Review

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

By Suzanne Collins

Synopsis: It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a
mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined -- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

Review: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰ (SPOILERS)

When I opened this book, I didn't even know it would be about President Snow. It was a pleasant surprise and I was expecting it to be a villain redemption story.


It wasn't.


The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes you through Snow's childhood growing up in a poverty stricken Capitol following the war. He's a student of The Academy and plays a role as a mentor to District 12's victim of the reaping, Lucy Gray. The Hunger Games of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is not the same games as the one we all grew up with. The arena is bland and children too malnourished and weak from the conditions the Capitol left them in to even put up much of a fight. This entire part of the book (which is over half of the book) was honestly, extremely boring. I felt no connection to any of the character's nor the unconvincing budding romance between Snow and Lucy Gray. While it was interesting to know the direct hand Snow played in changing the games, the lack of any decent characters made this first half of the book hard to get through. A lot of wasted potential. I would have loved to learn more about Tigris and to read any hints in regards to their eventual falling out.


The second half of the book picked up speed but was also predictable. Snow gets exiled from the Capitol for cheating to help Lucy Gray win and is sent to District 12 as a Peacekeeper. He finds Lucy Gray again and their weird romance continues. Villain Snow begins to show as he is plagued by constant jealousy and lack of empathy for any of the citizens of District 12. Eventually he is forced to choose between good and bad and *shocker*, he chooses bad.


The only redeeming quality of this book is Lucy Gray. The songs she sings now will eventually be sung by Katniss, and knowing that throughout the Hunger Games trilogy Snow is not only dealing with rebellion but having to relive the memory of the disastrous ending with Lucy Gray brings a new dynamic to the original series.


As a stand-alone book, I'd probably rate this 1 star. I probably wouldn't have bothered reading past the first 100 pages. But, I have to give it 3 stars for giving me a new perspective next time I re-read The Hunger Games trilogy.

Courtney