The internet goes into a frenzy every time a new cast member is announced and there’s a way to find out about Haymitch’s games, in Sunrise on the Reaping, for free
Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping was launched earlier this year and has brought the topic of the franchise back to centre stage online. The book follows Haymitch’s game, the Second Quarter Quell, where twice as many tributes were reaped.
While the book has been a smash hit, it’s the franchise’s Instagram account that’s sending fans into a frenzy every time a new casting is announced. Joseph Zada, who is currently starring in Prime’s We Were Liars, has taken on the role of Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch Abernathy and there’s been enough stars cast that fans online have been questioning the budget.
While some characters, like Elle Fanning’s Effie Trinket, Ralph Fiennes’ President Snow and Kieran Culkin’s Caesar Flickerman, are returning from the original trilogy, there are many who are new. Readers have been tight lipped on why there appear to be five tributes from District 12 with Wyatt, Maysilee, Haymitch, Louella and Lou Lou and why squirrels seem to be setting off the waterworks.
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For those who want to know what happen before the November 20, 2026 movie release date, there’s actually away to get the entire book for free. Audible is offering a three month free trial where subscribers can listen to the latest Hunger Games book for free.
There are other audiobook services on the model, Spotify gives their subscribers a set number of hours to read each month while BookBeat gives 20 hours for £6.99 a month. The book is also available to buy from retailers like Amazon and WH Smith.
Sunrise on the Reaping
£13.99
free
Amazon
Buy Now on Amazon
This prequel follows Haymitch Abernathy
Our resident bookworm has listened to the Audible audiobook of the latest Suzanne Collins hit and said: “This is easily one of the best books of the year, Collins has knocked it out of the park again. I’ve read it twice, first as an audiobook where I got all the pronunciations down and again as a hardcover when all of the castings were announced. Although we know how his games end, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.
“The series was already brutal but Collins holds back nothing in this one. Every chapter is more harrowing than the last and months after first reading it, I still can’t look at squirrels the same way. I anticipate the film will do an incredible job but for fans looking to avoid spoilers and to understand why it’s sent the internet into a frenzy before next November I’d strongly recommend reading this one.”
The free trial comes with a total of three credits across three months, meaning that readers can snap up The Hunger Games and Catching Fire as well before paying for Mockingjay. There’s an additional prequel with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes also up for grabs.
The book itself has a very strong 4.7 out of 60,401 reviews on Amazon. One reviewer said: “I couldn’t put it down, it’s an absolutely phenomenal work from Suzanne Collins; the symbolism is spectacular, the character voice is unbelievably clear – she’s made Haymitch simultaneously stand out more than ever; while staying true to him as we saw in the trilogy and as a mirror of Katniss.
“The themes and motifs are incredible – it’s kept the mythological depth of the series going and brought its own themes to the table, to the point where it’s in my opinion surpassed its predecessor books.”
However, a less impressed reader wrote: “I struggle to get into this. Song verses were overused, and it was so tragic, but I suppose it explains why Haymitch was as he is in the Mockingjay trilogy. It was also satisfying to get some backstory on other survivors. But it feels like something is missing, and the arena concept while fascinating, never really took off for me this time.”
Following the three month free trial it will cost subscribers £8.99 a month to maintain their Audible subscription, with there also being access to a Plus Catalogue giving readers the chance to read a massive range of books at no extra cost.