The long awaited “Sunrise on the Reaping,” the fifth installation of “The Hunger Games” series by Suzanne Collins, was finally released March, following its announcement in June 2024.

Set in a dystopian world where the government forces civilians to fight to the death for entertainment,“Sunrise on the Reaping” centers on the 50th annual Hunger Games.

Haymitch Abernathy, a beloved character who appears in all  “Hunger Games” books and movies, except “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” is picked to fight in the 50th Hunger Games.

The world in the Hunger Games universe is split into twelve districts, district one being the richest, all the way up to district twelve, the poorest. Every year, for each annual hunger game, a girl and boy are picked from each district to compete in the brutal fight to the death.

The book was rated a 4.6 on Goodreads by 461,809 people, however, many fans are disappointed with the way the new book was executed.

The most common issue people had with the book was Collin’s story telling, specifically the way that Haymitch’s story was told.

Sophomore Alex Jackson, a fan of the Hunger Games, discussed their opinion on the book.

“A Lot of people have mixed opinions about it…people either think it fell off or fell on,” Jackson said.

Adeline Hanson, who left a one star review on the book shares why she felt it deserved that review.

“The pacing was incredibly clunky…the games are only moderately interesting, because we already know the major plot points,” Hanson said.

The concept of Haymitch’s Hunger Games, the central plot of the book, has already been explored in previous “Hunger Games” films through the perspectives of  other characters.

In “Catching Fire,” the second Hunger Games book and movie, the two main characters, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, watch the broadcast video of Haymitch’s experience in the Hunger Games.

Through this, viewers know that Haymitch from district twelve wasn’t likely to win–but against all odds, he uses the force field surrounding the arena to his advantage, bouncing  his weapon off of it and into the last remaining opponent. 

 “The difference there is that the ‘Hunger Games’ is meant to be a social commentary…’Sunrise on the Reaping’ goes more into Haymitch’s character,” Jackson said. 

A deeper dive into Haymitch’s character is something that’s been highly anticipated by fans,since Haymitch is a key part of the plot and development of other characters in the “Hunger Games” series. .

Sophomore Natalee Hoffman shared her view on the book.

“I feel like there’s little shown about his character and why he’s good to the other tributes in the original movies,” Hoffman said..

Haymitch’s growth after his games is something that has interested fans as well.

“Seeing him as a kid would be really interesting, to see if he’s always been like this, or if he grew or if there’s some sort of difference,” junior Vinny Wild said.

Despite the mixed opinions on the book, anticipation for the film remains high. “Sunrise on the Reaping” is set to be in theaters Nov. 20, 2026, giving fans a chance to form their own opinion.