Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

238 reviews

hailstorm3812's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book is super interesting. I pretty much read it just to see the movie but I am glad that I did. It is absolutely brutal with moments of kindness shining through. I also love how much they reference how close to us it is. It does a really good job of connecting you to the characters even when you can see where it is going. It has some truly haunting moments.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, and Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and War

al3xa's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

---

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

tiana_king's review

adventurous dark reflective 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

4.25

Remember how district 12 only had 2 winners in 74 years? Well here’s the one that wasn’t Haymitch. The author took on an intense task of creating a backstory for a despicable character and for the most part did well. I understand why Snow was the way he was and how the games really got fleshed out. You even come to know why he had such a passionate hatred for Katnis. I was however disappointed with how many opportunities the author missed with making connections to future characters. Maybe I’m cheesy in loving that stuff but she hardly hinted at anything. Not an essential read but a good one for the series. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Addiction and War

captaininsaneoh's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Classism, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Self harm

Moderate: Cannibalism

camiandkitread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense 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

“A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a fantastic addition to the Hunger Games franchise, serving as a terrific prequel and excellent foil to the dystopian trilogy. 

Collins is a master storyteller for not only is she able to interest her readers with the backstory of President Snow, she’s also able to write him in such a way that makes the reader sympathize with him.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Grief, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Murder, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Death, and War

moonlitreading_'s review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

“She could fly around District 12 all she liked, but she and her mockingjays could never harm him again.”

Snow is such a trash human being and 500+ pages of him is too much for my liking. The only comfort I have is the knowledge of what happens to him in Mockingjay.

My dislike for Snow aside, this book was okay. It didn’t affect me the way the trilogy did but it is interesting how the Hunger Games were like in the beginning. It shows how the mentoring, the sponsorship, the betting, and all the other stuff I know from the trilogy came to fruition.

I did like a few characters, namely Sejanus and Tigris. Sejanus deserved so much better, what happened to him literally broke my heart

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Murder, Death, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Addiction

kelseyr713's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Suzanne Collins knows how to write a compelling story! These 500+ pages flew by and I couldn't put the book down. Brought me back to devouring the original trilogy, which I think I'm about to again.

It is not fun to be inside Snow's head for this long, but it is enlightening. The plot also manages to be compelling despite knowing the foregone conclusion. Seeing an early version of the Hunger Games without all the technology that the later ones will have is interesting too.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Alcohol, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Child death, Murder, Blood, Gore, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Violence, Confinement, Death, Toxic friendship, and War

Moderate: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Death of parent, Vomit, Addiction, and Drug use

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, and Cannibalism

joensign's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Child death, Murder, Death, War, and Gore

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Confinement, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Death of parent, Drug use, and Medical content

lunsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

Although I recognize it won't work for all readers, it was a perfect read for me. The pacing and the writing were both great, as well as the development of the characters and expansion of the world for fans of the original trilogy. I actually wanted to keep reading and was constantly thinking about the book, but I do understand all the people that have said it is slow or too boring, as that can be the case if you don't connect with the characters. Again, I can't compliment the writing enough, there are so many beautiful lines and it felt very dreamy at times, whilst the book was tackling very heavy topics. 

If you enjoy understanding the mind of nuanced, imperfect characters, all while diving into some interesting discussions about humanity, then this is the book for you. Additionally if you loved The Hunger Games trilogy, it'll be interesting to notice all the parallels, knowing what comes after. Snow's descent into madness and loss of empathy as the book progresses is flawlessly executed, which makes the ending all the more heartbreaking and bittersweet. Once again, it won't work for everyone and I believe this has been a very polarizing book thus far, but I enjoyed every aspect about it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, War, Classism, Murder, Violence, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Drug use, and Gore

Minor: Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

andyandnormski's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Suzanne Collins never fails to disappoint me. Each book in The Hunger Games series is well thought out, carefully planned, and has some of the best world building I've seen in years. I found it difficult to put the book down and read late into the night more than once.

The story follows Snow as a young teenager on the cusp of adulthood and shows you just how irredeemable he was from the very beginning. The narrative is haunting from his perspective. What you gain is a deeper understanding of how the games and Panem itself evolved into what we see during Katniss's time. Without giving too much away, all I can say is you'll likely find yourself wanting to personally punch Snow by the time the story is finished. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, Gore, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Cannibalism, Addiction, and Blood

Minor: Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Grief, and Medical content