Book Review: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
By Suzanne Collins
Blurb: 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.
Cover: The cover is okay. It matches the others, but not quite as well as I would have liked. I think it's those green circles behind the mockingjay I don't like. But at least it's far better than the title, which is so YA cliche I can't even.
Plot: Like the original books, the blurb doesn't quite cover the scope of the story. The Hunger Games portion is only about half the book, which is honestly good because I was wonder how she would drag it out so long. I shouldn't have worried. It was page-turning and breath-taking the whole time. I was fully engaged the whole time.
Characters: As it says in the blurb, the main character is Snow, which is one of the things that made me nervous. How do you make him both sympathetic and still the despicable villain that we know later? How can we hate someone who haves a nickname and a heart? Somehow, she managed it. You do sympathize with Snow and what he's gone through, but in the end, he makes the wrong choices and goes after the wrong things, turning him into the man we know later.
There are a lot of other new characters introduced, but the main one is Lucy Gray. She's introduced as a love interest for Snow. As a character, I loved her. She's tough, but also wears a rainbow dress and sings. I love singers. But as a love interest, I'm not sure, because the only way it could end was in disaster. (And it did.)
World: This is a very different world from the later books. Panem is still recovering from the terrible war. The kids have lived through horrible things that no one should have to go through. The Hunger Games are still in their early days, although things to get set in motion for later on. I always think it's interesting to see things from a different time.
Other Thoughts: Hunger Games books aren't easy reads. They're full of hard moral quandaries and violence. This book was no different. It was especially eye opening to see the Hunger Games from the outside. It makes you realize how easy it is to not see the kids as people fighting with real consequences but as entertainment.
Also, since Lucy Gray is a singer, there are all sorts of awesome new songs. I enjoyed reading them and afterwords I found this amazing playlist by Maiah Wynne covering a bunch of them. Her voice is so gorgeous, so go check them out.
Rating: 4 stars
Have you read this book? What were your thoughts? Tell me in the comments.
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