‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ unveils the gruesome hidden history of Panem

Although the authoritarian regime of Panem came to a violent end in the 2010 novel “Mockingjay,” it’s no surprise that Hunger Games fans have always wanted more from the series. Luckily for them, author Suzanne Collins had much more to say about the dystopian country and its most prominent residents in the time following the Dark Days.

In 2020, Collins released the prequel novel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” which chronicled the early life of Coriolanus Snow, the future president of Panem, and his mentee in the Hunger Games, District 12’s Lucy Gray Baird. The novel was followed by a live-action film in 2023.

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” novel was a success, with over 3.5 million print copies circulated in the U.S. as of 2023. Thus it was no surprise when the fifth — and newest — novel in the franchise, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” drove the most sales of the series yet, selling over 1.5 million English copies within its first week.

The book — set 24 years before the original trilogy — is written from the perspective of Haymitch Abernathy, a 16-year-old living in District 12 who mentors Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark decades later.

Haymitch is forced into the Hunger Games after one of the original chosen tributes is killed while trying to escape the reaping. But Haymitch’s odds are bleak: Coming from the poor and disadvantaged District 12, he stands almost no chance of winning against the Career Tributes, or those who have trained for the Hunger Games since a young age. Dooming his chances even more, though, is the fact that this is the second “Quarter Quell” — a sadistic twist to the Hunger Games that occurs every 25 years.

In the 50th Hunger Games, each district is forced to send four tributes — two boys and two girls — rather than the traditional two. Alongside Haymitch, Louella McCoy, Wyatt Callow and Maysilee Donner are chosen to represent District 12. In these games, 48 children are virtually sentenced to death.

Haymitch — like the other three District 12 victors from past novels — takes the Hunger Games as a chance to protest the tyrannical rule of President Snow and the Capitol. Unfortunately, his efforts happen during the peak of Snow’s power, and Haymitch is forced to confront the wrath of a dictator who rules Panem with an iron fist and vows to eliminate every being that dares to defy his rule.

This portrayal is somehow an even darker and more sinister version of Snow compared to previous novels. Although readers know that the Capitol will not show mercy to anyone, “Sunrise on the Reaping” shows just how brutal the Snow regime is. 12-year-old Ampert is reaped into the games as a punishment for his father’s actions against the Capitol government. A young, unknown girl from District 11 — who is forced into the games part way through the book — is brainwashed and constantly pumped with medicine, potentially as punishment for her family’s rebellion. Snow will stop at nothing to maintain his power, Collins reveals. 

Alongside the infamous president of Panem, a slew of other familiar characters from “Catching Fire” make appearances throughout the novel. Mags Flanagan and Wiress serve as the District 12 tributes’ mentors, and Beetee Latier later makes an appearance during training, teaching the tributes how to harness the power of electricity while in the arena. Plutarch Heavensbee and Effie Trinket also appear as District 12’s assigned cameraman and stylist, respectively.

The 50th Hunger Games are more brutal than ever due to the generous use of “muttations” — genetically modified animals used by gamemakers to add another level of carnage to the games and entertain Capitol citizens. Ravenous squirrels devour children to the bone, blood-sucking ladybugs explode once filled and porcupines shoot poisonous quills to kill their victims: The horrors are endless in this Hunger Games arena.

As always, Collins places an emphasis on food throughout the book. Written from the perspective of a teenager experiencing food insecurity, the elaborate descriptions of Haymitch’s meals adds a level of real-worldliness to the story. Throughout the novel, Haymitch devours cornbread doused in hot and sugary stewed plums, warm bowls of bean and ham hock soup and a breakfast spread of eggs, bacon, buttered toast with jam and crusty disks of potatoes. Collins’s talent in crafting these delectable meals makes even the most satiated readers hungry for more.

But it’s not the horrifying deaths, the muttations or the food that distinguish “Sunrise on the Reaping” from its predecessors. Rather, Collins uses Haymitch’s story to dive into the hidden history of Panem, previously unknown to readers of the original trilogy and lost except to those who lived it within this fictional world.

Both the characters and readers are aware of the Capitol’s extensive use of propaganda — termed “propo” in the books — to sway and control the minds of its citizens throughout the series. But “Sunrise on the Reaping” exposes just how strong Snow’s power over Panem is.

Many fans know how the book ends before reading the first page. Haymitch wins — obviously — and many of the major events in the novel’s finale were covered in the original trilogy. Yet, the conclusion still shocks the audience by divulging extensive details about Haymitch’s story through his point of view, exposing the cold-heartedness of Snow and the sheer power of Capitol propaganda. In the original trilogy, Collins — whether intentionally or not — has taken on the role of the Capitol, skillfully omitting details about the past and engineering a false story for readers to eagerly consume.

The power of propaganda is what motivated Collins to write in the first place. In a statement released by Scholastic, Collins stated that she “was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the easiness with which the many are governed by the few.’” “Sunrise on the Reaping” uses the government of Panem to showcase just how easy that governance may be: Citizens of Panem are either unknowingly disinformed or willingly ignorant of the atrocities unfolding in their country.

In the film adaptation of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” Lucy Gray retorts “I don’t sing when I’m told. I sing when I have something to say.” And maybe Collins has that same attitude about her writing. Maybe “The Hunger Games” series is not merely a work of fiction set in a dystopia inspired by historical and foreign regimes, but rather a reflection of our present world. As Collins herself said in the Scholastic statement, the newest novel “lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day.” 

A film adaptation of the novel is set to be released on Nov. 20, 2026.