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luna_is_superior's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
Coryo is a HUGE unreliable narrator, how'd he make me love him until like the last chapter????
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Classism, Gaslighting, Gore, Torture, Toxic friendship, Blood, Confinement, Police brutality, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Violence, War, Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, and Vomit
themelleh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
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
3.0
We all know what happens to Coriolanus Snow, so it’s nice to see how he gets to be that way. Like most men, he put poor Lucy (in this case) on an unobtainable pedestal and she was the one who paid for it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Racism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Genocide, Gore, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Classism, Death, Vomit, War, Addiction, Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Murder, Dementia, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
frnk's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death, Gaslighting, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cannibalism, and Addiction
erynelle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, and Child death
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Cannibalism
kccool12255's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Before I start, I'd like to say that once I began my second reading of this book, both of my best friends who love it to death made me promise that I would write an official apology letter if I ended up liking this book. Though I have already given half of the speech, I'm giving the rest of it now.
When I read this book for the first time, I did not like it. I had to DNF around 118 pages because I just couldn't take the slow-pacing anymore, I didn't know what was going on, and it just confused the heck out of me. I HATE DNFing books, I only do it when I absolutely just cannot do it anymore, but it was necessary at the time. And for a while, I didn't see any people who were also hating on this terrible book, and it made me angry. For a minute there, hating on this book was my favorite thing to do. However, my best friends loved it, I was putting off the rest of my reading list, and I figured, why not give it another chance.
I would like to formally apologize for hating on this book with the magnitude and the severity that I have for the past two years. While it is not the best book in the world, it in no way deserves that level of hatred. And I would also like to apologize to my best friends, for hating on them too.
Now, with that out of the way, let's get into the review!
Listen, I get that this is a prequel. We have to fit a hunger games in here, AND Snow's story. However, THE REST OF THE TRILOGY IS 300 PAGES. THIS IS 500. I GET IT, BUT WHY? And we have to face the hurdle of getting past the first 100 pages before the games ACTUALLY get set into motion, which is probably why I didn't continue reading this book the first time around. I suppose it's my OWN fault that this took me a literal month to read, but it's so. long. The beginning could've been paced much better, that's all I'm saying.
I also understand that this is a fantasy and dystopian universe, and the names are gonna be whack, but the trilogy had names that were just a tad bit weird. Suzanne Collins goes BONKERS on the names in this book. I dare you to find me one person who can pronounce Coriolanus properly. I DARE YOU. (Apparently everyone pronounces it like Cornelius? I always thought of it as "Cor-ee-oh-lay-nus", but apparently it's "Cor-yoh-lay-nus", which I guess makes sense with the Coryo nickname, but like. Still.) And I wish the tributes in the hunger games were more memorable, because the only one who really stands out is Lucy Gray herself. In the original trilogy, Katniss and Peeta were the standouts, but there were also other tributes that you could root for and that you wanted to succeed. In this book, no one else is really developed, so you don't really feel anything when they die. Which, by the way, A LOT OF THEM DO, BEFORE THE ACTUAL GAMES. I wish over half the tributes had not died before the actual games, although I did like Marcus's death, it was very grisly and perfectly executed (and I get that the games are also a work in progress, and there are kinks to be worked out, but still), because they're not developed at all, and you're just like, "oh dang". I know SNOW doesn't care about the tributes dying, but that doesn't mean WE don't have to care, let us as the audience connect with them. And on that note, do the same thing with Snow's fellow MENTORS, come ON. The only standouts are Sejanus and Clemensia, who I desperately wish had more page time, because I really like her. Sejanus is so precious, by the way. AND THEY KILLED HIM. PRECIOUS BABY BOY. I'M SO SORRY.
I'm also not totally on-board with Snow coming up with literally EVERYTHING. I GET that this man is the eventual president of the nation and that the hunger games would not be what they are without him, but that doesn't mean he has to come up with EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF THE CURRENT GAMES. I would've preferred if some ideas had emerged over time, and not just been thought up by him on the spot. I don't know if Snow came up with EVERYTHING in the current hunger games in this book, but he definitely came up with a lot.
