Sunrise on the reaping

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honour of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town.

As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena

When this book first came out ,I was slightly apprehensive.Of course,I was aware it was written by the Suzanne Collins but I was afraid that after such a successful trilogy and prequel that this would be just another money grabbing spin off that we often see in todays entertainment industry(I’m looking  at you Disney) but fortunately I was proven wrong. 

Firstly, dramatic irony was utilised soo effectively through the entire book ,as although it’s tequchically a prequel most people read it after the main trilogy.It adds so much depth to Haymitch’s character and  helps us to understand how he relates to Katniss in the main trilogy.And just to double the damage , a lot of the dramatic irony is so heart breaking when looked  at retrospectively - I mean “I’m not a big drinker myself “ genuinely had me sobbing a few pages into the book as it just show us how the games destroy people differently.

Also , I think that it terms of us viewing the games, this the main trilogy and the Ballad of the song birds and snakes work effectively together to help show the progression of the games.Personally,I found it interesting “watching “ how the games evolved in technique and melodrama but how the cruelty always was consistent.This also worked well in tandem with the underlying deep dive into propaganda as Haymitch’s reaping allows us to get a closer look at the depth and ingrained level of control you need in people for this to be a sustainable state.

However,there where a few negatives- although they do feel small in comparison to the overall text.The writing style felt slightly infantile compared to the other books and felt patronising at some points(however this can’t truly be faulted as it is a young teen book).It did also feel slightly name -droppy at times but again I suppose that’s the risk of having a successfully built world.

Overall it was enjoyable.

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