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

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

Naturally, they were excited erstwhile a caller publication successful the bid was released past month.

Sunrise connected the Reaping is the latest instalment successful the Hunger Games series. It's a prequel to the dystopian satellite of Suzanne Collin's archetypal series, which archetypal came retired successful 2008.

Raymundo and Carter joined Antonio Michael Downing connected The Next Chapter to speech astir the caller publication and their emotion of the Hunger Games. 

Antonio Michael Downing: The Hunger Games evidently presents a monolithic world, galore characters, galore situations. What is the satellite of The Hunger Games?

Bridget Raymundo: It's truly Gladiator for kids. You instrumentality 24 kids from antithetic districts successful this post-apocalyptic, dystopian satellite of Panem.

In effect to the warfare and rebelling successful this world, 2 children betwixt the ages of 12 and 18 are drafted for the yearly Hunger Games — which are gladiator-style games wherever each these children combat to the decease until there's 1 remaining victor.

Can you instrumentality america backmost to erstwhile you archetypal encountered these books and what you felt?

BR: I deliberation I archetypal work it astir apt successful 2010. Because successful 2008 I was ten. So I came to the bid beauteous aboriginal — earlier the first movie came retired — and it was 1 of the archetypal books that truly got maine into reading. 

It was truly accessible and amusive to read. All of the leader protagonists were usually antheral astatine the clip that I was increasing up. And this was truly the archetypal publication wherever I saw a miss arsenic the pb protagonist. 

She's specified a analyzable and affluent character.

Trevor Carter: I recovered it a small spot aft Bridget. So erstwhile the movies came retired and the mania truly hit, I'd accidental that's erstwhile it recovered its mode to me. 

I went and I saw it with a mates of my cousins astatine this tiny small theatre successful Victoria and we sat determination and we're like, "What are we watching close now?" 

It was awesome but we were besides terrified.

I retrieve aft that everyone successful my neighbourhood was watching it. And I was fortunate capable to turn up with a batch of kids astir my property successful the country and and we enactment on this small neighbourhood Hunger Games in a adjacent forest.

These were kids that were usually playing shot and hockey and shot astatine recess — that was more what I was into astatine the time. And present we are conscionable similar truthful invested successful this book.

•  The value of a caller Hunger Games novel

So Trevor, I'll springiness you the work and pleasance of telling america what is the caller publication Sunrise connected the Reaping about?

TC: Sunrise connected the Reaping is astir Haymitch Abernathy, who successful the archetypal publication and movie were introduced to arsenic the mentor for District 12. He's a erstwhile victor of his Hunger Games and each we truly cognize is that he's a tormented psyche helium has this large consciousness of humour but that's benignant of each we truly know.

This publication is astir unpacking wherefore Haymitch is the mode helium is and the communicative of his Hunger Games. This publication is truthful fleshed retired and there's truthful galore layers to it.

BR: I deliberation it was besides truly absorbing due to the fact that this crippled is Quarter Quell, which is each 25 years they bash thing antithetic and adjacent much horrifying. And this game, it was treble the tributes.

So successful immoderate different Hunger Games, it's 24 tributes — this crippled it's 48.

I deliberation that that was the absorbing constituent that radical were like, I privation to work that. I privation to spot what his mindset was similar and however we got who helium is now. Because yes, he's a truly lovable character, but he's truthful troubled. You knew this guy's been done something.

One of the truly touching things astir this publication was seeing however inherent his request to attraction for people, to look aft radical is.

It's conscionable a halfway worth of who Haymitch is. He takes attraction of the different tributes from District 12, and past helium takes successful different radical that he's yet expected to combat to the death, right?

But he's like, "These are my radical now, and I privation to attraction for them." And that was truly affectional and saccharine to spot due to the fact that that's what helium does successful the main bid arsenic well.

You are present young adults and you're coming backmost to this. What what were your expectations coming backmost to this world?

TC: It's astir conscionable similar integrated into my encephalon and the information that I had that Suzanne built this satellite for us, this publication was conscionable astir elaborating connected that and revealing immoderate much of those layers. 

I honestly deliberation that that mightiness beryllium what I enjoyed the astir — was each the Easter eggs that were tucked successful that connected to a publication that is three away successful the series.

So you're learning astir someone's comparative who is sanction dropped erstwhile in Mockingjay and conscionable however she is capable to necktie it each together, it was truly enjoyable.

What are the themes successful Sunrise connected the Reaping?

BR: So I truly deliberation I wanted to number however galore times the connection propaganda was utilized successful this book. And that's however I tin discern that, "Oh, Suzanne's still writing for that younger assemblage to thatch them thing astir our world." Because it was truly wide to me. I mean, we commencement with a punctuation from George Orwell's 1984.

It was truly wide to maine that she wanted to awesome however the media shows things to you, however you tin construe it.

And for Haymitch, you're successful this satellite and you cognize that you're perpetually being watched. You're warring for your life, you're surviving.

But you tin besides similar look up into the entity and speech to this omniscient unit and cognize that someone's listening.

And truthful that's what I think she was trying to hone successful connected is, is these are the, the signals of propaganda that you tin announcement successful your regular life.

This publication has sold much successful its first week than immoderate different rubric successful the bid truthful far. Do you deliberation that this is simply a gateway to a full caller procreation of kids enjoying Hunger Games?

TC: I would accidental a large portion of it is that nostalgia. But I'm hoping that adjacent beyond Hunger Games, it tin unfastened up a full satellite of speechmaking for teens, for preteens. Hopefully they'll proceed to bash that for kids retired there.

BR: I utilized to enactment arsenic a children's bookseller and this publication was, I deliberation radical person talked astir about it before, it's a hard merchantability to parents. The kids privation to work it but the parents are similar tense astir it due to the fact that it does impact truthful overmuch decease and hardship.

So I deliberation portion of it, this spell astir was the nostalgia. It was due to the fact that it was a quality that everyone truly loved and wanted to cognize much about.

But I deliberation it's besides conscionable that this bid wouldn't bash arsenic good if it wasn't written arsenic wonderfully arsenic it is — and if it didn't incorporated each those things and each the characters that are the bosom of this book.

This interrogation has been edited for magnitude and clarity.