On the topic of Snow, it may or may not have been his actor in the movie that helped me get through this book (hehe). But that's a topic for another day. Reading in Snow's third-person POV is what provides a lot of the comedy from this book. Because you know what the child-murder games are missing? COMEDY. (For legal reasons, this is a joke.) Snow is so mean and petty, but some of the things he says are absolutely hilarious. I clearly remember the moment in which I discovered my favorite line in this book. Please enjoy the comedy stylings of Coriolanus Snow below:
"I started out as a medical doctor, you know," Dr. Gaul said. "Obstetrics."
How awful, Coriolanus thought. To have you be the first person in the world a baby sees.
IT IS SO MEAN BUT SO FUNNY. I CAN'T.
On the topic of Dr. Gaul, I have...mixed feelings about her. She's definitely better than Dean Highbottom, who is by far one of the stupidest characters I have ever seen in a book, my GOSH. Holding a grudge over this bright boy because you were best friends with his father and you had a fight? COME ON. BE SO FOR REAL. Dean Highbottom is very stupid, I hope his character improves in the movie. Dr. Gaul, however, is a somewhat effective villain. There were times when she annoyed me, and there were times when I was genuinely scared of her. She is INSANE. (And when I'm reading, for some reason, I always picture her as looking like Doc Ock from Into the Spiderverse, I don't know why.) I am unsure where I land on Dr. Gaul, maybe my opinion will change later on.
Now, on to the romance, which, knowing me, it's surprising that I've taken this long to mention it. First off, we've done tribute-tribute pairings, with Katniss and Peeta, and SORT OF done mentor-mentor pairings, with Effie and Haymitch, in the original trilogy, so I LOVE the direction Suzanne Collins went with this. MENTOR-TRIBUTE ROMANCE? YESSSSSSSS. I was LIVING for their first kiss, it was so perfect. And how they reunited after the games and got closer together, YES. I WAS LIVING MY BEST LIFE. THEY ARE SO PERFECT. She's the perfect softness to his sharp edges, and they could've been so good together if CORYO HAD JUST LET GO. WHY. UGHHHHHHH. The most clever thing about this relationship, and really this entire book, is that you have a vague idea of how things are going to go, but it STILL manages to surprise you.
I'm gonna include the small little tidbits here, before I round this out. I don't really like Tigris being Snow's cousin, I don't THINK it was ever mentioned in the actual trilogy and it feels kinda shoe-horned in there. I do love what they do with her character, but I wish she had just been a good friend to Snow. And I'm not gonna put too much about Sejanus, because the fandom does enough of that, but he is precious. I did spoil the ending for myself, but I will always be sad about his death. Calling out for his mom, so sad.
I was at first iffy about the symbolism and foreshadowing of future events in this book, but I think it works out well. SO FREAKIN GOOD. I WAS SHOCKED MULTIPLE TIMES. THEY STRUNG UP A MAN THEY SAY WHO MURDERED THREE? AND HE CALLED OUT FOR HIS LOVE TO FLEE? AND SHE LOOKS LIKE KATNISS? BRO And Snow's immediate aversion to mockingjays is so funny.
Overall, does this book do the trilogy justice? Not really, but it's still a lot of fun. I actually had a good time, and I'm excited for the movie to come out. It's not my favorite book in the world, but it's not the worst.
When I read this book for the first time, I did not like it. I had to DNF around 118 pages because I just couldn't take the slow-pacing anymore, I didn't know what was going on, and it just confused the heck out of me. I HATE DNFing books, I only do it when I absolutely just cannot do it anymore, but it was necessary at the time. And for a while, I didn't see any people who were also hating on this terrible book, and it made me angry. For a minute there, hating on this book was my favorite thing to do. However, my best friends loved it, I was putting off the rest of my reading list, and I figured, why not give it another chance.
I would like to formally apologize for hating on this book with the magnitude and the severity that I have for the past two years. While it is not the best book in the world, it in no way deserves that level of hatred. And I would also like to apologize to my best friends, for hating on them too.
Now, with that out of the way, let's get into the review!
Listen, I get that this is a prequel. We have to fit a hunger games in here, AND Snow's story. However, THE REST OF THE TRILOGY IS 300 PAGES. THIS IS 500. I GET IT, BUT WHY? And we have to face the hurdle of getting past the first 100 pages before the games ACTUALLY get set into motion, which is probably why I didn't continue reading this book the first time around. I suppose it's my OWN fault that this took me a literal month to read, but it's so. long. The beginning could've been paced much better, that's all I'm saying.
