I must say I was hesitant going into this one, because I didn’t love The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and was dubious about ANOTHER prequel. Alas, I wouldn’t sit out any new Hunger Games books and knew I’d read it eventually. It’s a testament to all of the positive reviews that I picked it up so soon after it’s release. That, and it was in my possession because my 14 year old bought it and blew through it in record time. Sunrise on the Reaping did not disappoint and I think it should have been written/released before Ballad.

One of the complaints I had about the first prequel, was that it was so far removed from the world and characters we knew in Panem. In this installment, getting backstory on beloved characters from the original books was so engrossing and made narrative sense. (It wasn’t slapdash with little cameos just to please fans like other franchises tend to do.) Getting Haymitch’s origin story was WAY more satisfying than President Snow’s, and absolutely tragic. I didn’t love the pining romance plot, because we don’t get to know Haymitch’s sweetheart at all. It felt a little heavy handed, but necessary for the plot I suppose. However, the relationships that he made in the arena were really well fleshed out (Maysilee forever!), and everything was so vivid as with the original beloved series. 

I cannot WAIT for the adaptation, as the young actors chosen seem fresh faced, and Jessie Plemons is perfect for Plutarch. I hope the rumors of Elle Fanning as Effie and Kieran Culkin as Flickerman are true!