Suzanne Collins'sis filled with complex characters. While the first three books, brilliantly narrated by Tatiana Maslany, focused primarily on Katniss Everdeen, another character captured much attention and curiosity—Haymitch Abernathy. Fans eager for Abernathy’s backstory won’t have to wait too much longer. Coming soon is , a new prequel narrated by Yellowstone’s Jefferson White that focuses on Haymitch's harrowing win in the 50th Hunger Games.
What District was Haymitch from?
Like Katniss, Haymitch was born in District 12, a blue-collar District at the edge of Panem's influence. No one there has much wealth or privilege, and the District is best known for its grueling coal mines. Haymitch and his younger brother, Sid, were raised by their mother in The Seam, the poorest area of 12. As for so many in District 12, his life was difficult. Many times, Haymitch had to add entries of his own name to the Quarter Quell just to keep his family from starving. So, when the Reaping came, it was no surprise that Haymitch's name was drawn.
What happened at the 50th Annual Hunger Games?
While Sunrise on the Reaping will give us all the twists and turns of the 50th Hunger Games, there is quite a bit we already know about Haymitch's victory.
Every Hunger Games has its own set of rules, and Haymitch's Games were no exception. Rather than one boy and one girl from each District entering the Games, the 50th annual Games feature two boys and two girls from each District, doubling the reapings. Even at 16, Haymitch's trademark wit and sarcasm were on display. When asked what he thought about these special rules and the 100 percent increase in competition, he replied that he didn't see much difference in the odds since they would “still be one hundred percent as stupid as usual.”
As you can imagine, with double the number of participants, the opening bloodbath of the Games was nastier than normal. That year's arena was so gorgeous that many tributes stood and gawked in awe, dying in the process. While Haymitch escaped, snagging a knife and choice backpack before retreating into the forest, 18 tributes died in the opening minutes of the Games. Over the ensuing days, Haymitch evaded horrifying creatures and poisonous plants as well as the other tributes. He was fast and intelligent, able to hold his own even with the career tributes.
Haymitch formed an alliance with Maysilee Donner after she saved him from a three-on-one confrontation. They stayed alive, sharing food and other resources and slowly working their way to the edge of the arena, where they found a cliff. Haymitch was determined to find something more useful there, while Maysilee wasn't, and so they parted. Not long after, Haymitch discovered that the cliff was an illusion, and there was a forcefield in place, easily bouncing rocks off of it. But upon hearing Maysilee scream, Haymitch rushed to her side, too late to do anything but hold her as she died.
