Sunrise on the Reaping Chapter 22 sees Maysilee and Haymitch run in to both the remaining Careers and some Game Makers within the arena. This review will firstly summarise Chapter 22 before going into a review and discussion on the chapter.

FYI: This review is part of a series where I review one chapter of Sunrise on the Reaping each day as I read along. Each chapter review is written before I have read the next chapter meaning that this review is spoiler-free for anything that happens after Chapter 22.

What Happens in Sunrise on the Reaping Chapter 22?

1/3: Haymitch & Maysilee Begin Their 6th Day Inside The Arena

The chapter picks up with Maysilee and Haymitch waking up on Day 6 inside the arena. Maysilee has painted her latest ‘poster’ (her code for a spectacle against the Capitol) with a beautifully presented breakfast which highlights the civility of district people.

Haymitch persuades Maysilee to go north in search for Wellie – which she continually opposes as she sees this as an unlikely place for Wellie to be – with Haymitch holding back the full truth of his plan to find the end of the arena past the hedge.

As they are making their way north, they hear a strange humming and decide to stay clear of it in case it is yet another dangerous mutt. That plan changes when they are suddenly ambushed by the two remaining careers.

2/3: Haymitch & Maysilee are Ambushed by the Careers

Caught by surprise, Maysilee and Haymitch flee towards the humming sound. As they draw nearer to the sound and runaway from the Careers, they find themself sliding down into a clearing. They are met with the sight of three Game Makers next to an open berm with one mopping and one drilling. 

The Careers catch up and there is an awkward moment of shock and confusion amongst all involved. A Gamemaker says they all must withdraw from the area as they are in some sort of violation of the rules, to which Maysilee claps back telling them that they must be expendable to the Capitol to have been sent into the arena to tidy up.

Maritte, one of the two Careers still alive, and Maysilee take out the Game Makers before they are able to escape down the ladder of the open berm. Silka, the other remaining Career, is upset as she exclaims to Maritte that the Game Makers will never let them win now.

A hovercraft begins dropping bombs of tear gas and so the tributes swiftly make an exit from the clearing.

3/3: Maysilee & Haymitch Burn Through The Hedge

Once Haymitch and Maysilee are in the clear, Maysilee scolds Haymitch about his lack of help in attacking the Game Makers. Haymitch feels guilty and expresses that he is sorry for freezing in the moment.

They quickly make up and head north, with Maysilee coming to an understanding that Haymitch’s desire to go back to the hedge is part of his plan to paint another ‘poster’ for the Capitol.

They eventually reach the hedge and burn their way through it, killing the ladybug mutts in the process. The chapter closes with them reaching the other side of the hedge to find that there is a large cliff at the other side which looks down on spiky rocks which surround the generator. Haymitch sighs and deems this the end of the road as the generator is out of reach.

Review – Is Sunrise on the Reaping Chapter 22 Good?

As the games draw closer to the end, the pacing matches the rising tensions with even more action in this chapter than the last.

The Careers ambush leading them into a standoff with the three Game Makers in the arena made for a particularly intense moment which I really can’t wait to see on screen next year when the film adaptation releases. 

The twist of both a Career and Maysilee taking aim at the Game Makers and killing them made for a very interesting twist which creates a lot of questions around who the Game Makers will now have the most discontent with and consequently go after.

Maysilee and Haymitch’s short lived spat before they headed towards the hedge made for a very interesting read with the conversation leading to a reference of the lyric we heard Lucy Gray singing in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes ‘nothing they can take from you is worth keeping’ which made for a fun connection. 

The cliffhanger at the end of this chapter does a good job at building intrigue which encourages the reader to read on. 

Haymitch having the polar opposite feeling at the end of this chapter to the last, with him being hopeful for his plan at the end of Chapter 21 to now being in despair with no hope for his plan at the end of Chapter 22, is particularly effective at conveying the rollercoaster of emotions Haymitch’s time in the arena is taking him on.

Discussion – Is Haymitch somehow about to become the Game Maker favourite to win?

Seeing that just five tributes remain and two have just killed Game Makers, Haymitch is now in the running as one of the ‘better’ tributes in the eyes of the Capitol/Snow in a dramatic turn of events. 

Wellie (the other Newcomer) and Silka (the Career which did not participate in killing the Game Makers) are the only two which are in better books than Haymitch but the chances are they might just well be killed by a fellow tribute leaving much of the odds in the hands of the Game Makers.

Is it possible that Haymitch might not break the arena in the way described in Catching Fire? Might it be that he wins with the help of Game Makers taking care of his competition? Does the arena maybe just break because the Game Makers never got the opportunity to fix what they were trying to fix?

This might be a stretch but at the very least, I have a feeling Maritte and Maysilee are going to face repercussions for their attack on the Game Makers. Let’s pray for Maysilee’s survival for as long as we can and that her ending is a least bittersweet and not on the completely tragic side that so many of The Hunger Games deaths are. 😩🤞

What are your thoughts?

That wraps up all my thoughts on Chapter 22! Let me know your thoughts on the chapter below!