Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

23 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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, War, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Trafficking

hannahcstocks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Eating disorder, Death, Alcohol, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Deportation, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Body horror, Child death, Cannibalism, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, Confinement, Dysphoria, Gore, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Slavery, Stalking, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, and War

rhiannonhoward's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Dementia, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

bass_clarinet's review

adventurous challenging dark informative tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Trafficking, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

Minor: Misogyny and Vomit

kattila's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

zghutcheson01's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-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

4.0

I enjoyed this book a lot and if you want an intro into philosophy about the human condition and role of government (think Hobbes, Locke, etc.), this is the perfect book for you. I wish I got to see more of Lucy Gray and the Covey from a perspective other than Snow’s but that would defeat the whole point so can’t complain too much about that

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Classism, Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Murder, Gaslighting, Bullying, Grief, Dementia, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Medical content, and Vomit

Minor: Body horror, Misogyny, Addiction, Gun violence, Blood, War, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Animal death, and Trafficking

elia24's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Trafficking and Sexual assault

wheelyautistic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

Brilliant story that had me hooked the entire time. I have never hated a main character as much as I have reading this but that's what makes it amazing. The character's we're amazing and so well explored.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, War, Hate crime, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Minor: Death of parent and Animal death

al3xa's review

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Violence, and War

Moderate: Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Murder, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Bullying, Colonisation, Genocide, Abandonment, Deportation, and Emotional abuse

bellekeegan's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Overall a good book, a great read that took me back to my time as a teenager reading the original hunger games. My one qualm is that the pacing is weird and it ends very abruptly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Police brutality, Murder, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Death, War, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Emotional abuse, Blood, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Body horror