Suzanne Collins has created a fantastically popular world. Quite honestly, I can’t blame her for milking that world for all it is worth. Anyone who has paid any attention to The Hunger Games movie knows that Woody Harrelson brought Haymitch Abernathy to life. He was a bitter, cantankerous, and severely damaged character. A movie can never do anything close to what is found in the pages of a book, but sometimes the right casting can make a subsidiary character so much more. I think anyone with a pulse who loved the film wants to know what made Haymitch, Haymitch.

It is a challenge to take a character like Haymitch and have readers start all over with him. However, we really don’t know much about him, beyond the fact that he won the fiftieth Hunger Games. What were those games like? What did Haymitch have to do to win (District Twelve isn’t exactly renowned for its winners)? These are all great questions, and I was in it for the ride.

There is a pattern to these books, a good portion is spent developing the characters as they are chosen for the games and prepare for them. Then we have the games themselves; followed by the aftermath. Each of these sections is equally important. I enjoyed getting to know the rascal that Haymitch was before the life-changing games he experienced. You know that Haymitch is going to win, but how? You knew damn well it was going to be brains and not brawn that would bring him his victory. And, well, the aftermath, answers the all-important question.

Sunrise on the Reaping is an easy book to enjoy. I’m invested in a character I already know before even turning to the first page. I know the world, I know how the story is going to end. A book like this is all about the voyage.

I have the impression that we should be finished with this world now. I really don’t know if there is another character with a worthy story, but I could be mistaken.

*5 Stars