Sunrise on the Reaping
Set 24 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered, Sunrise on the Reaping follows 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy through the 50th Hunger Games. The Second Quarter Quell doubles the tribute count to 48 children, twice the usual horror, and Haymitch is reaped into an arena where rebel plots, sabotaged broadcasts, and unlikely cross-District alliances run beneath the surface of the Capitol's spectacle. Collins draws on David Hume's idea of "implicit submission" to ask how the many are governed by the few, and the prequel reframes the canon by showing the propaganda machine behind every one of the original trilogy's most familiar beats.
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What you might want to know about Sunrise on the Reaping
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy is reaped into the 50th Hunger Games, a 48-tribute Quarter Quell, in this 2025 Hunger Games prequel from Suzanne Collins.
Sunrise on the Reaping (2025) is the second prequel novel in The Hunger Games series, set 24 years before the original trilogy. It follows the 50th Hunger Games (the Second Quarter Quell) and a young Haymitch Abernathy.
Reading the original trilogy and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes adds context, but Sunrise on the Reaping is structured to work for new readers as well as longtime fans.
Sunrise on the Reaping was written by Suzanne Collins, published in 2025 by Scholastic.
Sunrise on the Reaping is 382 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Sunrise on the Reaping takes most readers 6 to 8 hours to finish.
Sunrise on the Reaping is a standalone novel by Suzanne Collins, not part of a series.
Sunrise on the Reaping is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.