Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

501 reviews

tamaraepps's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

4.0

While a fairly easy yet intriguing read, this book feels unnecessary and doesn't really add anything of value to the world of Panem and The Hunger Games, beyond a glimpse of history. 

As a fan of the Hunger Games trilogy I certainly found it interesting, but don't think I would be missing anything if I hadn't read it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and War

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

westonreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

I’m so glad I’m starting this year off on such a strong note. This book made me never want to put it down and had so many twists and turns! definitely one of my favourites

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Grief, and War

Minor: Drug use, Death of parent, and Alcohol

itsdelulu's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Take a shot every time Coriolanus says “Snow lands on top.” 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

waltjessexo's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

it's about the worst man you've ever met and how his *potential* to be good is meaningless without acting on it, and if anything it makes his cruelty worse.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

the protagonist has an inner monologue full of blatant racism against a romani-coded character and ain inmigrant character, misogyny against his "love" and his cousin, casual sexism all the time, classism and a blood libel reference.

ctriinnn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture, Police brutality, Medical content, Stalking, and War

liesthemoontells's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

For a long time I had limited interest in reading this book. I found the last half of Mockingjay to be messy and disjointed to the point of unreadable, and I struggled to see the hook of President Snow's origin story. Eventually my curiosity overcame my disinclination, and I'm glad it did!

I was impressed by this book for both its villain origin story and its worldbuilding. It isn't easy to write a compelling antihero who you can both root for and be repulsed by at the same time, but Suzanne Collins makes it feel effortless. I was completely hooked by the interiority of young Coriolanus Snow from the first few pages. 

It was thrilling and shocking to see the casual inhumanity of the Capitol towards people from the Districts through the eyes of the oppressors; the choice to frame Coriolanus and his peers as traumatised children of war added complexity to characters who would otherwise be monstrous brats. 

I don't know how convincing I found Lucy Gray as a foil to Coriolanus, and the last third of the novel

set in the Districts

felt a little rushed. Overall, however, I found this book to be a compelling, intelligent and entertaining read. I thought the book successfully injected new life into the series, and it makes me excited to further revisit the world of Panem.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

zoeelora's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

leiftheuncanny's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

When I first heard of this book, I was hesitant. I had grown tired of stories that turned terrible villains into poor wretched victims, asking the audience to believe they hadn't had a choice, that trauma and circumstances had forced them to become the vile person they were in the original story. 
So it took me a few years to warm up to the idea. I must apologize for not trusting Collins to know what she was doing when she gave us Snow's backstory. 
This novel is a fascinating study of privilege, trauma, propaganda, and core beliefs. Snow is not without his troubles, despite growing up in the capital and coming from a rich family, his circumstances are dire and he is always one bad day away from complete ruin. The face he presents to the people around him is always carefully curated, and he has developed an ease with lies and manipulation that have kept him and his family afloat. It's clear there are seeds of goodness in him, and a desire for happiness, comfort, friends, etc. However, enough lying to others and it becomes far too easy to lie to oneself, to make up stories and rationalizations that are easier to live with than the truth. And watching his descent, tracking his decisions, his justifications, and his motivations, as he becomes closer and closer to the man we see in the original trilogy, is fascinating, terrifying and tragic. 
I could talk forever about Coriolanus and his merits and flaws, the moments he could've tried another way, the pieces of beauty he cut out of himself to be the person he thought he needed to be. I wish he could've lived another life, but the tragedy of prequels is knowing how the story ends.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, War, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, and Cannibalism

corik's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

2.75

This book tries to be deep sometimes discussing human psychology but that is quickly overshadowed by the self-serving, arrogant, and bigoted main character who only uses those discussions to further solidify his own worldview rather than growing and evolving to be better.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Classism

bookhead420's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Murder

Minor: Cannibalism