A review by probablyjenna
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I love a villain origin story. 

The best villains are constructed from shades of gray. They didn’t start out with purely evil intentions; they often still think they are acting for the greater good. Suzanne Collins shines in her ability to humanize parts of Snow, a character who is infamous from the original trilogy.

From the very first start, you see murmurs of the controlling and cruel person teenage Coriolanus someday becomes. He has a moment near the beginning where he mentions his own obsessiveness, and even muses how that may someday be his downfall - a curious reflection that certainly comes to pass years later. 

I’m confused by the amount of people who have left this book feeling as if Snow has redeemed himself, even in a small way. While at times I did pity Coriolanus’ circumstances - no child should grow up in war - in no way did I feel it excused the things he eventually does with his power. His possessiveness of Lucy Gray was more than enough to sound the alarms for me; add in basically every scene where he thinks about or interacts with Sejanus Plinth, and it’s a big ol yikes from me on Snow, both young and old.

I think it’s brilliant that Collins had Snow tell this story because it adds such insight into the Capitol mindset, and also tells the tale of Lucy Gray in a wildly effective way. She’s a character who remains a mystery; we only see the idealized version of her Snow sees, and we’re left to wonder who she truly was.

Overall, I loved this. Was it a bit long? Sure. But I will honestly read whatever scraps of Panem history Collins chooses to throw at us - page count be damned 🤷🏼‍♀️