Author Suzanne Collins surprised many when she published a Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a decade after the last book in the series was released. Now, she’s about to do it again with Sunrise on the Reaping, a new prequel that will focus on the 50th Games and, presumably, its winner, Haymitch Abernathy. Fans have been curious about Haymitch’s backstory for years, with some even making a popular fan film about his Games. Readers got a brief overview of what happened in the Catching Fire novel, but audiences are excited to see if the new book will answer some of their burning questions.
Although it was cut from the movie, Catching Fire revealed that Haymitch won the 50th Hunger Games, the second Quarter Quell. For its special twist, these Games had twice the number of tributes. Haymitch allied with one of his fellow District 12 tributes, Maysilee Donner, but she was killed by muttations. Haymitch won by leading his final opponent, a girl from District 1 to the arena’s edge, where he’d discovered a force field. When she threw an axe at him, he ducked, and the force field threw the axe back at the District 1 tribute, killing her. Since he used the force field in a way that wasn’t intended, President Snow punished Haymitch by killing all his loved ones. Even with as much as fans already know, there are still plenty of questions for Sunrise on the Reaping to answer.
10 What Was Haymitch Abernathy Like Before the Hunger Games?
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Haymitch was 16 years old during the second Quarter Quell, making him 40 in The Hunger Games. |
When fans meet Haymitch in The Hunger Games, he seems like a bitter, broken man who’s completely given up the fight. Throughout the series, his rebellious beliefs become more prominent as he works with the rebels in Catching Fire and Mockingjay. This question will almost certainly be answered in Sunrise on the Reaping, but, given this vivid portrait, fans have always wondered what Haymitch was like before he went into the arena.
Readers know from Katniss’s narration in the books that Haymitch was from the Seam, the poorest part of District 12. Based on his interview from the 50th Games, he was always snarky, and his trick with the force field demonstrated both his intelligence and his rebelliousness. Much like The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes did with Coriolanus Snow, it will be interesting to see how Haymitch’s experiences during the Games shape him into the person Katniss and Peeta meet.
9 Who Was Haymitch’s Girlfriend?
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Haymitch’s girlfriend is only mentioned once in the Hunger Games trilogy. |
Haymitch lost not only his mother and brother after the Games but his girlfriend as well, but Katniss and, by extension, readers never even learn her name. This has led to plenty of speculation about who Haymitch’s girlfriend might’ve been. While she couldn’t be someone fans know from the original Hunger Games trilogy or The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, she could still be connected to other pre-existing characters.
Over the years, fans have also theorized about whether Haymitch’s alliance with Maysilee could’ve run deeper than just a survival strategy. After all, Haymitch doesn’t specify how his girlfriend died, only that she and his family were all gone within weeks of his victory. That said, his grouping her with his family would suggest that she was killed at the same time rather than during the Games. The new Hunger Games book will likely set the record straight either way.
8 What Became of the Covey?
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The Covey was a group of traveling musicians who were eventually forced to settle in District 12. |
While The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes fleshed out a lot of Panem’s history, it still left plenty of unanswered questions, like what exactly happened to Lucy Gray Baird and her family, the Covey. Lucy Gray disappeared, but the rest of the Covey stayed behind in District 12. There’s no mention of them in the Hunger Games trilogy, but there’s a popular fan theory that Katniss could be descended from a Covey member, Maude Ivory.
Sunrise on the Reaping will take place 40 years later and might not deal directly with the Covey, but it might prove the theory correct if it includes and fleshes out one key character: Katniss’s father. Mr. Everdeen’s parentage is never revealed, but he’s known to have been a great singer, and he took Katniss to a lake much like the one the Covey frequented. Considering Mr. Everdeen’s future wife was friends with Maysilee, it wouldn’t be too surprising if he made an appearance as well.
7 Where Did the Mockingjay Pin Come From?
![Split image of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Sam Claflin in Hunger Games](https://www.todaysauthormagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/collage-maker-24-apr-2023-05-36-pm-7556.jpg)
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Rue decided to trust Katniss because of her Mockingjay pin. |
Another detail that didn’t make it into the Hunger Games movies is the history of the Mockingjay pin. In the book, Katniss’s iconic pin was a gift from her friend, Madge Undersee, who said it belonged to her aunt. Madge’s aunt was later revealed to be Maysilee, though it’s unclear whether she wore the pin during the Games. While the pin’s history gives it extra meaning to Katniss, she never learns where Maysilee got the pin or what meaning it held for her.
As fans know, the Mockingjay was considered the living embodiment of the Capitol’s failure long before Katniss put on the pin. Maysilee isn’t in the story long enough for fans to learn what her beliefs were, but the fact that she was the Mockingjay pin’s original owner is quite telling. It might be too early to set the wheels in motion for the Second Rebellion, but that doesn’t mean there was no resistance before then.
6 Who Was Haymitch’s Mentor?
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Haymitch mentored 46 tributes before Katniss and Peeta, none of whom survived the Games. |
Since victors had taken over as the tributes’ mentors by Katniss’s time, fans were left wondering who mentored Haymitch during his Games. Some may have initially assumed that District 12’s mysterious first victor did so, but Lucy Gray’s disappearance at the end of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes rules her out. With the prequel also revealing the first mentors were Capitol students, someone was likely appointed to mentor Haymitch and the other tributes, but who is anyone’s guess.
