Sunrise on the Reaping

This was a very solid entry that built on the world and fleshed out Haymitch's character. I was invested in the narrative and found Haymitch believable and compelling. Maysilee was a "mean girl" archetype written sympathetically, which was uncommon and enjoyable. Downside here was a bit too much prequel syndrome: trying a little too hard to fit in things from the original books.

I've long thought the the world building parts and the anticipation in the leadup to the games were more interesting than the games themselves, and Collins apparently agrees. The games don't start until halfway through and only take up about 30% of the book. Even then, Haymitch spends the majority of them staying out of the action.

The drumbeat of Haymitch taking on an ally and then watching them die starts to seem repetitive and that he barely gets a chance to know them, but that's kind of the point. It reminded me of the movie The Iron Claw in that way.

This book was more mature but less subtle than the previous entries, which is an odd fit. The writing was aged up a little with the audience, but the themes were somehow even less subtle than the original books. The thesis is stated in the epigraph, then pounded in throughout the book.

The book includes a brief epilogue set after the main series and a sample chapter of the first Hunger Games book, which I don't like because it would be pretty funny if you read this with no knowledge of the other books. Ultimate downer ending.

The casting for the movie is amazing, and I'll be there opening weekend.

Great addition to thg collection- I think it provides Haymitch a lot more depth. I agree that the fan-service was a bit much, but I did enjoy Betee's appearance. The book supports a lot of fan-theories, like no one from district 12 was reaped fairly (until the 75th) or won fairly. One sentiment I particularly like is the idea that if Katniss was the girl on fire, Haymitch was the spark. I think the strongest part of the book was after Haymitch won his games and came back home, which really highlighted just how manipulative and powerful snow was. Lenore was an important character, especially at the end, but I also think she was a side character. I would have preferred more development of Lenore as opposed finding out that Katniss's dad and Haymitch were besties.

[SPOILER] For a boy so young to accidentally kill the love of his life though poisoned gumdrops, and seeing his family burn while the last thing they asked of him was to fill up the well was TRAGIC. If the game itself wasn't bad enough (with double the deaths) Haymitch's homecoming fully justifies his drinking. I also think (hope) that the Haymitch/Effie ships are done...