It’s not even out yet, but the new Hunger Games book adds a heartbreaking detail

The new Hunger Games book, Sunrise on the harvestis all about the Hunger Games of grumpy mentor Haymitch Abernathy. Haymitch had a particularly terrible Hunger Games; in his Quarter Quell, there were double the number of Tributes in the arena. And after he outsmarted the Gamemakers to win, the Capitol took revenge on him and murdered his family and his girlfriend. No wonder he’s jaded and cynical by the time Katniss’ story begins.

A new fragment, via Peoplereveals another heartbreaking detail about Haymitch and the Games: his birthday is on Reaping Day.

So not only was he chosen as a tribute to District 12 on his birthday, but for the next 24 years he had to send two children to their deaths on his birthday. And we know from the first Hunger Games book that until Katniss and Peeta came along, there were no other victors from District 12. Suzanne Collins, you’ve done it again.

“Of Sunrise on the harvestI was inspired by David Hume’s idea of ​​implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the ease with which the many are ruled by the few,'” Collins said in a Scholastic press release when the book was first announced. “The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more urgent to me every day.”

Sunrise on the harvest will be available in bookstores on March 18. It is available for pre-order now. The Hunger Games: Sunrise at the Harvest will be released in theaters on November 20, 2026.