The Right Way to Revisit 'The Hunger Games' Books Before 'Sunrise on the Reaping'

I love to say that The Hunger Games was the first “big girl book” I ever read, but it’s genuinely the truth. I vividly remember telling my mom that I wanted to start reading the series after seeing the book around my house. To this day, we don’t remember where it came from, as my parents had never read it, but lo and behold, it ended up in my hands. Like many readers, I've found it to be one of my favourite books of all time and the root of my love for dystopian stories. And because this is a safe space, I will admit I was Team Gale in my early years, but that’s probably because I didn’t love blondes. Hindsight is 20/20, and I firmly remain on Team Peeta.

Years and years later, we are revisiting the world once again, and I could not be happier. Just last week, the trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping dropped, and with 12 million views on YouTube alone, this movie is set to garner crazy numbers. The chills I got watching the trailer for the very first time was unlike any other movie. I’m so amazed by the vibrant colour of the films, combined with the characters I know and love so much. They also delivered direct lines from the books, and all I could think was, “Oh, we are so back.”

And so, after watching the trailer, you might be wondering if you should read or re-read the books… You might be wondering which order to read them in. Well, that’s what I’m here for and exactly what we’re diving into today!

While some might immediately jump to read the books in order of characters and timelines, starting with A Ballad of Songbird and Snakes and ending with Mockingjay, there’s an easier way to understand the world. Whether you’re reading for the first time or doing a re-read, the original trilogy is the best starting point.

Originally published in 2008, The Hunger Games does an excellent job of depicting the dystopian world in which its characters live. More importantly, it lays out what the games are and how they work. The core of these books comes down to The Hunger Games itself, and getting the foundational knowledge of how it runs is key. You’re experiencing Panem exactly like Katniss in a world where the games have been ongoing for 74 years now. For the best emotional reading experience, this is the best place to start because you feel everything Katniss feels; you’re angry, exhausted, tired, hungry, and ready for change.

Catching Fire is another crucial read because it brings readers through a Quarter Quell game. Occurring every 25 years, a Quarter Quell is a special edition of the games with different rules:

• The 25th Hunger Games involved districts voting for their tributes instead of the regular randomized drawing of names

• The 50th Hunger Games was Haymitch’s games and doubled the tributes from each district, making a total of 48 children in the arena

• The 75th Hunger Games was Katniss and Peeta’s second game due to tributes being chosen from the existing pool of tributes.

Catching Fire once again lays out the foundation for the games, but also introduces us to so many characters we will see in Haymitch’s games. Since the 75th games are existing tributes, we meet a cast of people whom Haymitch knew growing up — including Wiress, Beetee, and Mags. Mags and Wiress are both tributes from different districts in Catching Fire, but act as District 12’s mentors in Sunrise on the Reaping. The recent trailer gives us a glimpse into these characters, and my main takeaway is that the casting directors deserve a gigantic raise. Maya Hawke as Wiress and Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket are two of the best casts in any adaptation I’ve seen in a long time. They embody the same energy and expressions I imagined their younger versions to have, and I’m simply in awe. Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee is another one for the books—absolutely incredible.

While Mockingjay wasn’t my favourite of the books, it’s still an integral book. It shows the impact of the games and the rebellion on a much deeper and emotional level. This book is dark, and it’s meant to be. While the trilogy mainly follows Katniss, Haymitch’s story is still very much present in this book.

Once you’ve read the trilogy, it’s time to dive back to the very beginning with A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The Hunger Games shows readers a so-called perfect version of the Games, but we also need to witness them as they’re still figuring it out. A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows Coriolanus Snow as he’s tasked with being a mentor for Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute from District 12. Despite the story following Snow, I think the biggest takeaway from this book is about the girl that the Capitol can’t control. Lucy Gray and Katniss share feel different on the surface, but ultimately create emotional disruption and expose the flaws in the system. This is why it’s so important to start with the trilogy because you can immediately start to see a pattern in A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The system that follows Lucy Gray is built because of her. Early on in the trailer for Sunrise on the Reaping, Haymitch and Snow are in conversation about Haymitch’s girlfriend, Lenore. Without reading A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, readers wouldn’t understand this conversation and the trauma that Lucy Gray, another girl from District 12, gave him.

A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes shows Snow’s earliest moments of learning how to control people. Sunrise on the Reaping shows how he uses it to his full advantage.

You could arguably say I’ve been waiting for this book since I was 11, when I was reading The Hunger Games. Right up there with Finnick, I have been dying for Haymitch’s story and his games. Since this is the newest book, which was just released last year, there will be zero book spoilers, only mentioning what can be seen in the trailer.

Reading Sunrise on the Reaping makes sense as the last book you should read for a few reasons.

1. It will stay with you the closest before you watch the movie

2. Reading Haymitch’s story last creates the best emotional reading experience

3. It’s the most recently published book in the Hunger Games world

Sunrise on the Reaping is the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, in which twice as many tributes are taken from their families. On the day of the reaping, his name is called, and he is taken from his family and the girl he loves. On the journey to the Capitol, he meets “a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town.” But when the games finally begin, Haymitch quickly learns that he’s been set up to fail…

Now, there are some people who want to be surprised by the movie, and I say, go for it! I don’t think it’s going to be integral to always read the book before the movie. The original Hunger Games movies are nothing short of incredible, and the adaptation of A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes proved that they can still do it. It brought the same tone and emotion as the first four movies, and I don’t think Sunrise on the Reaping will be any different. I’ve genuinely watched the trailer at least 10 times by now. Books are always going to have more to them, but these books aren’t far off. Going in blind to the movie could be fun, but I think it’s still integral to read the previous books to understand the lay of the land (+ they’re simply incredible books).

At the end of the day, there is no one correct reading order, BUT this is my plan for the best emotional and gut-wrenching reading experience ahead of the film:

1. The Hunger Games

2. Catching Fire

3. Mocking Jay

4. A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

5. Sunrise on the Reaping

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