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Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
243 reviews
moonlitreading_'s review against another edition
- 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
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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction
kelseyr713's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, and Cannibalism
joensign's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Drug use, Medical content, and Death of parent
lunsbooks's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, War, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, and Toxic friendship
andyandnormski's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
Minor: Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma
znvisser's review against another edition
- 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
For me it’s been long enough so that I don’t remember the precise details of the later President Snow’s evil. At some point though, Snow was just a (cocky) kid a bit too gullible buying into the propaganda poured over him after growing up in a war. Simultaneously however, the basis for his later evil is already apparent as well: his character is classist, distrusting, and extremely calculating; as a teenager, Snow is therefore cold and unable to form any genuine relationships. From the start Snow is constantly - and quick at - rebuilding his outward image to control how he comes across in public, whether it is to hide his insecurities, arrogance or cruelty. It’s also shown early on how he is actually able to drop this guard to some extent around Lucy Gray, which makes his actions harder to predict sometimes, and as a result for a more interesting plot. It’s quite a feat how the author entangles you into this story about someone not even that likeable; somehow you still root for Snow to magically take his life in a different direction, even though this is a prequel and we already know not even love (or whatever the feelings were that he called love) could save the guy.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Deportation
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
mpeach's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship
noemie_13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
rochelleisreading's review
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
kylasmv15's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War