I remember when I got my first Hunger Games book. It was the eve of a very long car ride, and my parents wisely bestowed upon me a gleaming, beautiful, pristine and perfect 25th edition Hunger Games set.

Needless to say, each book was subsequently devoured in a ravenous fashion. And then again. And again. I must have read them all at least 10 times.

Even in the present day, though they rest lovingly on my bookshelf, they are no longer pristine. They have been read to death. And the same is true for the later “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”

I bought a brand new hardcover of “Sunrise on the Reaping” from Amazon. It’s still pristine. And, sadly, it’ll remain somewhere in that range. It’ll be read again, but not to collapse. The book jacket will stay firmly on. The binding will not be ripped almost beyond repair due to years of excessive reading. 

If it were a normal book by a mediocre author, I would not be holding it to such a high standard. But “Sunrise“ isn’t a normal book, and Suzanne Collins is a transcendent literary genius, one of the best authors of our time, and I know this book could have been better. I’ve read and reread every single one of her books to know that’s the case. 

And this one just felt so forced and rushed. Haymitch’s voice just isn’t right. Collins writes Katniss and Snow’s voices almost effortlessly, but there seemed to be some struggle in writing in Haymitch’s voice. It just didn’t read with the ease I’ve been used to. 

The plot as well was a bit…loopy. It was all over the place, and too much focus was put on the beginning and not enough in the actual arena. 

Also, Haymitch had an inconsistently written character. One minute he’s proclaiming that he will never play the Capitol’s game, and the next, he’s happily killing his opponents. He didn’t have a clear underlying motive and a proper explanation when his motive switched.

It’s also not exactly plausibly defensible with the other books. For example, in the first chapter we discover that the Capitol doesn’t broadcast live to the other districts. Instead, the video airs five minutes later and they can edit out anything in those five minutes.

So, all of Katniss Everdeen’s “inflammatory” acts on the screen that inspired rebellion could have just been edited out all this time, therefore preventing the districts from rising up and destroying the Hunger Games.

Major plot hole. Maybe it can be elaborately explained why it could work, but once you have to get into the weeds to explain it, you’ve made it too complicated and you’ve failed.

Now, in all fairness, it had its good points.

Suzanne Collins is very, very good at writing setting. It’s a component that is present in her books and will be strong no matter the plot. And this book was no exception. It wasn’t the grunge setting of the Games we saw in “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes“ or the posh dystopia in the original trilogy, but somewhere nestled comfortably and plausibly in between. 

Most people I’ve talked too have really liked all the references to characters. And I did too. It lends a bit more relevance to the story and adds depth to some previously one-dimensional characters. There are even some origin stories peppered in. It made me smile or gasp aloud when I recognized a name or a calling card. It made it more fun to read. I even skimmed through “Catching Fire“ again after I finished just to see it with new backstoried eyes.

However, as plentiful and satisfying references are, they can’t substitute for quality plot, character development and tone. I don’t love Suzanne Collins or her books any less, but this just didn’t reach her typical standards.