The upcoming Hunger Games book, Sunrise on the Reaping, may finally provide the definitive connection between Lucy Gray Baird and Katniss Everdeen. This will be the fifth of Suzanne Collins’ novels in the series, though, like The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the newest installment will serve as a prequel. Sunrise on the Reaping is set during the 50th Hunger Games, for which Haymitch Abernathy was elevated a victor. Hopefully, this next book will provide further context to Katniss’ story, perhaps even connecting her to Lucy Gray, victor of the 10th Hunger Games.

Katniss Everdeen (along with Peeta Mellark) was the victor of the 74th Hunger Games. Prior to this, there had only been two victors from District 12. The first had been forgotten by Katniss’ day, but The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has revealed that her name was Lucy Gray Baird, a member of a nomad group of musicians called the Covey. The second District 12 victor was Haymitch Abernathy, winner of the 50th Hunger Games and the protagonist of Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping. Thanks to an excerpt from the upcoming book (via People), it seems Haymitch’s story may serve as the connective tissue the series’ needed.

Haymitch’s Girlfriend’s Name Is Lenore Dove, Which Is Surprisingly Similar To Lucy Gray

These Sorts Of Names Have Meaning In District 12

The excerpt Collins’ teased in the months leading up to Sunrise on the Reaping‘s March 18, 2025, release contains several paragraphs from the book’s first chapter. Like The Hunger Games and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, this new book is written in the first person. This time around, a newly 16-year-old Haymitch is the point-of-view narrator. The excerpt sees Haymitch wake up on the day he is doomed to be reaped for the Second Quarter Quell. His primary concern on this day is to make it through without having his name drawn, but he also thinks a lot about his sweetheart, Lenore Dove.

Haymitch mentioned Lenore Dove’s name twice in the Sunrise on the Reaping excerpt, and each time, he says both “Lenore” and “Dove” together. This implies that this isn’t the girl’s first and last name. Rather, it seems that Haymitch’s girlfriend has a two-part name—similar to Lucy Gray Baird from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. While this would typically be considered a coincidence, Lucy Gray’s two first names were significant in her story. Such names are a tradition among Covey, so Lanore Dove’s name in Sunrise on the Reaping seems to imply a connection.

Lenore Dove Is Most Likely Covey Or One Of Their Descendants

Haymitch’s Girlfriend May Be Related To Lucy Gray’s Clan

Before the Hunger Games and the war between the Capitol and Districts, the Covey were a group of traveling musicians. They went from District to District and called no single place home. When the war broke out, they became trapped in District 12 and were no longer permitted to leave once it concluded. So, the Covey became District 12 citizens. Still, they weren’t like the others who lived there. They preferred colorful dresses and maintained strange traditions surrounding the names they gave their children.

Covey always gives their kids two first names, and the second word must be a color. This explains names like Lucy Gray, Maude Ivory, and Billy Taupe. Lanore Dove fits right into this trend. “Dove” may refer to the bird, but it is also, technically, a color name as well. It seems likely, given the thought Collins’ gave to the Covey’s names in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, that she wouldn’t have called Haymitch’s girlfriend this on accident. Lanore Dove is sure to be confirmed as a Covey, or else, the descendant of the Covey in Sunrise on the Reaping.

What Lenore Dove’s Namesake Could Mean For Sunrise On The Reaping’s Story

These Characters Connect To Classic Poems

Lanore Dove’s name stands out in Sunrise on the Reaping for a reason beyond the Covey as well—though it also connects the girl to Lucy Gray, in a sense. In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Lucy Gray recites the poem “Lucy Gray” by William Wordsworth to Coriolanus Snow. This is an actual poem from 1799, which tells of a girl named Lucy Gray who disappeared without a trace. She was presumed ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, but her footprints in the snow ended mysteriously, leaving her true fate uncertain. This is meaningful since Lucy Gray’s fate in TBOSAS is never definitively revealed.

While there is no poem called “Lenore Dove,” Edgar Allan Poe published a tragic poem called “Lenore.” It’s about the wake following the death of a young girl, Lenore, with particular focus on those left to mourn her. This doesn’t bode well for Lanore Dove in Sunrise on the Reaping. Of course, The Hunger Games already confirmed that President Snow murdered Haymitch’s entire family and sweetheart before the victor even returned to his village. The poem “Lenore” more meaningfully foreshadows the impact Lanore Dove’s death will have on Haymitch.

The Hunger Games Prequel Can Confirm Katniss & Lucy Gray’s Connection Through Lenore Dove

Sunrise On The Reaping Can Finally Confirm That Katniss Is Covey

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Lanore Dove potentially being Covey is how this detail could connect Lucy Gray to Katniss Everdeen. During the events of The Hunger Games, the Covey had been entirely forgotten, and Katniss never once mentioned the term. This makes sense since their musical performances were outlawed in District 12 following the events of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Still, it’s heavily implied that Lucy Gray’s family was connected to Katniss. The Girl on Fire knew many of Lucy Gray’s songs, and the pair possessed similar knowledge of foraging and edible plants.

Katniss learned songs like “The Hanging Tree” from her father, who remained unnamed in The Hunger Games. As a hunter, forager, and singer (Katniss’ father was said to have such a beautiful voice the birds would stop to listen), it has long been theorized that Mr. Everdeen was a descendent of the Covey. If the same is true for Lanore Dove, Sunrise on the Reaping will surely confirm. Lanore Dove and Katniss’ father could even be siblings—a detail that would add another layer of complication to Haymitch and Katniss’ relationship in The Hunger Games.

If Lanore Dove is Covey and Katniss’ aunt or relative, then this would be definitive proof that Lucy Gray and Katniss share a deeper connection. Sunrise on the Reaping would, therefore, seamlessly connect the stories and characters of The Hunger Games and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes once and for all. Of course, there is no such confirmation just yet. Still, if this is the case, Suzanne Collins’ new Hunger Games book will truly be the final piece to the much larger, heartbreaking puzzle.