Sunrise on the Reaping

Sunrise on the Reaping

Author	Suzanne Collins
Cover artist	Tim O'Brien
Language	English
Series	The Hunger Games
Genre	Science fiction, Dystopian
Publisher	Scholastic
Publication date	March 18, 2025
Publication place	United States
Pages	400
ISBN	9781546171461
Preceded by	The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Followed by	The Hunger Games

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Sunrise on the Reaping is a 2025 dystopian novel written by American author Suzanne Collins and the second prequel novel to the original The Hunger Games trilogy, following The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020). Set 24 years before the events of the first novel, the narrative delves into themes of political manipulation, the power of propaganda, and the complexities of societal control under a totalitarian regime and centers on the 50th Hunger Games, in which Haymitch Abernathy competed. It was released on March 18, 2025, by Scholastic.

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A film adaptation was announced to be in production on June 6, 2024, and is set to be released by Lionsgate on November 20, 2026.

Background

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Collins' inspiration was a book by Scottish philosopher David Hume, specifically his ideas of implicit submission and "the easiness with which the many are governed by the few". Questions surrounding the use of propaganda and the power of media narratives also inspired Collins to explore the concept of what is ‘Real or not real?’ in the novel.

In the novel, Lenore Dove sings sections of the poem "The Goose and the Common", an 18th century poem about the injustices of land enclosure in England, in reference to the Capitol.

Plot

16‐year‐old Haymitch Abernathy lives in District 12 with his impoverished mother and younger brother Sid. A tribute's attempted escape turns fatal during the reaping for the 50th Annual Hunger Games, where all districts must produce double the amount of tributes, two boys and two girls, for the Second Quarter Quell. In a cover-up maneuver, Capitol officials, including District 12's cruel tribute escort Drusilla Sickle and Plutarch Heavensbee, a cameraman sympathetic to the tributes, appoints Haymitch as a substitute, re‐staging the reaping (which happens on his birthday). His fellow District 12 tributes include Wyatt Callow, Louella McCoy, and Maysilee Donner.

Arriving in the Capitol, the tributes are dismissed as "long shots." During the Tribute Parade, a horse‐drawn chariot accident kills Louella and Haymitch dumps her body outside President Snow's mansion as an act of rebellion. After the Tribute Parade, Haymitch is taken into Heavensbee Hall, where President Snow warns him that he will ensure the Gamemakers punish him with a painful death if he continues with his defiance. After a conversation, Snow brings in a drugged body double replacement for Louella, whom the District 12 tributes soon nickname "Lou Lou." With no known surviving local victors, the tributes are assigned mentors from previous Games, Wiress of District 3, victor of the 49th Games, and Mags of District 4, victor of the 11th Games, and Haymitch adopts a defiant "rascal" persona in televised interviews to attract sponsors despite a disastrously low evaluation score.

During training, Beetee, a former victor whose son Ampert was reaped as punishment for Beetee's rebellious activity, recruits Haymitch for a covert plan to sabotage the arena. Alongside Plutarch's support and before the Games begin, Haymitch shares a bittersweet farewell call with his girlfriend, Lenore Dove Baird, as he agrees to detonate explosives in the underground water tank to flood the system.

When the Games begin in an arena rife with poisonous hazards, Haymitch abandons his alliance with most of the non-Career districts (called the Newcomers) to carry out his plan. Briefly accompanied by Lou Lou, who soon dies from toxic pollen, he teams up with Ampert to trigger an explosion in the channels that release genetically mutated creatures, called “mutts." Although the ensuing flood fails to disable the arena fully, and the mutts kill Ampert, Haymitch gains a temporary advantage. Later, amid clashes with the Career alliance, Maysilee saves him with a poisonous dart, renewing their partnership.

Determined to find another way to destroy the arena, Haymitch convinces Maysilee to explore the perimeter. They encounter the Careers and a trio of Gamemakers, and Maysilee and a Career named Maritte eliminate the Gamemakers before parting ways. They discover a power generator shielded by a force field at the arena's edge. As they split up, Maysilee and Maritte are killed by mutts sent to punish them for killing the Gamemakers. Haymitch seeks out the last remaining Newcomer, Wellie. After a short reunion, he leaves her alone to look for firewood, yet returns only to find her killed by District 1 tribute Silka. In a final confrontation near a cliff, Silka is inadvertently killed by her weapon bouncing off the force field. At the same time, a grievously injured Haymitch is rendered unconscious after attempting to detonate a final explosive against the force field.

