My favorite Read of March 2026: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Title: Sunrise on the Reaping

Author: Suzanne Collins

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publication Date: March 18, 2025

Favorite quote: “And that’s part of our trouble. Thinking things are inevitable. Not believing change is possible.”
― Suzanne Collins, Sunrise on the Reaping

Goodreads Description:

When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor 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.

My Thoughts:

I think this was the best Hunger Games installment since the original. Haymitch was always one of my favorite characters, and this made me understand him more. Like Katniss, young Haymitch is a reluctant hero. He doesn’t go in with the intent of taking down the Capitol, but circumstances lead him down that path. He’s not so much a rebel as a person who believes in right and wrong. Even though you know the ending, you can’t help cheering for him to succeed.