Does Sunrise on the Reaping stand up against the other Hunger Games books?

For CBC Books producers Bridget Raymundo and Trevor Carter, reading the Hunger Games trilogy and watching the movies was a rite of passage. They loved it as teenagers and they kept their fandom alive into adulthood.

Naturally, they were excited when a new book in the series was released last month.

Sunrise on the Reaping is the latest instalment in the Hunger Games series. It’s a prequel to the dystopian world of Suzanne Collin’s original series, which first came out in 2008.

Raymundo and Carter joined Antonio Michael Downing on The Next Chapter to talk about the new book and their love of the Hunger Games. 

Antonio Michael Downing: The Hunger Games obviously presents a massive world, many characters, many situations. What is the world of The Hunger Games?

Bridget Raymundo: It’s really Gladiator for kids. You take 24 kids from different districts in this post-apocalyptic, dystopian world of Panem.

In response to the war and rebelling in this world, two children between the ages of 12 and 18 are drafted for the annual Hunger Games — which are gladiator-style games where all these children fight to the death until there’s one remaining victor.

Can you take us back to when you first encountered these books and what you felt?

BR: I think I first read it probably in 2010. Because in 2008 I was ten. So I came to the series pretty early — before the first movie came out — and it was one of the first books that really got me into reading. 

It was really accessible and fun to read. All of the hero protagonists were usually male at the time that I was growing up. And this was really the first book where I saw a girl as the lead protagonist. 

She’s such a complex and rich character.

All of the hero protagonists were usually male at the time that I was growing up. And this was really the first book where I saw a girl as the lead protagonist.– Bridget Raymundo

Trevor Carter: I found it a little bit after Bridget. So when the movies came out and the mania really hit, I’d say that’s when it found its way to me. 

I went and I saw it with a couple of my cousins at this tiny little theatre in Victoria and we sat there and we’re like, “What are we watching right now?” 

It was awesome but we were also terrified.

I remember after that everyone in my neighbourhood was watching it. And I was fortunate enough to grow up with a lot of kids around my age in the area and and we put on this little neighbourhood Hunger Games in a nearby forest.

These were kids that were normally playing soccer and hockey and baseball at recess — that was more what I was into at the time. And here we are just like so invested in this book.

So Trevor, I’ll give you the responsibility and pleasure of telling us what is the new book Sunrise on the Reaping about?

TC: Sunrise on the Reaping is about Haymitch Abernathy, who in the first book and movie were introduced to as the mentor for District 12. He’s a previous winner of his Hunger Games and all we really know is that he’s a tormented soul he has this great sense of humour but that’s kind of all we really know.

This book is about unpacking why Haymitch is the way he is and the story of his Hunger Games. This book is so fleshed out and there’s so many layers to it.

BR: I think it was also really interesting because this game is Quarter Quell, which is every 25 years they do something different and even more horrifying. And this game, it was double the tributes.

So in any other Hunger Games, it’s 24 tributes — this game it’s 48.

I think that that was the interesting point that people were like, I want to read that. I want to see what his mindset was like and how we got who he is now. Because yes, he’s a really lovable character, but he’s so troubled. You knew this guy’s been through something.

This book is about unpacking why Haymitch is the way he is and the story of his Hunger Games.– Trevor Carter

One of the really touching things about this book was seeing how inherent his need to care for people, to look after people is.

It’s just a core value of who Haymitch is. He takes care of the other tributes from District 12, and then he takes in other people that he’s eventually supposed to fight to the death, right?

But he’s like, “These are my people now, and I want to care for them.” And that was really emotional and sweet to see because that’s what he does in the main series as well.

You are now young adults and you’re coming back to this. What what were your expectations coming back to this world?

TC: It’s almost just like integrated into my brain and the fact that I had that Suzanne built this world for us, this book was just about elaborating on that and revealing some more of those layers. 

I honestly think that that might be what I enjoyed the most — was all the Easter eggs that were tucked in that connected to a book that is three away in the series.

I honestly think that that might be what I enjoyed the most — was all the Easter eggs that were tucked in that connected to a book that is three away in the series.– Trevor Carter

So you’re learning about someone’s relative who is name dropped once in Mockingjay and just how she is able to tie it all together, it was really enjoyable.

What are the themes in Sunrise on the Reaping?

BR: So I really think I wanted to count how many times the word propaganda was used in this book. And that’s how I can discern that, “Oh, Suzanne’s still writing for that younger audience to teach them something about our world.” Because it was really clear to me. I mean, we start with a quote from George Orwell’s 1984.

It was really clear to me that she wanted to signal how the media shows things to you, how you can interpret it.

What I think she was trying to hone in on is, is these are the, the signals of propaganda that you can notice in your daily life.– Bridget Raymundo

And for Haymitch, you’re in this world and you know that you’re constantly being watched. You’re fighting for your life, you’re surviving.

But you can also like look up into the sky and talk to this omniscient force and know that someone’s listening.

And so that’s what I think she was trying to hone in on is, is these are the, the signals of propaganda that you can notice in your daily life.

This book has sold more in its first week than any other title in the series so far. Do you think that this is a gateway to a whole new generation of kids enjoying Hunger Games?

TC: I would say a big part of it is that nostalgia. But I’m hoping that even beyond Hunger Games, it can open up a whole world of reading for teens, for preteens. Hopefully they’ll continue to do that for kids out there.

BR: I used to work as a children’s bookseller and this book was, I think people have talked about about it before, it’s a hard sell to parents. The kids want to read it but the parents are like nervous about it because it does involve so much death and hardship.

This series wouldn’t do as well if it wasn’t written as wonderfully as it is.– Bridget Raymundo

So I think part of it, this go around was the nostalgia. It was because it was a character that everyone really loved and wanted to know more about.

But I think it’s also just that this series wouldn’t do as well if it wasn’t written as wonderfully as it is — and if it didn’t incorporate all those things and all the characters that are the heart of this book.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.