While You Wait for Sunrise on the Reaping

Sunrise on the Reaping is the latest installment in The Hunger Games series. This prequel dives into the absolute horror that was Haymitch Abernathy’s Hunger Games, the 50th games where double the tributes were reaped and sent to battle to the death until one victor remained. If there is one thing I can say about this book as someone who was deeply invested in the original trilogy years ago – this book will break you. However, it is absolutely worth the wait to get your hands on it.  

In the late 2000s and early 2010s The Hunger Games was a major piece of the puzzle that was the young adult (YA) dystopian fiction reading craze. Other titles like Divergent, The Maze Runner and The Fifth Wave were popular, but none seemed to reach the same level of success of The Hunger Games series.  

While you wait to dive back into the world of The Hunger Games, here are some other dystopian novels you should check out. May the odds be ever in your favor as you wait for Sunrise on the Reaping. 

Snowglobe by Soyoung Park 

In this debut YA novel you can’t help but notice the parallels to Sunrise on Reaping. There’s a distant city whose residents get to live in glory while residents of the outskirts are left with little. The lives of the young are televised for all the see. There’s even a twin who is not actually a twin. If you know, you know when it comes to that twin, but if you don’t, make sure to grab both books because you definitely want to find out.  

Snowglobe is a climate-controlled city where the elite live beneath a vast dome. Outside the walls of Snowglobe the rest of society lives in frigid -50 degree temperatures. Each day in the frozen winds, citizens outside Snowglobe fight their way to work at the power plant to keep society comfortable. In return they are provided 24/7 access to the lives of Snowglobe elite who are the actors in the reality TV series.  

Most pine for the opportunity to become a Snowglobe actor to escape the harsh reality of the world outside the dome. Jeon Chobahm is hoping instead to become a director, her dream since she was young.  

Just before her 17th birthday, Jeon is approached by a Snowglobe director with an unusual request. She will take the place of Goh Haeri, an actress Jeon very closely resembles, who has died. The director doesn’t want to announce the unfortunate circumstances of Goh Haeri’s death to the rest of the world. Jeon accepts the proposition when the director promises to help her achieve her dream.  

As Jeon morphs to become Goh Haeri and falls deeper into Snowglobe’s society, she begins to uncover the true reality of the Snowglobe elite and the conspiracy that drives them forward. 

Hazards of Time Travel by Joyce Carol Oates 

In another chilling tale, advancements in technology allow for those in power to inflict the punishment of time travel. You quickly be pulled in the story with your need to understand the punishment's outcomes. 

Adriane Strohl is a young woman graduating at the top of her class in the year 2039 where oppressive control dictates everyday life. Making use of her one chance to ask the questions plaguing her, Adriane’s valedictory speech results in her arrest for treason. 

Not yet 18, Adriane’s punishment is time travel as an exile to 1950s Wainscotia, Wisconsin. She’s given a new name, Mary Ellen Enright, and a chip is placed in her brain to prevent her from disclosing her true identity or life in the year 2039. Set to attend Wainscotia State University, the hope is reeducation will allow Adriane to return to her own time rehabilitated to the standards of the authorities within the True Democracy.  

When Adriane begins her education at the University she wonders if one of her professors, Dr. Ira Wolfman, is another exile. As their relationship grows and their trust deepens, Adriane questions everything about the oppressive existence she left in 2039.  

While Sunrise on the Reaping and Hazards of Time Travel both expose the more chilling possibilities of technology, they also showcase the power of just one person willing to stand up for what they believe in and question authority. Where one ignites a spark something much brighter can burn. 

40 by Alan Heathcock 

The cover of this title immediately struck me as it bears a striking resemblance to one of the Mockingjay movie posters featuring Katniss Everdeen. While you may also notice some story elements similar to Katniss’ story in the original Hunger Games trilogy, Heathcock’s novel presents a unique tale that will keep you captivated. 

Natural disaster, pandemic and political unrest has led to the emergence of a new faction known as the Novae Terrae who are looking to gain power back from the government. Civilians facing famine are drawn to join the faction by the promise of food and thrills that will sustain them. 

One young solider, Mazzy Goodwin, isn’t quite ready for a rebellion. She just wants to find her younger sister Ava Lynn. However, when she sets out to reunite with her sister, Mazzy’s life is changed quite dramatically and the effects cannot be explained.  

In the midst of rebellion, Mazzy wakes in the middle of a bomb crater and realizes she had seemingly grown wings. She can’t be sure whether it was an act of God or an experimental operation. The wings can’t be hidden and her new reality soon attracts attention. 

As the Novae Terrae catch wind of this woman with wings, Mazzy’s unexplainable situation lands her at the center of the rebellion as a figurehead for the fight. In return she’s promised to be reconnected with her sister. What are the hidden costs of this deal? 

For those who were deeply invested in Katniss' drive to protect her sister Prim, 40 is a story you need to grab.  

Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Naylor 

For those who have always been intrigued by Beetee and Wiress’s story and the technology district referenced in the Hunger Games series, Where the Axe is Buried just might be the novel you need to read while you wait for Haymitch’s story. 

In one part of the world an authoritarian Federation President is downloading his mind to new bodies to hold on to his power with an iron grip. In another part human governance has been traded for artificial minds known as AI Prime Ministers. 

In both cases the tower of cards is crumbling quickly. There is an assassination of the Federation President planned. The AI Prime Ministers are malfunctioning, threatening to destroy the world in which they exist, despite being developed to be more efficient and peaceful than humans. 

Meanwhile Lilia, a brilliant scientist and the mind who may finally be able to bring the President’s schemes to an end, is arrested. Her research is left in the hands of her boyfriend, Palmer, who must fend off rivals trying to get their hands on it. With research documenting a technology so powerful it has potential to either save the world or end it, what will Palmer do? 

Naylor’s technology centered novel might be the closest we get to exploring what the Hunger Games rebellion could have looked like if the symbol of the rebellion came from District 3, the technology district, rather than the coal mining district. Nonetheless, read on its own, it is captivating.