Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

69 reviews

ellaticonstellation's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I had high hopes for this because I loved the trilogy and I was curious about President Snow's origin story. The story started strong but went downhill from there and I was so disappointed. Even the romance part didn't save it that made me sad because Coriolanus and Lucy Gray were so cute, but yeah, it didn't work well. All I could say was that at an early age, the villain tendency was apparent. LG and her disappearing act must be a poetic way of her way out, but even that, I hated. I love music, but I didn't like the lyrics in this book (except for the song dedicated to Coryo.) I liked the twist that Coriolanus' dad stole the idea of the Hunger Games from his friend and passed it on as his own. It was evil and gutsy. But, tbh, there were a lot of times that I want to DNF this because I was so bored. I guess, the third POV was a mistake as well. The saving grace of all this chaos was the narrator of the audiobook companion, Santino Fontana. He's a great narrator. You're an awesome writer, Suzanne, I devoured the trilogy, but this wasn't for me. I'm sorry.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Stalking, Violence, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, War, Blood, Murder, and Physical abuse

singingshooter's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Really enjoyed how this broke down how controlling and Manipulative Snow was from the start. But also how he could have made choices to be a “good” person. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Child death, Grief, Child abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: War, Gun violence, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality

elysianbud's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

An interesting look into Snow's origin and the lore behind the Hunger Games. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Body horror, War, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Gun violence

mattiedancer's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Writing: 4.75⭐️/5 

As with much of Collins' writing, the book thrives on its visually stunning and well-described settings. What any artistry in her writing might have lacked, she made up for with the impact of the world. And, even with a few stumbly sections in her writing, much of it read cleanly and beautifully–an intriguing insight into a poisonous mind.

Characters: 4.75⭐️/5

A few characters felt a touch jarring, but otherwise, like the setting, the world came alive with the characters. The way in which we understand Corionalus’ thoughts and mental state without overly empathizing with his goals is stunning. The side characters felt explored in their relationship with Coriolanus, meaning the people he liked we knew the most about and the people he thought ill of, we also felt the toxicity of his opinions. 

Plot: 4⭐️/5 

While the plot overall is intriguing and fascinating to watch unfold (believe me, I was slackjawed at several moments), I did feel (SPOILERS HERE) that the resolution of his attempted escape with Lucy Gray was rushed and unclear. Had the book been written in first person, I would’ve accepted this section gleefully as a possible blip in our narration due to an unreliable narrator, but I would have loved more of this section to focus on his mind unravelling a bit slower – as well as Lucy Gray’s realization moving a bit slower – so we could understand this section fully. And, even though I loved all the symbolism that ties us to the original trilogy, the added details connecting Lucy Gray to Katniss’ rebellion and how personally it integrated into Corionalus’ life felt too on the nose. The moment in which Lucy uses the excuse of finding katniss (the plant) to leave him felt a bit too heavy-handed for the analogy that later Katniss (the person) will cause his undoing. The song, The Hanging Tree, being written for him by Lucy also felt too coincidental, especially when tied with his heavy hatred of the mockingjays around District 12 during his time there. I wish some of these tie-backs had been removed or made less vital to slowly grit on his nerves, rather than to so obviously connect him to Katniss. 

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Fans of The Hunger Games trilogy

Content Warnings? 

• Death, murder, child death, parent death, illness, cannibalism, blood, injury, medical trauma, gore

Post-Reading Rating:  5⭐️/5

I wish it had gone on a bit longer, but I was happy with the conclusion.

Final Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Body horror, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Bullying, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Dementia, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, and War

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Sexism

cepbreed's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Because of the hubbub surrounding the movie trailer release I decided to pick this up after years of neglecting its existence. My little brother even read it and recommended it to me and I still didn’t give in. Now that I’m done I’m so angry I hadn’t read it earlier. This book made me hate Snow exponentially more.  He and Lucy do not have some wonderful love story. He manipulated her (she manipulated him). Lucy was a girl thrust into an unimaginable position and all she could do was cling to her only support, her mentor. Snow fancied her as some manic pixie dream girl and I loathe not hearing from her perspective in the books. He thinks he owns her. He was jealous and foolhardy. It isn’t only Lucy, he also manipulated Clemensia. Snow took an opportunity to pander for her forgiveness and charm her into accepting his completely falsified apology and she did. He mistreated Tigress though she did everything possible to protect their small family. She was forced to bargain with her own body at an incredibly young age and his only respond was disgust. Poor sweet Sejanus put all of his trust in his “brother” but was betrayed at every turn. Not once did Snow have a sincere, not self-motivated, positive thought about anyone. Certified sociopath. FUCK SNOW I HATE THAT GREASEBALL.

