Sunrise on the Reaping Chapter 19 details the aftermath of the volcano eruption and Haymitch’s first contribution to the bloodshed within the arena when he faces off with the Careers.

FYI: This review is part of a series where I review one chapter of Sunrise on the Reaping each day as I read along. You can find the review for each chapter here.

What Happens in Chapter 19 of Sunrise on the Reaping?

The chapter picks up with Haymitch catching a glimpse of the volcano eruption before not watching a thing and instead opting to wait it out/brace for the worst.

Eventually the sun shines through the ash and  Haymitch finds the strength to get up from the ground. The volcano has left behind clear sparkly ash littered all over the arena. Haymitch heads further north and on his way it begins to rain – washing away the ash – which Haymitch uses to clean blood stains and to collect a few teaspoons of water.

He eventually stumbles upon what looks to be the end of the arena. A multiple feet thick massive holly hedge. He spends hours trying to break through but continues to get lost in it. Eventually he spots a bunny and decides to follow it, thinking it may lead him to an escape route.

Haymitch is instead surprised by an attack from the careers. Instinctively, Haymitch fends them off and takes down two tributes. He is then in a face off with Panache – the career which had given him the most bother in training.

Panache disarms Haymitch leading Haymitch to frantically try and manipulate Panache into giving him a fair armed fight so that it would ‘look better for him’. This is to no avail and Panache goes to swing his sword at Haymitch before the chapter closes with a dart suddenly piercing Panache’s throat.

Review – Is Chapter 19 of Sunrise on the Reaping Good?

After the dramatic eighteenth chapter, this chapter is predominantly more tame and gives the reader (and Haymitch) a chance to recover from the quite literally explosive turn of events in the previous chapter.

The last few pages, with Haymitch getting a surprise attack from the Careers, came at the perfect time and made for the type of action the Capitol loves to see (and we may like to read… just for the plot though!)

The Katniss-esque save at the last second was so satisfying to read and builds a lot of intrigue for the next chapter as readers immediately have a feeling they know who might have fired that dart.

Discussion – Why do we think SHE was there to fire the arrow?

So, when you read that chapter ending you have a strong feeling a certain someone may have fired that bow. Since this is a spoiler free chapter review, I will quickly give a spoiler warning not to read on but I would be surprised if many people didn’t already kind of know this after reading the chapter or didn’t quickly flip the page to confirm their suspicions (guilty 🤠).

Maysilee’s being there is very suspicious and does make the likelihood of Haymitch’s brief thought that she may have somehow teamed up with the Careers a lot more likely. If in the next chapter we find this really was the case, then it will be interesting to see how Haymitch takes this.

The fact that Maysilee cares enough for Haymitch to put her life on the line like that and participate in the bloodshed shows just how much the District 12 tributes really bonded.

I was really looking forward to her return (as I have mentioned in some recent chapter reviews) so I can’t wait to read on and find out what’s been happening with her during the games. 🤨

What are your thoughts?

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter below – do you agree/disagree with any part of my review?