When a writer announces a prequel to a beloved and well-established series, many fans brace themselves, worried that the new novels will destroy their perceptions of their favourite characters.
Suzanne Collins already showed audiences they had nothing to fear with the first prequel to The Hunger Games series, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which focused on the evil president of the Capitol, Coriolanus Snow.
Her newest prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, centres on a character that many people may not have thought about much: Haymitch Abernathy.
In the original series, we learn that Haymitch is an alcoholic who won the competition 24 years earlier. Since he is the only living victor from District 12, he is automatically the mentor for heroine Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mallark as they prepare for the Games. Haymitch is a tragic character burdened by addiction and grief. He clearly cares about his tributes but has trouble expressing these emotions.
Sunrise on the Reaping takes us back to the 50th Hunger Games. To mark the occasion, the Capitol has decided that each of Panem’s 12 districts will send double the number of tributes as usual, meaning the number of competitors will soar from 24 to 48. Although 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy initially escapes the reaping – which happens to take place on his birthday – he is sent as a way to cover up another tribute’s fatal attempt to escape.
With the odds stacked against him, Haymitch is certain he will never return home to his mother, his little brother, Sid, and his girlfriend Lenore Dove. Since he has already accepted his fate, he agrees to take part in a plan to sabotage the arena and take a bold stance against the Capitol.
Since Sunrise on the Reaping is a prequel, we know what happens to Haymitch. But knowing how the story ends doesn’t distract the reader; in fact, this knowledge comes in handy, letting you see the connections between the events of the novel and Katniss’ story 24 years later.
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We get a glimpse of characters who will become more important later on, such as Plutarch Heavensbee and Effie Trinket. In the prequel, Plutarch is a Capitol cameraman filming the District 12 tributes, while Effie is the sister of the woman assigned to style Haymitch for his interviews before the Games.
We can already see hints of Plutarch’s sense of rebellion, but while Effie shows moments of compassion for Haymitch, she seems brainwashed by the Capitol’s propaganda. Knowing the part they will eventually play in the rebellion makes you all the more interested in seeing what happened between the 50th and 74th Games.
A few of the book’s themes connect to modern life, such as the deliberate spread of misinformation and the erasure of history – concerns that have recently dominated the news since the start of US President Donald Trump’s second term.
We see this in the way the Capitol selectively edits footage from the Games and scrubs inconvenient facts from the record; for instance, there is almost no existing footage of Lucy Grey, the victor of the 10th Hunger Games – who you may remember from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
In addition, although some of the deaths feel particularly gruesome, even for The Hunger Games, it’s not violence for violence’s sake; it’s a commentary on the brutality of the situation and how the public consumes it.
One thing that’s obvious from the prequels is that Collins isn’t writing them as a cash grab; she’s truly invested in what she has created and is giving it more depth. Sunrise on the Reaping is a reward for The Hunger Games series fans, and it looks like the film will follow suit.
Many have praised the production’s casting choices, with Joseph Zada as Haymitch and Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove, as well as Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket and Kieran Culkin as the Hunger Games host, Caesar Flickerman. There’s no doubt that this strong cast will do an excellent job of bringing the tragic tale of Haymitch Abernathy to the screen.
