Synopsis

In District 12, the morning of Haymitch Abernathy’s birthday begins with a cruel irony: the Reaping. As his younger brother drags him out of bed, fear has already taken root in the town. It is the Fiftieth Quarter Quell, and this year, the Capitol demands twice the tributes. Haymitch has plans: to avoid the Reaping, to disappear into the woods with his girl, Lenore. But fate does not negotiate. And when his name is called, the fight for survival in the Hunger Games arena will only just begin.

First Part: The Dawn of Fear

The dawn is gray and cold in District 12, as if the whole world could sense the coming misfortune. Haymitch Abernathy wakes up bearing the weight of two certainties: today is his sixteenth birthday, and today is Reaping Day. Two events that could not matter less in a town that feeds on desperation and coal.

His mother is already up, stirring a pot of laundry over the fire. His younger brother, Sid, ten years old, shakes him impatiently.

—You said you wanted to go to the woods before the Reaping.

Haymitch knows, but every time he opens his eyes, he feels the world is a trap about to snap shut around him. He drags himself out of bed, dresses in patched clothes, and grabs a piece of plum bread before heading out.