Earlier this week, Hunger Games fans around the world were starstruck by the official trailer for the latest installment in the Hunger Games franchise: Sunrise on the Reaping. The prequel follows a 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy as he’s thrust into the Capitol’s second Quarter Quell, where twice as many teenage tributes than usual are whisked away to the Hunger Games to fight to the death.

We finally get a glimpse of the person Haymitch used to be before the 50th Hunger Games, how he became the man we grew to know in The Hunger Games trilogy, and the cracks in the foundation of what we thought was a rock-solid front the Capitol presented. Long before Katniss Everdeen, there were other sparks trying to catch fire in the dark.

Stacked with stars like Elle Fanning, Ralph Fiennes, Mckenna Grace, Joseph Zada, and more, the Sunrise on the Reaping movie brings characters new and old back to life on the big screen. But book readers know that there’s far more detail between the pages than on the silver screen, so to get the best possible experience, you’ll want to read every single Hunger Games book before the movie comes out on November 20, 2026.

But there are prequels, sequels, and lots of debate on how to read them. I believe there’s only one order if you want every little hint and detail to make your jaw drop — here are all the Hunger Games books and the best order to read them in.

How many Hunger Games books are there?

Five different books, a hundred different heartbreaks

There are currently five Hunger Games novels: The Hunger Games (book 1), Catching Fire (book 2), Mockingjay (book 3), A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (prequel 1), and Sunrise on the Reaping (prequel 2). The first book, The Hunger Games, was released in late 2008, and was followed by Catching Fire in 2009 and Mockingjay in 2010. Suzanne made sure to have a quick turnout, and fans couldn’t get enough.

Ten years after Mockingjay (and four live-action movies that brought Panem to life on-screen), Suzanne Collins bestowed a brand-new story on Hunger Games fans: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel detailing the early days of the Hunger Games tradition and following a young Coriolanus Snow, who would grow into one of the most interesting (and familiar) villains in modern literature. Not only does it also detail his complicated relationship with Lucy Gray, a tribute from District 12 chosen to compete in the tenth Hunger Games, but it also offers a closer look at the structure of the early games and Capitol life from the inside. A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was quickly adapted into a movie only three years later.

And the dystopian author wasn’t done yet. In summer 2024, both a new prequel and its movie adaptation were announced on the same day. It was called Sunrise on the Reaping, and it would tell the tale of Haymitch Abernathy, the District 12 victor of the 50th Hunger Games, and Katniss’s future mentor. Fans were ecstatic (myself included) to learn everything about the second Quarter Quell. The book came out in March 2025, and was more detailed, devastating, and tragic than anyone could have predicted. Now, the movie’s official trailer is out, and readers are on the edge of their seats to see the characters brought to life by such a talented and book-accurate cast.

The best order to read all the Hunger Games novels

Two options, but only one is right if you’re reading for the first time

Because the events of A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Sunrise on the Reaping take place before the original Hunger Games trilogy, you might think that it’s a good idea to read the books in chronological order (starting with the prequels). If it’s your first time reading, I cannot warn you against doing this enough. First of all, the end of Sunrise on the Reaping contains spoilers for Katniss’s story — in fact, when you reach the end of the novel, you realize that it was the older version of Haymitch’s memoir.

A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, while it details the earliest Hunger Games that we know of (the 10th), isn’t necessarily a book about the games at all — it serves as more of an insight into who President Snow was and how he came to be the villain we know. The protagonist, Lucy Gray, also helps set major themes and details that will become very important in both Katniss and Haymitch’s stories and in District 12 as a whole.

Even though the original trilogy comes after, the prequels aren’t at all required to understand Suzanne Collins’s world-building. In fact, Collins is known for her attention to detail, unreliable narrators, and especially warnings about propaganda — if you knew about any of the events before Katniss’s story, it would ruin the emotional impact that floored millions of readers around the world over and over.

Even if you’ve already seen the movies, reading the books for the first time in this order will still deliver those jaw-dropping moments:

1. The Hunger Games
2. Catching Fire
3. Mockingjay
4. A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
5. Sunrise on the Reaping

This is the order of publication, and the best possible reading order for first-time readers or anyone new to the Hunger Games novels. However, if you’re a seasoned fan looking to do a reread to memorize every little detail before the Sunrise on the Reaping movie comes out in November, might I suggest the chronological reading order:

1. A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
2. Sunrise on the Reaping
3. The Hunger Games
4. Catching Fire
5. Mockingjay

If you’ve already read the books, reading the series in chronological order will not only help you stay on top of the timeline, but also put each character’s arc into true linear perspective. As a seasoned Everlark shipper and Hunger Games fan since 2008, I’ll be doing my reread in chronological order — likely next to a box of tissues.