A new “Hunger Games” book with returning characters we know and love, and a movie to accompany it: the book “Sunrise on the Reaping” by Suzanne Collins comes out on March 18. It will be the fifth book in “The Hunger Games” series.
According to a book excerpt from Scholastic, “Sunrise on the Reaping” will follow Haymitch Abernathy, a mentor from District 12 in the original trilogy, as a teen and a competitor in the 50th Hunger Games. It will also explore Haymitch’s relationship with his family and his girlfriend, Lenore Dove.
“The Hunger Games” series is set in the dystopian future in the country Panem, which is made up of 12 districts. Every year, as punishment for a rebellion against the Capitol, each district selects one boy and one girl to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised arena-style fight to the death.
The 50th Hunger Games are one of the Quarter Quell games — games held every quarter of a century. Quarter Quell games are known for being even more of a spectacle and for altering the way the game is played, player selection and the arena itself.
In the 50th Hunger Games, instead of the normal 24 tributes (two tributes from each of the 12 districts), the number is doubled to 48 — four from each district.
According to a press release from Lionsgate, the production company behind “The Hunger Games” movies, the book will begin on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games. A movie adaption of the book has already been slated for release in November 2026, with Francis Lawrence returning to direct.
In a press release from Scholastic, Collins said, “With ‘Sunrise on the Reaping,’ I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission… The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative.”
Cameron Holland, a student at UO, said, “I’m very curious to see if (Collins will) revisit the whole real or not real thing Peeta and Katniss had in the original books. It seems like it would fit in with a lot of the themes that’ll be in the new book.”
Keeping in line with the rest of the series, “Sunrise on the Reaping” will be told from a first person perspective.
Before you pick up the newest installment to the series, remember that the 50th Hunger Games is considered to be one of the most brutal games in the history of Panem.
From “Catching Fire,” which takes place 25 years after this new book, readers know Haymitch ends up winning his games using the force field at the edge of the arena to kill the last tribute. As retribution, President Snow orders Haymitch’s family to be killed, which leads him to spiral into the character readers see in the original trilogy.
With the little information that has already been released, theories have run amok about the topics Collins will explore, characters that will show up and possible ties between the other books.
“I’m really hoping Haymitch’s girlfriend ends up being a descendant of the Covey from the first prequel book,” Chloe Rodriguez, a student at UO, said. “That would be a really good tie-in, and I feel like we would learn more about the history of District 12.”
“Sunrise on the Reaping” is set to dive deeper into Haymitch’s past through his experience in the Quarter Quell. In doing so, readers can expect a new perspective on the world of Panem and the social commentary Collins has become known for through her work on this series.