I could talk about the symbolism behind the compact and compass forever.

Songs:

• Fun - Troye Sivan 
• National Anthem - Lana Del Rey
• Roll Call - The Neighbourhood
• Fist - Deftones 
• Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Lorde (the cover from the Catching Fire soundtrack lol) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Body horror, Gaslighting, Grief, Death, Medical content, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Violence, Torture, and War

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, and Bullying

cait's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Police brutality, Sexism, Slavery, Stalking, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Confinement, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Torture, and Toxic friendship

hayleyvem's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, War, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Murder, Child abuse, Classism, Torture, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Stalking, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Dementia, Medical content, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying and Medical trauma

studydniowka's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Bardzo dobra młodzieżowa (i nie tylko) dystopia.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Grief, Medical trauma, Torture, Toxic relationship, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Murder, War, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, and Violence

eagleshouse's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this has been my favourite read of the year by far. I've always loved Suzanne Collins' writing and the Hunger Games as a franchise, but I feel like this may be one of her best yet.

The protagonist is schoolboy Coriolanus Snow - the primary antagonist for the original series. However, just because the book is written from Snow's POV, does not mean he is a likeable character or a good guy.

At the beginning, Snow is the main character, and you as the reader attach yourself to him. He's a little pretentious, but nothing more grating than that. However, as the story progresses, I felt further and further horrified and concerned for Snow - the book genuinely slowly shows his progression into a horrible, evil, man, without a massive change happening until right at the end. It was Collins' use of language that Snow used that first set me off, referring to his lover as 'belonging' to him throughout the book, and progressively gets worse until the climax at the end, which honestly I was not expecting at all and yet was one of the best plot twists I've read.

it also adds so much depth to the Hunger Games story - with so many metaphors and references to both classical literature (both Coriolanus and Lucy Gray are named after pieces of literature that fit their characters, with Grays being stated in the story itself), but also the original series. Lucy Gray being the composer to The Hanging Tree and also writing it for Snow makes Katnisses use of it as a rebel song so much more poignant. 

Anyway, without fully spoiling the book, I think this is an essential read for anyone, even if theyre not fans of THG, because the use of government and capitalism and imperialism really shows through as well in such a good way. 5/5 book, my favourite of the year.
..

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Blood, Confinement, Colonisation, Murder, Violence, and War

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cannibalism, Dementia, and Bullying

hannahbailey's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

TW: violence, death (of parent, children), torture, war, gun violence, toxic relationship, animal death/cruelty, body horror, suicide attempt, grief, cannibalism, emotional abuse, forced institutionalisation, stalking, genocide, vomit

It was great to be back in Panem again-I've missed it! I'm aware how unhinged that sounds given the horrendous TWs I've listed above. But it's YA! And its Panem, a place we know is not famous for its kindness and generosity towards children.

So it was interesting to see Panem from the perspectives of Capitol citizens, however the perspective is limited through Coriolanus' gaze...make of that what you will 🥸 The POV was not quite a revelatory as I'd hoped it would be. Although, as with everything Suzanne Collins writes, I'm now thinking maybe this was intentional. There's no big reveal, we go to war and we fight and we kill each other because that's what humans do. There's no deeper message to be understood or secret to be discovered. Dammit Suzanne, you got me again! We have to stan.

I of course enjoyed the Hunger Games part, how could I not?! But the rest was overly long and stretched out. I didn't feel like we were given anything new, especially as District 12 was featured again over other districts. I wanted a lot more from Snow than I was given too. In every aspect of the novel and THG world, I'm itching to know more. Maybe one day we'll get the Finnick and Joanna novellas we deserve!

I know it's cringe and cliche but I want nothing more than for the movie adaptation to end with a close up of young Snow's face slowly morphing into old Snow's face either during his most evil in Catching Fire or at the end of Mockingjay when he *redacted*. The satisfaction would be too much to bear!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Blood, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Torture, Animal cruelty, Gore, Gun violence, Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Death of parent, Drug use, Genocide, and Grief