Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

65 reviews

captaindaz's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

It took about 200 pages for the actual Hunger Games to start. Then the the rest of the book kind of raced to the finish line to end the story. Still a very well written story.

Coriolanus Snow can choke on himself and all my homies hate him.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Violence, War, and Child death

Moderate: Eating disorder, Xenophobia, and Slavery

Minor: Animal cruelty and Vomit

def_ni's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, War, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Cannibalism

mconroy9137's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Classism, Gore, Body horror, Torture, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Blood, Child death, Medical content, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Deportation, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Dementia, Animal death, Alcohol, Misogyny, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Colonisation, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Cannibalism

Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, Cursing, Excrement, Miscarriage, and Eating disorder

madanxiety's review

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

5.0

Wow. Suzanne Collins has still got it. This series really makes for a fascinating study of political allegory, propaganda and unreliable narration. This particular novel maps the stunning transformation of a privileged boy into a self-righteous villain. Poor Lucy Gray. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Murder, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Drug abuse and Vomit

the_pysselfia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Body horror, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Classism, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Addiction, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, War, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

words_and_dreams's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

I do love a nuanced villain story and this delivered. 
Set 60 years before the original Hunger Game series, we follow the POV of Snow, a young and ambitious student in the capital. 
Collins does a good job of making us feel empathy for him whilst still showing us the early signs of who and what he will become. He is never the hero but he had so much potential to be, therein lies the tragedy. 
Lucy is an interesting figure as we never get a full picture of her. We see her through Snow's eyes, as a tribute that can bring him victory, a love that belongs to him or an enemy. She is only ever what he needs her to be. I have seen some reviewers of book and movie complain that we don't get to know her but that's kind of the point. 
Not as great as the original series but still had me hooked. My main issue with it was the pacing was a little off at times, a lull two thirds in and then the end seems a little rushed. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, and Violence

Minor: War, Addiction, Cannibalism, and Xenophobia

kaylaswhitmore's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Suzanne Collins has done it again. Even knowing exactly how Snow turns out….it was still all too easy to be sucked into his POV. Which is exactly the point Collins is trying to make, I suppose. She inserted just enough little tidbits of questionable internal dialogue moments to keep me skeptical of his thought process and morality, but even with those moments I found myself wishing against all odds that he would make the "right" choices. That, combined with the truly nauseating cruelty of the Capitol was enough for me to eagerly await the eventual revolution. Collins’ pacing was near perfect imho, with perhaps a bit of slowness in the beginning as she set her tale up for its ultimate conclusion. And by the end, I found myself even wishing for more information about how Snow becomes President, how he eventually betrays Tigris, what happens to the Covey, etc.

Even as I was left longing to know what happened to Lucy Gray, I simultaneously was intrigued by the mystery of it all and how poetically it sets the stage for Katniss' introduction.

All in all, any critiques I have for the book pale in comparison to how thoroughly I enjoyed this foray into Snow's past. Hoping she continues to expand this world with perhaps a book on Hatmitch or even Joanna! We shall see!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Blood, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Violence, Gaslighting, War, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Grief, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Cannibalism

al3xa's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Violence, and War

Moderate: Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Murder, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Bullying, Colonisation, Genocide, Abandonment, Deportation, and Emotional abuse

inkysplodge's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Death, Suicide attempt, War, Xenophobia, and Gun violence

Minor: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Pandemic/Epidemic, Animal death, Child death, and Death of parent

katelynnelawson's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Put off reading this because I thought it wouldn’t live up to the original trilogy… but just like all the books in the original trilogy, I read it in under 48 hours. Depressing but knew that going in and can’t wait to see the movie. I love that I both hated the villain and saw the good in him and wanted him to grow and change. The reader knows he won’t (and can’t as this is a prequel) but the author still makes you long for it and believe it could happen if he’d just made better choices and listened to that tiny little conscience inside. But everyone is a victim in war, even perpetrators, and grifters are always gonna grift.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Body horror, Classism, Child death, Murder, Gun violence, Torture, War, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Animal death, Medical content, Addiction, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Eating disorder, and Cannibalism