I also understand that this is a fantasy and dystopian universe, and the names are gonna be whack, but the trilogy had names that were just a tad bit weird. Suzanne Collins goes BONKERS on the names in this book. I dare you to find me one person who can pronounce Coriolanus properly. I DARE YOU. (Apparently everyone pronounces it like Cornelius? I always thought of it as "Cor-ee-oh-lay-nus", but apparently it's "Cor-yoh-lay-nus", which I guess makes sense with the Coryo nickname, but like. Still.) And I wish the tributes in the hunger games were more memorable, because the only one who really stands out is Lucy Gray herself. In the original trilogy, Katniss and Peeta were the standouts, but there were also other tributes that you could root for and that you wanted to succeed. In this book, no one else is really developed, so you don't really feel anything when they die.
I'm also not totally on-board with Snow coming up with literally EVERYTHING. I GET that this man is the eventual president of the nation and that the hunger games would not be what they are without him, but that doesn't mean he has to come up with EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF THE CURRENT GAMES. I would've preferred if some ideas had emerged over time, and not just been thought up by him on the spot. I don't know if Snow came up with EVERYTHING in the current hunger games in this book, but he definitely came up with a lot.
On the topic of Snow, it may or may not have been his actor in the movie that helped me get through this book (hehe). But that's a topic for another day. Reading in Snow's third-person POV is what provides a lot of the comedy from this book. Because you know what the child-murder games are missing? COMEDY. (For legal reasons, this is a joke.) Snow is so mean and petty, but some of the things he says are absolutely hilarious. I clearly remember the moment in which I discovered my favorite line in this book. Please enjoy the comedy stylings of Coriolanus Snow below:
"I started out as a medical doctor, you know," Dr. Gaul said. "Obstetrics."
How awful, Coriolanus thought. To have you be the first person in the world a baby sees.
IT IS SO MEAN BUT SO FUNNY. I CAN'T.
On the topic of Dr. Gaul, I have...mixed feelings about her. She's definitely better than Dean Highbottom, who is by far one of the stupidest characters I have ever seen in a book, my GOSH.
Now, on to the romance, which, knowing me, it's surprising that I've taken this long to mention it. First off, we've done tribute-tribute pairings, with Katniss and Peeta, and SORT OF done mentor-mentor pairings, with Effie and Haymitch, in the original trilogy, so I LOVE the direction Suzanne Collins went with this. MENTOR-TRIBUTE ROMANCE? YESSSSSSSS. I was LIVING for their first kiss, it was so perfect.
I'm gonna include the small little tidbits here, before I round this out. I don't really like Tigris being Snow's cousin, I don't THINK it was ever mentioned in the actual trilogy and it feels kinda shoe-horned in there. I do love what they do with her character, but I wish she had just been a good friend to Snow. And I'm not gonna put too much about Sejanus, because the fandom does enough of that, but he is precious.
I was at first iffy about the symbolism and foreshadowing of future events in this book, but I think it works out well. SO FREAKIN GOOD. I WAS SHOCKED MULTIPLE TIMES.
Overall, does this book do the trilogy justice? Not really, but it's still a lot of fun. I actually had a good time, and I'm excited for the movie to come out. It's not my favorite book in the world, but it's not the worst.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Physical abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Cannibalism, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Gun violence, and Miscarriage
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
sarahsbookss'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Murder, War, Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Vomit, Trafficking, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Classism, Death, and Death of parent
bohemianhermit04's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, and Child death
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Classism
Minor: Cannibalism, Alcoholism, and Vomit
david_slack110507's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was not expecting for this book to end the way that it did and for me to be so engrossed throughout but this was honestly a really fun read that had very few issues for me. I haven't read the original trilogy of books as I mainly read this book in anticipation for the movie adaptation to come out and I have watched the movie adaptations of the original trilogy but this book has made me want to start reading the original 3 books as I really enjoyed the way that the story was told in this and I would not be surprised if the movie adaptations of the original trilogy left things out of those books.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, Blood, Toxic relationship, Child death, Grief, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Torture, Violence, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Gaslighting, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexism, Misogyny, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Drug use
keelirae113'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Child death, Blood, Animal death, War, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Police brutality, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Drug use, Torture, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
calamityin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Toxic friendship, War, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Grief, Medical content, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Violence, Addiction, Child death, Colonisation, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Medical trauma, Bullying, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Blood, and Vomit