Haymitch awakens in the Capitol and is forced to attend a series of public events, gradually realizing that the televised version of the Games has been heavily edited to erase signs of rebellion. Upon returning to District 12, he finds his home burned down and his mother and brother dead. A reunion with Lenore Dove in a quiet meadow turns tragic when Haymitch unknowingly feeds her a poisoned candy, an act orchestrated by President Snow. Lenore Dove dies in his arms after urging him to prevent another "sunrise on the reaping."

Haunted by loss, Haymitch retreats into isolation in the Victors' Village, distancing himself from former friends out of fear for their safety. However, during the Victory Tour, Plutarch's encouragement spurs him to keep fighting. In the epilogue, set after the original series, Haymitch opens up to Katniss and Peeta about his past, finding solace in caring for gifted goose eggs in memory of Lenore Dove.

Characters

Tributes

• Haymitch Abernathy – A male tribute from District 12. He is outspoken, short-tempered, and trying his best to return to his family and girlfriend in District 12.
• Maysilee Donner – A female tribute from District 12. She is the original owner of the Mockingjay pin, which is given to Katniss in The Hunger Games. She has a twin sister named Merrilee Donner.
• Wyatt Callow – A male tribute from District 12. He is an oddsmaker with a family history of gambling on the tributes.
• Louella McCoy – A female tribute from District 12. She is killed during the Tribute Parade and replaced with a body double, Lou Lou, by the Capitol.
• Ampert Latier – a male tribute from District 3. He is Beetee's son and part of the Newcomers alliance.
• Wellie – A female tribute from District 6. She is part of the Newcomer Alliance.
• Silka Sharp – A female tribute from District 1 who was part of the Career pack. She was killed by her axe, which rebounded off the forcefield whilst fighting Haymitch.
• Panache Barker – A male tribute from District 1 who was part of the Career pack. He was killed by one of Maysilee's poisonous darts.
• Woodbine Chance – A male tribute from District 12. He attempts to escape when his name is called and is killed. Haymitch is chosen to replace him.
• Other notable tributes include: Maritte, a female tribute from District 4; Ringina, a female tribute from District 7; Kerna, a female tribute from District 9; Hull, a male tribute from District 11; and Chicory, a female tribute from District 11.

District 12 Residents

• Lenore Dove Baird – Haymitch's girlfriend and a member of the Covey, a once nomadic music group forced to settle in District 12 after the war, whose mother is suspected to be Lucy Gray Baird's cousin.
• Sid Abernathy – Haymitch's ten-year-old brother.
• Willamae Abernathy – Haymitch's mother.
• Burdock Everdeen – Haymitch's best friend and eventual father of Katniss and Prim. He is Lenore Dove's distant cousin.
• Other notable residents include: Asterid March, Burdock's girlfriend and eventual mother of Katniss and Prim; Blair, a friend of Haymitch and Burdock; Hattie, a bootlegger and Haymitch's boss; Clerk Carmine Clade and Tam Amber, Lenore Dove's uncles; and Merrilee Donner, Maysilee's identical twin sister.

Capitol Residents

• Plutarch Heavensbee – Capitol cameraman assigned to District 12 tributes.
• Drusilla Sickle – Capitol escort for the District 12 tributes.
• Coriolanus Snow – President of Panem.
• Effie Trinket – Emergency escort and stylist for the District 12 tributes.
• Proserpina Trinket and Vitus – Prep team for Haymitch during the Second Quarter Quell.
• Caesar Flickerman – Host of the interviews for the Hunger Games.
• Magno Stift – Stylist for the District 12 tributes.

Mentors

• Mags Flanagan – Victor of the 11th Hunger Games. Mentor for the District 12 tributes during the Second Quarter Quell.
• Wiress – Victor of the 49th Hunger Games. Mentor for the District 12 tributes during the Second Quarter Quell.
• Beetee Latier – Victor of the 34th Hunger Games. Mentor for the District 3 tributes during the Second Quarter Quell.

Publication history

Sunrise on the Reaping had a hardcover release date of March 18, 2025. It was also published as an audiobook on the same day.

Sunrise on the Reaping sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide in its first week, marking the biggest debut for any title in Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games series. In the U.S. alone, the book sold 1.2 million copies, more than twice the opening sales of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and over three times that of Mockingjay.

Film adaptation

Main article: The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping

The upcoming film adaptation will be directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Billy Ray. The movie is set to begin filming in July 2025.

Cast (In Order of Announcement)

• Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird
• Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy
• Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner
• Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee
• Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee Latier
• Maya Hawke as Wiress
• Lili Taylor as Mags Flanagan
• Ben Wang as Wyatt Callow
• Ralph Fiennes as President Snow
• Molly McCann as Louella McCoy
• Iona Bell as Lou Lou
• Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket
• Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman

External links

• The U.S. Scholastic Website