The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping Finally Solved A 17-Year-Old Everdeen Family Mystery

Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for Suzanne Collins’ novel Sunrise on the Reaping.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Repaing gives us the full story of the year that Haymitch won the Hunger Games, while also revealing some long-coveted details about side characters and the setting overall. Sunrise on the Reaping begins the morning of the day Haymitch will be forced to leave for the Capitol, but before the reaping, he spends some time doing usual activities around District 12. This includes helping his boss with her bootlegging business, visiting his sweetheart Lenore Dove in the meadow where she keeps her geese, and pᴀssing by some shops and friends.

And, some of these friends are actually Katniss’ parents. Katniss’ mother grew up as a member of the wealthier merchant class of District 12, working in her family’s apothecary. Her father was from the poorer area known as the Seam, like Haymitch, and was already a hunter in his teen years. The two fell in love, and she eventually surprised many by leaving her comfortable life for the Seam to be with him. This we all knew about before Sunrise on the Reaping, but the prequel reveals a bit more about the vague characters.

Sunrise On The Reaping Finally Reveals The Names Of Katniss Everdeen’s Parents

Katniss’ Parents Are Burdock Everdeen & Asterid March

Katniss' mother standing in the kitchen in The Hunger Games

During his morning errands, Haymitch thinks back on the time he met his girlfriend Lenore Dove, while he was wandering with his friend Burdock, whose last name is mentioned to be Everdeen. In the present day, Haymitch stops by the apothecary shop, where the narration introduces Asterid March, the owners’ daughter whom Burdock has a crush on. The book doesn’t explicitly say that these two are Katniss’ parents until the epilogue, but it is strongly implied based on the character details that are given at this point and the possible romance between the two of them.

The Hunger Games Finally Sheds Light On What Katniss & Prim’s Parents Were Really Like

Burdock & Asterid Were Both Romantic, Hopeful, & Rebellious

Haymitch talks about some of Burdock’s characteristics, including that he is already a hunter like some other members of his Everdeen family, even though he is younger than Haymitch (16 years old at this point). Burdock is also known for having a very clear, beautiful voice, which the birds stop to listen to. He brings some of the plants he collects in the woods to sell to the apothecary, which is how he meets and falls in love with Asterid. Haymitch paints him as a bright-eyed idealist, saying: “Town girls don’t marry Seam boys, not unless something goes really haywire.“

Katniss establishes in her trilogy that her mother was a bit bold to marry her father, but Haymitch underscores this, telling us more about both their characters.

Katniss establishes in her trilogy that her mother was a bit bold to marry her father, but Haymitch underscores this, telling us more about both their characters. He also suggests that he wouldn’t go out of his way to be friends with any of the privileged merchant kids, but that he respects Asterid because she comes to the Seam to treat people brutalized by the peacekeepers, free of charge. Katniss has a difficult relationship with her mother because she became deeply depressed after their father’s death, leaving Katniss to provide for them, but Asterid was always fierce in her own way.

Burdock also sings at the funeral for the fallen District 12 tributes and their family members, using his voice to bring together a grieving community. He and Asterid also spend more time than anyone else trying to help Haymitch when he begins pushing people away after the Games, lest Snow also kill them. This only stops when Haymitch starts throwing rocks at them and hits Asterid in the head, ending his friendship with Burdock. Ultimately, Sunrise on the Reaping gives us more fully realized versions of Katniss’ parents than ever before, which shows the history of kindness and resistance that runs in her family.