Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Ballada ptaków i węży by Suzanne Collins

447 reviews

lorenmarie7's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Drug use, Addiction, Child death, Murder, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Genocide, Violence, Gun violence, Alcohol, Death, and Death of parent

ehmannky's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I think this is a really fabulous look into how right-wing radicalization happens.  From the get-go, we see how someone is nurtured into believing others are lesser, that certain people "deserve" to live in squalid conditions while others "deserve" excellence, how someone can present a facade of care to get what they want. Snow sucks, he sucks from the get-go, but it's so interesting to see the ways these traits, that if he had people around him trying to nurture him to be empathetic, might not have become so dominant. But he's primed for fascism and he dives into it. I think what's so excellent about this book is that Collins humanizes him, and I think that makes his character later on much more poignant. I also like that it shows that people who do awful things are human, and that not many people are as far removed from Snow as they'd like to think. It also shows the Capitol as a place that had to be created--like they weren't beloved from the get go. It's a lot more morally complex than I think a lot of YA usually is, and I really liked it. It's just a really good philosophical work in a YA package. 

I did think at times some of the writing felt a little heavy-handed, but after seeing some of the Goodreads reviews where people seemed to miss the point of this book I think they needed to be. Truly baffled that people look at a book about how a person and society enter into a descent into tyranny and horror and not get that you're supposed to be horrified and sad by the end of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Death

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and War

lilawsahar's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.0

First off, I would like to state that I wrote a letter to Susanne Collins in 2009/2010 about writing another book, so I’m going to be delulu and say I inspired this book 13 years later haha. 

Wow, what a crazy backstory for Snow.

I can’t believe that Snows family was directly responsible for the start of the hunger games/the development of what the hunger games became. For him to have the experience of how horrid the games were, by being placed inside of them, and he still threw kids in there time and time again shows how truely horrid he is.  Also him to fall in love with his victor and still have the ruthlessness to kill her even though she had survived that traumatic event just shows how he never cared for anyone but himself.

Do not read this book if you think it’ll be a light read. It is not. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Murder, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, Grief, Child abuse, and Torture

eficca33's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

5.0

Suzanne Collins has done it again!!! Ok, I was VERY wary going into this book. Why do I need to read a book about how one of the most awful dictators came to be??? I could not have been more wrong. THIS IS A VILLAIN ORIGIN STORY!! oh it was so good. So many morally gray characters! So much nuance around oppression and survival! Oh Lucy Gray you are everything I want in a heroine.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Alcohol, Addiction, Gun violence, Police brutality, Colonisation, Classism, Violence, Murder, and Torture

shellind75's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Body horror, Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, Ableism, and Animal cruelty

gris_zorra's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Torture, Gun violence, Drug abuse, War, Blood, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Murder, and Dementia

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Blood

picnicatthehangingtree's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

A fascinating look into Snow’s journey to being the tyrant we know from the original trilogy, the red flags were there from the beginning. I am choosing to believe

that Lucy Gray survived and escaped into the woods and doesn’t just live on through her songs.

The pacing was a little off sometimes but overall exciting and gripping. Suzanne Collins is a genius. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Classism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Murder, Gore, Gun violence, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, War, Addiction, Blood, Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, Animal death, Vomit, Sexism, Kidnapping, Bullying, Medical trauma, Body horror, Grief, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Confinement, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Religious bigotry, and Infidelity

loveisabird's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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

3.75

i saw the movie first and while there’s much more in the book that fills the story out much better, there’s definitely some touches/changes from the movie i missed desperately here. coriolanus ripping out his own stitches. tigris’ last line about his father. YOU CAN KISS MY ASS!!!!!

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

lasunflower's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.5

I watched the movie first and watched a few analyses before reading the book too.

Bc of this, I didn't go into it blindly. To me especially, it is  less of a prequel but an analysis of themes of nature and control, nature and nurture, and the nature of humanity. All this is done through the setting of Panem, the Hunger Games and Snow. A lot to think about on those themes for sure.

That being said, it was interesting how Collins built upon the lore of the Hunger Games, answering questions such as why it was made, who made it and who developed it. She is a great and thoughtful writer and did this very well. And she weaved it into the preexisting trilogy if the book so well. So well in fact you are like oh so that's why Snow reacted this way or that way with the 74th Hunger Games: it's like the prequel already existed! Now I want to re-read them all.

Perhaps a detailed analysis coming soon?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Classism, War, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

aysha_blake's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Drug use, Gore, Medical content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, War, Stalking, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Alcohol, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Confinement, Death of parent, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts