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jessmbark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Classism and Xenophobia
loveisabird's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
but between the book and the movie together i think i’m even more taken in by this era of THG storyline than the original trilogy. don’t get me wrong i love the story of the final rebellion. but i also just adore worldbuilding and seeing the world of panem getting built, setting up the eventual rebellion, at this earlier point is entrancing to me. the way it recontextualizes things from the original trilogy that are already so provocative… the mockingjay, the hanging tree, the unnamed first district 12 victor, the traditions and spectacle of the hunger games… delicious.
also like. as much as i hate the bitch coriolanus was a more compelling narrator. then again maybe if katniss’ books weren’t in fucking first person i’d be more into her narration and inner world also.
finally lucy gray baird is the best character suzanne collins ever created and if you ask me she lived a long life in the woods. maybe not a happy one. but she survived that motherfucker i know it in my heart.
Graphic: Xenophobia, Child death, Emotional abuse, Classism, Death, Genocide, Violence, Grief, Murder, War, and Child abuse
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Torture
Minor: Medical content, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Animal death, and Suicidal thoughts
kattila's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Kidnapping, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, War, Alcohol, Animal death, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Confinement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Blood, Addiction, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Genocide, Terminal illness, and Torture
Minor: Cannibalism and Medical trauma
lola218_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Murder, Child abuse, Death, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, War, Child death, Gore, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Grief, and Xenophobia
Minor: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Drug use, and Drug abuse
c8ln18'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Murder, Xenophobia, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Police brutality
Moderate: War
Minor: Cannibalism
rsoule7's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Violence, Murder, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Confinement, War, Child abuse, Classism, Police brutality, and Gore
Moderate: Gun violence, Torture, Drug use, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Cannibalism, Addiction, and Genocide
Minor: Bullying
nialiversuch'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
3.5
Graphic: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Murder, Classism, War, Addiction, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Gun violence
Minor: Vomit and Suicidal thoughts
rebekkamafia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Animal cruelty, Murder, Death, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, and Gun violence
Minor: Death of parent, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
bellebeaumont95'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes tracks a pivotal time in a young Coriolanus Snow's life, all the moments that lead up to him becoming the President of Panem by the time of Katniss' Hunger Games, 64 years after the events of this book.
It's such a well-crafted franchise. The worldbuilding in this one is still very well thought out, rich and just phenomenal, each character serves a very clear purpose in the story, and as usual, the perspective is where the book really shines. We spend the entire time seeing events unfold from Snow's POV, and while we are at times drawn to empathize with him, since he is a very nuanced character, at every turn it's inescapably clear that he always had choices. Collins shows this vividly through characters like Tigris, Sejanus, Lucy Gray, even some of his classmates from the Capitol (which really surprised me, I hope Lysistrata had a nice life far away from this man) who live through most of the same events as Coriolanus and simply make different choices.
It does run a little longer than needed (I don't think learning all the minutia of bird-trapping was all that vital, unless it was to draw another parallel to Katniss' hunting? STILL), and it does occasionally suffer from a bit of prequel-itis, such as some heavy-handed winks towards the future and certain in-your-face-"isn't-this-so-diabolical" moments, but I can't really fault Suzanne Collins for that, since people still! keep! missing! the point! (The next person to make a "Snow lands on top of me" thirst trap edit owes me 50$!!!!)
Overall I would recommend this book as a worthy installment in The Hunger Games series; at no point does it fall into villain apologism, and it has a lot to say about the complexity of privilege.
4.25/5 stars!
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Classism, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit and War
Minor: Addiction
eminent_reader's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Xenophobia