5 More 'Hunger Games' Books Fans Would Like To See

WARNING! SPOILERS for the original Hunger Games trilogy.

The Hunger Games fandom has risen once again with the release of a second prequel novel, following 2020's The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Set forty years after Ballad, and twenty-four years before the beginning of the original Hunger Games trilogy, Sunrise on the Reaping follows the story of the Games' Second Quarter Quell, where double usual number of tributes were reaped. Attentive fans will remember that this was the Games won by Haymitch Abernathy, who mentors protagonists Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games.

Sunrise on the Reaping is earning rave reviews from fans, reviving interest in The Hunger Games universe, with a film adaptation already in the works and scheduled for release late next year. In the meantime, fans have begun eagerly discussing wishlists for any future books in the series.

Here are some other Hunger Games books that fans would like to see.

1. The First Rebellion/The Dark Days

74 years prior to the beginning of The Hunger Games trilogy, an army of rebels from the Districts, led by District 13, rose up in open rebellion, declaring war against the Capitol. This war, known as The Dark Days, ended in a Capitol victory, the supposed total destruction of District 13, and the creation of the annual Hunger Games as a way to punish the Districts and keep them in line.

A book or film based on The Dark Days has the potential to be a bit of a downer, as we go in knowing the good guys lose. However, the knowledge that some residents of District 13 survive long enough to build a secret undeground society from which to slowly rebuild the rebellion may be just the right amount of hope to make it a story worth telling.

2. Finnick and Annie's story

Finnick Odair was the victor of the 65th Hunger Games, and the youngest winner, having taken the win at just fourteen years old. He was introduced in Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games series, when he is reaped as one of District 4's Tributes for the 75th Hunger Games after the Third Quarter Quell rules stipulate that year's Tributes must be reaped from each District's existing pool of Victors.

Katniss at first dismisses Finnick as cocky and shallow, but softens towards him when he revives Peeta, when she sees his genuine heartbreak at the death of his Mentor/Mother figure Mags, and finally when she discovers his love for fellow Victor Annie Cresta, a beautiful but mentally fragile young woman whose Games were particularly traumatic. Katniss also learns that his supposedly sleeping around the Capitol is actually Prostitution, which he mostly agrees to to keep Annie safe.

In the final book, Mockingjay, Finnick and Katniss have become close friends, bonded by the trauma of the Games and concern for Peeta and Annie, held captive by the Capitol. After Annie's rescue, she and Finnick marry, but tragically, Finnick dies soon afterwards during the rebels' final assault on the Capitol, mercy killed by Katniss as he is about to be torn apart by Mutts. Annie gives birth to their son sometime after his death, with Katniss keeping a photo of the baby in the Memory Book kept by herself and Peeta.

Finnick, played by Sam Claflin in the films, quickly became one of the most popular characters in the franchise, and many fans have expressed a desire to see more of his story. It would seem the next logical step, with Finnick's games taking place fifteen years after Haymitch's, and possibly able to portray how much further the slow-burn of the rebellion had grown in that time. However, it has been stated that Finnick's post-games experiences, during which he is heavily implied to have been sexually exploited from a young age, could be difficult for author Suzanne Collins to portray while remaining in the Young Adult age rating of the previous books.

The way around this, some say, would be to set the focus on Finnick and Annie's love story, rather than Finnick alone, and utilise point of view switches to work avoid explicitly portraying the worst of Finnick's experiences. Following Sunrise on the Reaping, many fans believe there is a greater story behind Annie Cresta's Games, and that the arena flood that left her as an accidental victor may not have been an accident.

3. Johanna Mason's Story

Johanna Mason, also introduced in Catching Fire, was the Victor of the 71st Hunger Games, and District 7's female tribute for the 75th Games. While respecting her skill after watching a tape of her games, Katniss initially dislikes and mistrusts Johanna, but reluctantly welcomes her into her alliance when she safely delivers Beetee and Wiress, whom Katniss had truly wanted to ally with.

Around the time Katniss decides it is time to break the alliance, she wrongly believes that Johanna tries to attack her. In reality, Johanna was cutting out Katniss's Capitol tracker, so she could not be tracked following her rescue from the arena. While Finnick and Beetee are rescued with Katniss, Johanna, Peeta, and District 2 tribute Enobaria are left behind and taken into Capitol custody. After Johanna's rescue in Mockingjay, she and Katniss bond, even living together for a time as they train to join District 13's rebel army. To the disappointment of many fans, much of this friendship is omitted from the film adaptation.

Something of an ensemble dark horse, a significant section of the fandom are eager to see more of Johanna's story.. Particularly regarding how, as she explains to Katniss, she is different from the other Victors, as she has no loved ones left whom the Capitol can use to control her. However, simply telling the story of Johanna's games could end up feeling just a little repetitive.

Some fans believe Collins could take advantage of the fact that Johanna's games take place the year after Annie Cresta's. She could be a character in the latter part of Finnick and Annie's story, perhaps as a cautionary tale of what happens when a Victor does not play ball with President Snow/The Capitol's wants as Finnick did. Alternatively, Johanna's story could be referenced as part of a larger one..

4. Plutarch Heavensbee and the Rebellion

Plutarch Heavensbee is introduced in Catching Fire, as the newly appointed Head Gamemaker for the 75th Hunger Games. In the film adaptation, he is seen subtly manipulating President Snow, selling the idea that the growing Rebellion will turn on Katniss when she is eventually forced to betray her fellow Victors in the Third Quarter Quell. Instead, it is revealed in the climax that he is part of the Rebellion, and the architect of an elaborate plan to break Katniss out of the arena.

As it turns out, Plutarch had been playing a very long game. Sunrise on the Reaping reveals Plutarch as a cameraman during Haymitch's Games, and already participating in Rebel plots. Fans have now become eager to see the story of the rebellion from Plutarch's perspective, including how a Capitol resident chose to join the rebellion, and the many attempted rebel acts that tried and failed before finally achieving success in Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Such a book could also include past games, and explain how each tribute was recruited into the plan to save Katniss.

5. Katniss and Peeta's Memory Book

The Memory Book is first mentioned at the very end of Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. It is at first a project Katniss commits to as a way of clawing her way out of depression following the death of her sister Prim in the final battle of the Second Rebellion, including 'memories it would be a crime to forget'.

Initially a solo mostly focused on Prim Mr. Everdeen, and later Mr. Mellark, Katniss later allows Peeta and Haymitch to contribute to the book, which eventually grows to feature memorials to the lives lost in the Hunger Games and subsequent rebellion, including Rue, Cinna, Finnick, the forty-six District 12 Tributes Haymitch mentored before Katniss and Peeta, and many, many more. The book also becomes a record of happy memories, including the birth of Finnick and Annie's son.

Many fans would like to see a physical copy of the Memory Book as a companion piece for the series. Time will tell if Suzanne Collins grants their wishes.