Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games #0.5)

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

This thread is to discuss Sunrise on the Reaping, a prequel in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.

Pages: 382 pages

Length: 1 month (June)

Participants: Cordelia, Dominique, LinaVer

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Here are some questions to help get the conversation started! Feel free to look up discussion questions specific to this book or come up with your own. Just make sure any questions that contain spoilers are under spoiler tags.
Discussion questions are not required but may be a fun way to talk about the book and get to know each other!

Prior to starting:
What prompted you to join this buddy read?
Have you read this author before? What do you think of their other books?

Mid-read:
What character or ideas do you relate to the most and why?
Do you have any favorite quotes or scenes?

After reading:
What was enjoyable or not-so-enjoyable about this book?
Did this book change your perception about anything, either within the book (character development) or in real life?

[LinaVer]

Hello everyone,
a question for you: seeing that this book was a buddy read in April, do you want to read it again in June? Or should we instead read the next one - The Hunger Games?

I know I will not re-read it now because it is still very fresh in my mind. But I will wait for your opinion :)

[Allison]

I know I am not originally scheduled for this but I think I might join as the audiobook is available on Hoopla.

I think another buddy read is fine….many people don’t have the means to read a book the second it comes out.

But if you all decide not to read it, that’s fine :)

[LinaVer]

No, if there are people who haven't read it, then we should deffinitely do it! I'll just flip through it to refresh my memory and I know for sure that I'll enjoy reading your thoughts 🙂 Great that you have decided to join, Allison.

[Dominique]

I haven't read it yet and I think the same for Cordelia.

[LinaVer]

Great, then I’ll be looking forward to read your thoughts once you start 🙂

[Maria]

I will be reading this book this month so would like to join :)

[Halfmetal Alchemist]

Hi, I started reading this book today. So if it okay i would like to join as well :)

[LinaVer]

So glad you could join, Maria and Halfmetal Alchemist!

Have any of you started reading it yet? I can't wait to discuss it with you all because it's still very fresh in my mind and I still get so many emotions when I think about it. I was really touched by Haymitch's story.

[Cordelia]

I have not started yet. Will be reading it but not for a few more days. It will be interesting to see how it connects with the first book.

[Allison]

I am listening to the audio (very good; the narrator does great voice work for each character). I am about a third of the way into the book. Haymitch was so kind, caring, and thoughtful as a teenager. I really like a lot of the other kids too. This is going to be heartbreaking 💔

[LinaVer]

Allison wrote: "This is going to be heartbreaking 💔"
Allison, that's exactly how I felt when I started the book also! I knew from the beginning that I am going to cry a lot while reading, and I did. 😅

I flipped through the book today again, read some of my favorite parts, and it is still a solid 5 star read for me. I'm such a fan of Suzanne Collins writing.

Here is my review of the book (there are spoilers, but they are marked):
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Allison]

I finished and dang. This book was brutal. No wonder Haymitch was the way he was in the original trilogy.

I really loved all the kids (Ampert’s death….geesh). Also loved Mags and Wiress and of course, Effie.

LinaVer: I didn’t get the references to (view spoiler)[The Staircase (hide spoiler)] either. I didn’t read the prequel book of Snow so I just figured it had something to do with that.

[Halfmetal Alchemist]

Sorry for replying so late! I am still new to communities and it slips my mind if I don't get a notification for it :)

So, knowing Haymitch as a perennial drunkard in the original trilogy, it is such a delight to get to know him even better. as both of you have mentioned, we knew it was gonna be heartbreaking, but i didnt know its gonna hurt so much!! The family tragedy was expected, but LDB's end and the lie she told from jail was too traumatic.

They put in a lot of characters just to connect it to the main trilogy though, and thats the only that bugs me about her writing. If we are saying Plutarch or Effie or Mags or Wiress or Beetee were exactly the same 25 years ago and have had zero character development, putting them in the story was just fan service. Even Haymitch ends up as a drunkard as well as a rebel by the end of the book but waits 25 years to re-attempt his plan to break out people from the arena?

But all that being said, the story kept me 100% emotionally invested and SC pressed all the right buttons to traumatize me time and again. 5* for the plot, -1* for shoehorning in the characters.

P.S. Eagles usually symbolize freedom, so maybe that was Plutarch's way of secretly showing that he is a part of the rebellion?

[Maria]

I only got to page 76 this month afterall. It was messed up how he ended up having to be in the hunger games. I’ve been enjoying the book so far.

[LinaVer]

@Maria Munoz, would you like this buddy read to be extended to July? I can ask SarahKat 🙂 then you can peacefully finish it.

[Maria]

@LinaVer That would be great! Thank you for asking. :)

[Dominique]

Sorry just notices I didn't leave my thougths

(view spoiler)[ Now we know why he became the way he is in the Hunger Games. Not only going into the games the way that he did, and snow still vengeful of what Lucy did, Haymitch had no chance.
The Loulou clone was messed up. I like that we got the younger version of the characters from the other book.

How messed up was it for him not only to lose his girlfriend but his mom and brother. Snow made them suffer. Just horrible (hide spoiler)]

[Dominique]

I don't mind waiting for later in the month or early August for Hunger Games

[LinaVer]

Maria wrote: "@LinaVer That would be great! Thank you for asking. :)"

SarahKat said we can use this topic until 24th of July. :) So just take it easy and enjoy the book.

[LinaVer]

Dominique wrote: "I don't mind waiting for later in the month or early August for Hunger Games"

Yes, SarahKat was asking if we need the rest of the series pushed back. I also don't mind waiting until August, as it's a re-read for me.

What do you all think?

[Cordelia]

LinaVer wrote: "Dominique wrote: "I don't mind waiting for later in the month or early August for Hunger Games"

Yes, SarahKat was asking if we need the rest of the series pushed back. I also don't mind waiting un..."

I dont mind. I'm having trouble getting hold of the book at the moment anyway - it seems to be very popular with several weeks wait time.

[LinaVer]

Hi everybody, sorry I haven’t replied for a few days, had a busy week. I’ll see that the buddy read for The Hunger Games is pushed further one month 🙂
How is it going with Sunrise on the Reaping for those who are reading it now?