Sunrise on the Reaping (2025) is a young adult dystopian novel by Suzanne Collins, the fifth entry in the bestselling Hunger Games series. Sunrise on the Reaping is a prequel to The Hunger Games, set in the fictional totalitarian state of Panem, 40 years after Collins’s 2020 prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Sunrise on the Reaping tells the story of a young Haymitch Abernathy, who features prominently in the original trilogy as series protagonist Katniss Everdeen’s mentor. At 16, Haymitch is reaped into the 50th annual Hunger Games and takes part in a plot to sabotage the Games. 

Collins has stated that Sunrise on the Reaping was partially inspired by philosopher David Hume’s concept of implicit submission, which refers to the way a small group of people controls a majority. This concept features prominently throughout the novel. Through Haymitch’s story, Collins explores the importance of resistance, the power of propaganda, and the methods of control governments use to keep their citizens in line. The Hunger Games has been praised for its unflinching yet sensitive portrayal of war, oppression, and trauma for a young adult audience. Each previous Hunger Games novel has received a feature film adaptation.

This guide uses the 2025 Scholastic Press e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of graphic violence and death, substance abuse, sexual assault, and death by suicide.

Plot Summary

Haymitch Abernathy lives with his widowed mother and little brother Sid in District 12, the most impoverished of the 13 districts that make up Panem. The districts are ruled by the Capitol, with Capitol police officers known as Peacekeepers stationed in each district to enforce the status quo. After a failed rebellion 50 years prior, two children from each district, one girl and one boy, are selected each year to compete in the Hunger Games, a televised competition in which they must fight to the death until only one remains.

Sunrise on the Reaping opens on the morning of Haymitch’s 16th birthday, which coincides with the reaping for the second Quarter Quell. For this year’s game, twice as many tributes from each district will be reaped.

Haymitch briefly visits his girlfriend, Lenore Dove, an outspoken young woman who raises a flock of geese in a nearby meadow. They discuss the reaping—while Haymitch views it as inevitable, Lenore believes that the districts will one day be liberated.

Haymitch stops in town to buy Lenore a bag of candy before heading to the reaping stage. Drusilla Sickle, an escort from the Capitol, reads the names of the selected tributes: Louella McCoy, Maysilee Donner, Wyatt Callow, and Woodbine Chance. Louella is a childhood friend of Haymitch’s, while Maysilee Donner hails from the wealthy Donner family and is known for being conceited. Woodbine runs when his name is called and is shot dead by a Peacekeeper. When Haymitch pulls a Peacekeeper off of Lenore in the ensuing chaos, he is selected as Woodbine’s replacement.

The District 12 tributes are transported to the Capitol, where they commence preparation for the Games. Initially dismissed as long shots, they manage to endear themselves to audiences by playing up the angle of scrappy underdogs. During the Tribute Parade, Louella is killed in a chariot collision caused by the Capitol’s negligence. President Snow swiftly has her replaced with a drugged and brainwashed body double, nicknamed “Lou Lou” by the other tributes.

Haymitch is approached by Beetee Lanier, a previous victor from District 3. Beetee’s son, Ampert, has been reaped into the Games as punishment for Beetee’s subversive acts against the Capitol. Beetee recruits Haymitch into a plot to sabotage the arena by blowing up a reservoir located on Sub-A, a subterranean floor beneath the arena. Beetee has constructed several hidden explosives, concealing their parts in “tokens,” sentimental items that tributes are allowed to take into the arena.



Haymitch joins an alliance with Ampert to oppose the well-trained Careers tributes who hail from the wealthier districts. Plutarch Heavensbee, a Capitol cameraman, reveals himself to be in on the sabotage plot. In order to win Haymitch’s trust, Plutarch arranges a covert phone call with Lenore Dove, who has been imprisoned on a Peacekeeper base after performing forbidden songs in the town square.

The tributes are transported to the arena, and the Games commence. Though the arena is visually beautiful, nearly everything in it is poisonous. Haymitch abandons his alliance to search for an entrance to Sub-A. He is briefly joined by Lou Lou, who is killed after inhaling pollen from poisonous flowers. Haymitch makes his way north, eventually locating a hatch that connects to Sub-A. Ampert joins him, and they assemble an explosive. Haymitch successfully blows up the reservoir, but the resultant flood fails to shut down the arena. Ampert is killed by carnivorous mutts (genetically engineered creatures created by the Capitol), leaving Haymitch alone once again.

Haymitch explores the perimeter of the arena, searching for a flaw in the armor. When he is attacked by the Careers, Maysilee appears to save him, and they ally with one another. They eventually discover the end of the arena, which houses a generator protected by a reflective force field. Haymitch decides that his final act of resistance will be dying outside of the arena. He and Maysilee split up as she heads back into the arena, but when he hears her scream, he runs to her in time to witness her being killed by a mutt.

Haymitch briefly teams up with Wellie, the final member of the Newcomers alliance, but is unable to protect her from being killed by Silka, the last remaining Career. During the final showdown, Haymitch runs back to the edge of the arena, where Silka throws her ax at him and misses. The ax rebounds off the force field and kills her. Certain that he will die at any moment, Haymitch throws the final explosive over the cliff before losing consciousness.

Haymitch wakes up in the Capitol, where he is confined in an empty apartment and psychologically tortured for days. He is then sent on a victory tour, forced to attend interviews and parties in the Capitol. The Gamemakers air a heavily edited version of the game, obscuring all signs of rebellion. When Haymitch returns to District 12, he finds his family home on fire with his mother and brother inside.

Lenore Dove is released from prison, and she and Haymitch enjoy a short-lived reunion before Haymitch accidentally feeds her poisoned candy planted by Snow. Lenore dies in his arms, urging him to bring a stop to the Hunger Games. Haunted by grief and guilt, Haymitch begins drinking heavily and retreats into isolation, living alone in the Victor’s Village. He is confronted by Plutarch, who urges him not to give up, reminding him that they are just one part of a movement that may take generations to succeed. As District 12’s only living victor, Haymitch will henceforth be required to mentor the district’s future tributes.

The novel’s Epilogue takes place after the events of Mockingjay. Led by Katniss Everdeen, the rebels have overthrown the Capitol government, and Panem has been refashioned into a democracy. Though he knows he may not have long to live, Haymitch is content. He has made progress toward processing his trauma by opening up to Katniss and Peeta, sharing the truth about his past. In Lenore’s honor, he is raising a flock of geese hatched from eggs gifted to him by Katniss and Peeta.