This past March, the Hunger Games prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, was released. Fans of the series have been anticipating this story because it further delves into the backstory of Haymitch Abernathy, one of the main characters in the original series.
“This is Haymitch’s backstory from the time he was reaped into the Hunger Games,” BHS librarian Mrs. Smith explained. “As we learned throughout the other books, he’s a flawed character.”
Originally, the Hunger Games series was released in the early 2000s, though with some controversy.
Mrs. Smith clarified, “When The Hunger Games was published in 2008, it caused quite a stir because essentially, the book is about children forced to kill other children and the contest is watched by the entire country for sport. Since its publication, The Hunger Games is consistently on a list of frequently challenged books as being inappropriate in school and public libraries.”
The book’s author, Suzanne Collins, released the book five years after the release of her other Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
“Online, people say that Suzanne Collins writes books when she has a critique about modern day society and government. I am curious to see what exactly she has to say now about modern times, and how she incorporates it into the series,” explained junior Julia Devane, a fan of The Hunger Games series.
Seeing as Haymitch is one of the original and most loved characters in the series, fans are excited to finally receive his backstory.
“I have not yet read it, but I am very much looking forward to doing so. It is exciting to hear more about this dystopian universe and prequels are such an interesting story building technique,” Julia continued.
Mrs. Smith shared, “I spent much of my weekend reading [it] while I should have been hanging out with my family!”
