Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

56 reviews

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

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

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

Minor: Bullying, Dementia, and Cannibalism

k_galloway's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

this honestly could have been a short story because the last 100 pages are absolutely insane. read it just for the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

aligmich's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I didn’t know what I’d think about this going in, but I did find that it was an effective, and engaging story with some highly complex characters. It also gave a lot of context into the Games themselves, which I was super interested by. 

For a 500+ page book, it wrapped up a little too fast for my tastes, with all the big climactic elements happening in the last 40 pages. I feel it needed more time to breathe, and for the character turns to be truly explored, but I was overall still satisfied, and would recommend if you’re a fan of the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty

maddiezreads's review against another edition

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Vomit, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

isabellarob73's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Prequels are rarely good, but this book is the exception. Beautifully written, and adds a lot to the hunger games series while standing on its own. Absolutely haunting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation