Chapter 26 sees Haymitch return to his home in District 12 and have his long awaited reunion with Lenore Dove. This review will firstly give a summary of Chapter 26 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 at a time 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 after Chapter 26!

What Happens in Chapter 26 of Sunrise on the Reaping?

The chapter picks up with Haymitch at an after party for the Victor Ceremony. He plays the part of a ‘good victor’ in a bid for Snow’s mercy on his loved ones. He continues to do so for a while as he attends an array of Capitol events in the weeks that follow.

Eventually, the day comes where he is to take the train home to his district. He is accompanied by the coffins of Louella, Wyatt and Maysilee. Upon arrival in District 12, he finds himself at the train station at 5am with no one else around. He begins to walk home hopeful to see his family.

As he approaches his home he realises there is a fire. It is coming from his house. He runs to break through the fire but is held down by Burdock and Blair. Asterid gives him some sleeping syrup which causes him to doze off.

Haymitch wakes up the next day and it is now time for the funeral for Ma and Sid who have died in the fire.

The funeral is a joint procession for Ma, Sid, Louella, Wyatt, Maysilee and Wyatt’s father (who has taken his own life – most likely due to shame). The place is packed with many mourning the loss of their loved ones.

There is a brief moment where Haymitch believes he has spotted Maysilee when he sees what looks to be her in their District 12 black uniforms which they had worn in the arena before he realises it is her twin sister, Merilee, dressed in black for the funeral.

After the funeral, Haymitch wishes to be alone and is escorted to his new home in the Victor’s village by Burdock and Blair. He wakes up in the night concerned for Lenore Dove and decides he must go and find her now.

He eventually finds her with her uncles and watches as he learns that she is on house arrest with strict rules and sees the love they have for her. This comforts him as he knows that there is someone else looking out for her if he were to flee the district, which is something he had planned to do until he reunites with Lenore Dove. 

When Lenore Dove is by herself she picks up a pack of gum drops. Haymitch figures it must be the bag he sent Sid to give to her when he was reaped. With Lenore Dove alone, Haymitch makes his way into her line of vision. The two run towards each other excited to finally be reunited. 

This excitement is shortly lived when Haymitch notices that the bag of gum drops consists of all red gum drops and not rainbow like the bag Sid had given her. He realises the gum drops are poison.

It is too late and Lenore Dove collapses. Her final parting words to Haymitch is that he is not to let the sun rise on the reaping.

Review – Is Sunrise on the Reaping Chapter 26 Good?

This chapter is one of the most bleak of all of The Hunger Games series which says a lot. Watching hope for the safety of Haymitch’s loved ones be stripped away in such tragic spectacles upon his homecoming did not make for a pleasant read. 🫠

A standout moment of this chapter which I think was particularly heartbreaking was when Haymitch spots Merrilee at the funeral and momentarily mistakes her for Maysilee. 

The involvement of Katniss’ parents remained strong upon Haymitch’s return home which made for a fun connection to the original series.

His short lived reunion with Lenore Dove made for a particularly cruel but fitting punishment from Snow which stayed in theme with the poisonous nature of the arena.

Haymitch’s greatest fears have all came to pass and the cliffhanger ending of Lenore Dove’s death builds a lot of intrigue for readers to read on. Is this when Haymitch will begin the downwards spiral of depression and alcoholism we see in the original trilogy?

Discussion – Is Plutarch A Potential Candidate For The Next Book?

We see Plutarch briefly at the beginning of this chapter at the after party, when he lets Haymitch know that Lenore Dove was never released.

Throughout the book and in the original The Hunger Games, we see Plutarch’s involvement in the rebellion and care for the cause. However, we also see just how close he is to President Snow and this is so that he is trusted by him. Snow is a very intelligent individual and the fact that for decades he never suspects anything of Plutarch is very interesting.

Plutarch also continues to live the Capitol lifestyle and spends a lot of time focusing on Capitol orientated/serving purposes such as being a cameraman.

Is he simply smart enough to play the long haul game of capturing Snow’s trust or is there a struggle between right and wrong for the character? Does he put his own ambitions above his moral beliefs or is his perceived ambition a part of his plan to best serve his beliefs and ultimately take down Snow?

Either way his character’s life makes for a pretty compelling story and a book centred around his character would likely be very interesting to read. I suspect it would reveal a lot we might not know, similarly to Sunrise on the Reaping.

What are your thoughts?

Let me know in the comments below what your thoughts on Chapter 26 are!