Haymitch’s mentor will probably be a new character, but it’s still too early to eliminate the possibility that it could be a familiar face. For instance, a young Plutarch Heavensbee could’ve been just getting his start behind the scenes and working as a mentor for a district with poor odds. Alternatively, Haymitch could’ve gotten stuck with someone far less competent, but fans will have to wait for the book’s release to know for sure.
5 What Was Tigris Snow Up To?
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Like Coriolanus, Tigris was orphaned at a young age and taken in by her grandmother. |
One of the biggest lingering questions after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was how Coriolanus’s beloved cousin, Tigris, went from his closest friend to an all-out rebel. Fans know that she became a stylist for the Games and later had a shop in the Capitol, where she stayed during the Second Rebellion, but 65 years between appearances leaves quite a large gap in her story. Many are also curious about her drastic physical transformation.
Given Sunrise on the Reaping‘s place on the Hunger Games timeline, it’s quite possible that fans will get to see her work as a stylist. After all, Katniss remembers her from earlier Games, so it seems she had a lengthy career before she joined Plutarch’s underground movement. As such, Tigris might not have turned on her cousin yet, but perhaps she’ll start to become more aware of Coriolanus’s true nature if she appears in the new book.
4 What Was President Snow Doing?
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![The Hunger Games The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes](https://www.todaysauthormagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-hunger-games-the-ballad-of-songbirds-and-snakes-custom-image-2.jpg)
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After his time as a Peacekeeper in District 12, Coriolanus became an apprentice Gamemaker. |
Although fans already saw his villainous turn in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, many fans were left wondering if they might see more of Coriolanus Snow’s story. Much like Tigris, 64 years is quite a while between appearances, but fans do know a bit more about what he was up to. According to Katniss, Snow was president during the second Quarter Quell, making his inclusion in the new book highly likely.
Fans don’t know exactly when Snow became president, but Finnick Odair says in Mockingjay that Snow was still a young man when he rose to power. He then held onto his position by poisoning anyone who might become a threat to his regime. Since The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes ends with his first poisoning, Snow may have already been president for a while when the new book picks up. Readers will surely be interested to see this stage in his evil evolution.
3 Why Was Haymitch’s Family Really Killed?
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Aside from Haymitch, Johanna Mason is another victor with no living family members, but she never says what happened to them. |
Readers already know that President Snow had Haymitch’s family killed as punishment for his use of the force field, which made the Capitol look bad, but some can’t help but wonder if there was another reason. After all, Katniss’s stunt with the berries was arguably worse, yet Snow never delivered on his threat to kill her family. That said, Katniss’s family was quite popular in the Capitol, so Snow couldn’t risk killing them without losing support.
In Catching Fire, it’s also explained that the tributes’ families are interviewed while they’re in the arena, a practice that could’ve been in place when Haymitch won. If that were the case, it makes Snow’s decision to have his family killed even more puzzling, as audiences would surely have seen and grown attached to the Abernathys and questioned their sudden deaths. Hopefully, Sunrise on the Reaping will shed some light on the situation.
2 What Was Life Actually Like for Victors After the Hunger Games?
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All of District 12’s victors bent or broke the rules to win their Hunger Games. |
Depending on the amount of time it covers, Sunrise on the Reaping could explore something that’s only briefly touched upon in the original Hunger Games trilogy: what life is truly like as a victor. Much like previous installments, the new novel will begin on reaping day and presumably focus on the events of the 50th Games. However, much like The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the story could also continue into Haymitch’s life afterward.
Haymitch explains in Mockingjay that as awful as it was to lose his family, it also left Snow with no one to use against him. He was used as an example to other victors of what would happen if they stepped out of line, allowing Snow to control them. Although he didn’t have anyone else in District 12, Haymitch did have 23 years to become acquainted with the other victors, which could make for quite an interesting subject in the prequel.
1 When Did Haymitch Become a Rebel?
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Plutarch Heavensbee warns Katniss about the 75th Games’ clock arena months before she learns she’ll be going back into the arena for the third Quarter Quell. |
He may have had a rebellious spirit when he was young, but Haymitch seemed pretty resigned to his fate when Katniss met him in The Hunger Games. Even so, he took Katniss by surprise when it was revealed that he had been conspiring with Plutarch to break her out of the arena in Catching Fire. Of course, this seemingly sudden turn was probably a long time coming, leading fans to wonder when Haymitch officially joined the rebellion.
Considering everything he went through, it’s not difficult to discern why Haymitch appeared to have lost all hope before he met Katniss and Peeta. Along with delving into the lives of victors, Sunrise on the Reaping has the opportunity to dive into Haymitch’s journey to rebellion if it depicts what happened after the Games. While it seems logical to assume that Haymitch changed after the 74th Games, for all fans know, this change could’ve started a lot earlier.
![Katniss stands facing posters of her and Peeta with the Mockingjay symbol on fire in the center in The Hunger Games First Film Poster](https://www.todaysauthormagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-hunger-games-first-film-poster.jpg)
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games franchise shows a dystopian future where teens are forced to battle to the death for the amusement of the wealthy. Everything changes when Katniss Everdeen volunteers in place of her sister, Primrose.
- Created by
- Suzanne Collins
- First Film
- The Hunger Games
- Cast
- Jennifer Lawrence , Josh Hutcherson , Liam Hemsworth , Woody Harrelson , Elizabeth Banks , Amandla Stenberg , Rachel Zegler , Tom Blyth , Viola Davis
- Where to Stream
- Peacock , Fubo TV , Philo