Readers are brought back to the world of Panem to experience the 50th annual Hunger Games in bestselling author Suzanne Collins’ newly released novel, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” March 18.
The highly anticipated novel marks the fifth installment to the iconic “Hunger Games” series, which was originally published in 2008. Being the second prequel written, “Sunrise on the Reaping” is set 24 years before the first novel takes place, and 40 years after the first prequel, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” occurs, which was released in 2020 as the first prequel to the trilogy.
Following the fan favorite character, Haymitch Abernathy, who later becomes Katniss Everdeen’s mentor, as the second ever quarter quell dawns on the districts of Panem. Every 25 years, a special edition of the hunger games is held, the quarter quell, where double the amount of tributes are chosen from each district and fight to the death on live television, to reinforce the control the Capitol has over the districts and commemorate their defeat.
However, when he is chosen with three other tributes from District 12, he is forced to leave his family and girlfriend, shattering his dreams to go to the Capitol and compete in the brutal games. During the games, Abernathy ends up forming an alliance with a girl from his district, Maysilee Donner, who is the original owner of the mockingjay pin that Everdeen ends up with in the first novel.
As it’s already known from the original trilogy, Abernathy ends up winning the 50th Hunger Games. By utilizing the force fields surrounding the arena that keeps its tributes inside, Abernathy uses them to his advantage after he’s realized the Capitol has set them up to fail. As a punishment from the Capitol, his mom, brother and girlfriend are killed upon orders from President Coriolanus Snow.
A film adaptation has been set to release with Lionsgate based on the novel, Nov. 20, 2026, following along with the rest of the films that have previously been released. Although an actor has not yet been casted as Abernathy, many look forward to seeing a young Abernathy in film.
“The Hunger Games” films have been extremely successful since the initial release of the first film in 2012 under the same name, following with three other films based on the trilogy, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part one” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part two,” as well as the 2023 film, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”
The 400-page dystopian novel takes readers on an extremely emotional and exciting adventure, giving more background and a better understanding to the fan favorite series and the beloved character of Abernathy.
