭

Part 2,

I've lost count because I sped through but I'm on chapter 16 and AHHHH Effie trinket came 😭 I missed her. The interviews were soo good and the game just started and I'm hooked all over again.

This level of torture is not good for my health ✋🏻😔✋🏻. Alsooo I'm loving how this is going and how each chapters end is so intense.

___

I need this book like I need air 😔
___

The hunger games was a book that I read before I became an avid reader it was possibly what drove me towards reading more books because I read that series in 2012 and Haymitch's character always intrigued me, I always wanted to know more about him and now finally after 12 years we are getting his book 😭 I AM SO HAPPY

.There's a movie in development?!?! (that was fast 😭)
.Its set 24 years before the hunger games.
.It is the 50th hunger games"