Reviews

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

middle_name_joy's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol

jaeflack's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

rachel_proano's review against another edition

medium-paced

5.0

wtfox's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bloop's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I devoured this book so quickly. What an amazing look into Coriolanus Snow's twisted, fucked up psyche. Suzanne Collins is so fucking good at writing I sometimes forgot that I was reading YA, which is not my preferred genre. I also didn't really experience the pacing issues that other people felt. I think that every single detail Collins included was incredibly important to move the story along. I really want to reread the whole Hunger Games Trilogy now!

molly_sbookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

disneyfreak627's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.25

tigersmurf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

3.0

hannahgough's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• 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

saegelsomino's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh man what a prequel. What a villain. This was absolutely excellent.

I had no idea how Collin’s would go about humanizing a legendary villain like Snow, but I absolutely loved her approach. I felt like she constructed him in a way where you somehow were simultaneously rooting for him and repulsed by him. 

I also loved seeing more behind the scenes of how Panem came to be. It seems like such a wildly insane concept, but through this book, you see how things get quite so extreme and it’s depressing and terrifying and enthralling. 

I loved this book, I felt like it was such an excellent addition to the series. I hope one day Collin’s chooses to revisit this world again because I’d 100% read it.