The first excerpt from the Hunger Games book is set during the fiftieth Hunger Games, also known as the second Quarter Quell. Every Quarter Quell comes with a brutal twist, and for these Games, the twist is that the number of tributes is doubled. This means that there are 4 tributes from the reaping in each District and that there are 48 tributes in total.

It is established in the existing books that District 12's Haymitch Abernathy is the Sunrise on the Reaping novel release is set for March 18, 2025, while a movie adaptation is slated to release in 2026. People has released an excerpt from Sunrise on the Reaping's first chapter that features numerous reveals and clues about what is to come in Haymitch's prequel story.

What Happens In The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping Excerpt

Haymitch's Mind Is Elsewhere The Morning Of The Reaping

The Sunrise on the Reaping excerpt from the novel's first chapter is true to its name, as it takes place on the morning of the reaping of the second Quarter Quell. After sleeping in later than usual, a 16-year-old Haymitch wakes up and begins preparing for the day ahead of him. He hopes to finish his work so he can spend his time the way he wants before the reaping ceremony. While Haymitch tries to focus on this, he is inevitably distracted by the fear of being one of the four names that will be drawn later that day.

Haymitch's plans are already derailed by his mother asking him to fill the cistern, which is at least a two-hour job. Hiding his frustration, Haymitch agrees to fill the cistern in the afternoon, after the reaping ceremony. Even though he tries to convince himself that the odds of being picked are low, and that the Capitol wins by him worrying, it is difficult to think of anything but the worst-case scenario that the reader already knows will come true.

Everything We Learn About Haymitch Abernathy From Sunrise On The Reaping's First Chapter

He Has A Girlfriend And Grows Up In The Seam

Haymitch gets to sleep in because it is his birthday, but this is little comfort with it being the same day as the reaping. What Haymitch wants to do is to spend time with his love interest, Lenore Dove, which he worries he will be unable to do between his chores and the reaping. Haymitch's father is revealed to have died in a coal mine fire, leaving Haymitch's mother a young widow, who is only 35 in Sunrise on the Reaping. She has raised Haymitch, and his 10-year-old brother Sid, in the Seam, which is District 12’s poorest area.

At 16 years old, Haymitch is in some ways a traditional teenager, who thinks to himself that his favorite things are wasting time and being with Lenore, but he is also used to living through hardship and needing to be resourceful.

Haymitch's mother takes in as much laundry as she can in order to the family. She has also helped the family survive by being frugal, from turning a flour sack into shorts to using hardwood ashes to make lye soap. At 16 years old, Haymitch is in some ways a traditional teenager, who thinks to himself that his favorite things are wasting time and being with Lenore, but he is also used to living through hardship and needing to be resourceful.

The Hunger Games Prequel's Excerpt Is Already Setting Up The Book's Biggest Tragedies

Haymitch's Loved Ones And Fellow Tributes Will Die

Not only is it established that Haymitch wins the second Quarter Quell, but it is known that he loses everyone he cares about in the aftermath of the fiftieth Hunger Games. President Coriolanus Snow kills Haymitch's loved ones as punishment for manipulating the arena's force field to win, which Snow sees as a mockery of the Hunger Games and of the Capitol. Sunrise on the Reaping is already setting up this tragedy by introducing and fleshing out Haymitch's mother, Sid, and Lenore. Instead of the novel concluding with Haymitch's victory, the ending will likely feature the deaths of Haymitch's loved ones.

President Snow often tormented the Hunger Games winners after their victories.

Their demises will be more devastating after getting to know their characters and after seeing how much each of them means to Haymitch. Prior to the excerpt, there are also mentions of the three District 12 tributes whose names will be drawn alongside Haymitch, although they have not been named yet. Haymitch will have the added pain of experiencing not one, but three of his District 12 tributes dying. The seeds are being planted to transform Haymitch into the listless and inebriated mentor Katniss Everdeen meets in The Hunger Games.

How Sunrise On The Reaping Draws Connections Between Katniss' & Haymitch's Stories

Haymitch's Connection To Katniss Is Even Clearer Now

Haymitch clearly sees more of himself in Katniss than he does in Peeta Mellark, and it is already easy to see why in Sunrise on the Reaping's opening excerpt. Haymitch and Katniss both grow up in the Seam with a single mother and a younger sibling. Their fathers died due to coal mine-related incidents, just as the dangerous industry has claimed the lives of too many in District 12. Hardship and living with limited resources is not an entirely new experience for Haymitch and Katniss, as it is all they have known while growing up in the Seam.

Another major parallel is the dynamic between Haymitch and Katniss and their younger siblings. Katniss and her sister, Primrose Everdeen, are shown to be incredibly close and their bond becomes tragic, between Katniss volunteering to take Prim's place in the Hunger Games and Prim dying in Mockingjay's ending. Sid eagerly waking Haymitch up, wishing him a happy birthday, and Haymitch playfully throwing Sid back into his bed demonstrates their positive sibling dynamic. Their relationship is also doomed to end in tragedy, with Sid dying shortly after Haymitch wins the second Quarter Quell.

Haymitch's thoughts at the end of the excerpt are also reminiscent of Katniss' refusal to let the Capitol win in any way. Just as Katniss resists being nothing but a piece in the Hunger Games, Haymitch resists panicking about his name being drawn during the reaping, as even understandable panic means the Capitol has too much control over him. Unfortunately, Sunrise on the Reaping will see President Snow and the Capitol destroying everything and everyone Haymitch loves. It is not until more than two decades later, with Katniss in The Hunger Games, that Haymitch is able to fully fight back.

Source: People