The newest installment of The Hunger Games franchise, Sunrise on the Reaping, just released it’s official book cover with the first details of what fans should expect surrounding the events of the 50th Hunger Games — the second Quarter Quell. Releasing on March 25th, 2025, Sunrise on the Reaping will explore the life of a young Haymitch Abernathy, as he prepares for the morning’s reaping ceremony that will send twice the amount of tributes into the special anniversary games. An official quote from the new novel reveals the inner turmoil younger Haymitch faces as he prepares for his new unexpected reality, “They will not use my tears for their entertainment.” (https://x.com/TheHungerGames)
Following a similar concept to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, this new cover intertwines the complex themes between snakes and birds, hinting at the idea of the capitol and districts facing up against one another in Sunrise on the Reaping. However unlike the cover of, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, rather than the snake and bird being separate identities joined together via a tree branch, this new cover illustrates how these two forces are combined together going head to head, connected together by sharing the same body. This could suggest a plethora of motifs within the novel, which leaves many of us wondering what the cover is ultimately suggesting. Could President Snow be Haymitch’s new mentor? Are the snake and bird suggestive of the 50th games conclusion where Haymitch and the District 1 female go head to head as the last two remaining tributes in the games? We won’t really know the answer until more information is revealed as we anticipate the release of Sunrise on the Reaping next year.
Until then, a new synopsis of the novel has been released by Scholastic in a statement that reads, “Sunrise on the Reaping will revisit the world of Panem twenty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.
As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves. When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.” (https://mediaroom.scholastic.com/press-release/scholastic-reveals-cover-new-book-worldwide-bestselling-hunger-games-series-suzanne-co)
The excitement and anticipation continues to escalate for us fans, as this specific novel is something many of us have craved so desperately from Suzanne Collins- the genius author of the series. It is not only an honor she is revisiting the franchise, but almost a love letter to us fans who have been so supportive of the overall themes, characters, and stories presented to us in the Hunger Games over all these years. Although this novel has been requested for so long, Suzanne would not have even entertained the idea of revisiting this story unless she had something to say to the world through her new writing. Collins certainly knows how to start a conversation through her work, so it will be interesting to see what themes she presents to readers and what parallels we will be able to develop from the novel into our own society as a whole. So what are you looking forward to about the newest Hunger Games story? Leave a comment below as we await the release date of the novel on March 25th, 2025 — with the announced film of the book releasing November 20, 2026 for Sunrise on the Reaping.