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Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
224 reviews
lottsofplots's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
cassiereadsbooks_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
sarahsbookss'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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
lqne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief and War
Moderate: Addiction, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Vomit, Police brutality, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
david_slack110507'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
4.5
It was such an interesting choice to centre the book around the very antagonist of the original series in President Snow, who is simply just Coriolanus here and nothing much else other than having the last name Snow and the reputation that comes with that name. This was a good way of characterising Snow more so then what was done in the original entries into the franchise, and it was done so in being able to add layers to Snow's character while also being able to show how morally corrupt he was and how he didn't suddenly become evil, rather it was a slow process that becomes cemented in the final few chapters of the book and the epilogue in particular - essentially it does not just write off his actions as byproducts of what happened to him in this book and make him a misunderstood villain but rather that the intention behind his later actions was always there but just amplified by this book's events. Lucy Gray was also such a fascinating character too as she truly is someone in the wrong place at the wrong time that brings out the best in someone as bad as Snow and gets nothing good for her efforts and contributions, I like how different she is to Katniss and how being a performer, she immediately adapts to the publicity of the Games and survives because of it. I really liked the two of them as characters but there were also many others that I really liked and/or found fascinating and wanted to see more of such as Tigris, Sejanus, Dean Highbottom, Dr Gaul and more.
Speaking of the Games, they were really interesting to read about as we get it from the perspective of an onlooker (Coriolanus) while Lucy Gray, the one of the two that is actually in the Hunger Games, is trying to survive and fight for her life and so we don't read about any of the action that takes place other than what is seen on the monitors and yet it doesn't get boring and instead adds to the level of mystery and intrigue of the book which is something that it continues on with it's ending and resolution or there lack of for Lucy Gray's fate. It was also really interesting to have the Games as a sort of midway point in the book and to end the first half or so of the book rather than have it be the climatic battle/act that you would expect it to be instead allowing for Snow and Lucy Gray's relationship to grow following the aftermath of Games and their respective participation in it as mentor and competitor/participant, when they both return to District 12. This really solidified the strength of the book for me as it continued to thrive past its main selling point of the Hunger Games and instead allowed for more of a character study of the two to take place.
I feel like my only issue with this really is the fact that at times the pacing felt a little off as it stayed a little too focused on something that didn't seem to have too much significance but that's only really a minor issue I had with the book and only knocks it down a little from being an actual 5 star book to one that's rounded up from 4.5. I'm really interested in seeing how the movie adaptation manages to cover all this information as there is a lot here and I'm sure that there are references scattered about, besides from the obvious ones, to the original trilogy so I really hope that it delivers as this is such a wonderfully written and engaging story that has you become deeply invested in a previously unseen and unheard of character (That actually makes sense given the context) and the central villain who appeared to be just pure evil but is much more layered than that.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Cannibalism
keelirae113's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
vbaltazar07'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
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Torture, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence and Police brutality
cody_crumley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Drug use
arayo'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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, War, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
calamityin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Infidelity, Blood, Vomit, and Cannibalism