Reviews with content warning for Child death - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

696 reviews

samantha_griff's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

The prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, follows an 18 year old Coriolanus Snow in the 10th year of the Hunger Games.

While the Coriolanus Snow that we know in the original trilogy is a very hateable character, I do love his character arc in TBOSAS as he battles the fine line between good and evil. Coriolanus's inner monologue is extremely important in understanding his worldview, actions and thoughts that dictate where he stands between good and evil. His parents, despite being dead, play a significant role in this mental battle. Suzanne Collins brilliantly acknowledges the moment where Coriolanus crosses that line,

even changing the way she refers to him between the novel's final chapter and the epilogue.

It's fascinating to see who Coriolanus will betray and why/how in order to attain the power and control over others he hungers for. A particular character death towards the end of the novel caused me to stop reading and consider every possible way his death, had it not happened or happened in a different manner, would have altered the outcome of Coriolanus's life.

TBOSAS explores the earliest versions of the Hunger Games, which vary significantly from the spectacle we know of in the main trilogy.

The 10th Hunger Games is a very basic "fight to the death" concept that does not garner much interest from Capitol citizens, but Coriolanus's contributions in the lead up to the Games start shaping the Hunger Games into what it becomes by the 74th Games. We also read of additional contributions Snow makes to the 11th Games in the novel's epilogue, so by the end we are aware that he is essentially responsible for what the Games become.

The Easter eggs from the Hunger Games trilogy that are mentioned in TBOSAS create a direct link between them, reminding the reader constantly that this is a prequel novel. It leaves us speculating over potential links between characters and events, and filling the gaps with potential storylines that occur in the 64 years between TBOSAS and The Hunger Games.

TBOSAS is a character driven novel, and Suzanne Collins has written every character arc so brilliantly that they are actually relevant to how the story continues to play out in the main Hunger Games trilogy.

Content Warnings