Get ready for the movie adaptation of Sunrise on the Reaping (out November 20) by checking out a book that your favorite character from the world of The Hunger Games might enjoy! These books were chosen for the themes they have in common with the themes of The Hunger Games, like standing up to oppression and the power of community, as well as the emotional connection that the characters in The Hunger Games might feel with the characters in these books.
Katniss Everdeen - Gather
Although Katniss prefers hunting to reading, I think she would enjoy Gather by Kenneth Cadow. Ian—the protagonist of Gather—has a lot in common with Katniss. Due to Ian's mom's opioid addiction, he has to quit the basketball team and find a job so they can afford to pay their bills. Katniss is no stranger to dealing with an absent parent, and just like Katniss, Ian is resourceful, and his ability to live off the land and solve problems creatively helps him through hard times. Katniss would also enjoy Ian's dry sense of humor, which is similar to her own.
Peeta Mellark - Purgatory Funeral Cakes
As Peeta is an avid baker and a talented artist, I think he would enjoy this thoughtful manhwa (Korean graphic novel) series. In Purgatory Funeral Cakes, baker Margot and her ghost assistant Miro bake custom cakes to help guide the recently dead to the afterlife. Similar to the memory book that Katniss and Peeta create in Mockingjay, the cakes also serve as a way to honor and remember lost loved ones.
Haymitch Abernathy - Compound Fracture
Compound Fracture is a powerful story about what happens when those trapped in cycles of oppression decide to fight back, which Haymitch experiences firsthand in both the 50th Hunger Games and the revolution two decades later. In Compound Fracture, trans teen Miles Abernathy must stand up to the sheriff of his small West Virginia town in order to end a century-long blood feud between their two families. Much like Haymitch, Miles risks his life to do the right thing and I think that Haymitch would admire Miles' bravery and find some catharsis in reading this book. I think Haymitch would also enjoy the fact that they have the same last name.
Maysilee Donner - Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire
Haymitch's unexpected ally in the 50th Hunger Games, Maysilee, would enjoy this story about a strong female protagonist who subverts others' expectations of her. Witch-in-training Verity Vox travels from village to village practicing her magic, and when she arrives in the town of Foxfire—which is reminiscent of District 12—she discovers that a corrupt salesman named Earl has trapped the townspeople in a cycle of hunger and poverty. Verity has to summon the power to stand up to not only Earl, but to the mountains themselves.
Lenore Dove Baird - Libertad
Libertad is set in Tegucigalpa, Honduras against the backdrop of the 2017 presidential election, in which Juan Orlando Hernández ran for re-election despite constitutional law prohibiting it. Protagonist Libi starts an anonymous Instagram account to share protest poetry and meanwhile starts a romance with another girl despite her society's homophobic laws. Haymitch's girlfriend Lenore Dove also views art as a powerful form of protest, and as a member of the Covey, Lenore Dove would enjoy the poetry in this book as well.
Would you pick different books for these characters? Which books do you think other characters in the series would enjoy?
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