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

dark reflective 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

The job of a good prequel is to enhance the experience of the thing it precedes, and I can confidently say that Ballad does just that. I went into this book having seen the film and heard the general buzz of what people had to say about it when the book was first released. I’m also coming off of reading Sunrise on the Reaping, which was great but not completely my style of book ultimately. Maybe the combination of all of these things: my feelings of being let down by Sunrise, the mediocre experience of the movie (while also feeling like there was a lot of potential… not a coincidence), and the seemingly lukewarm response to the book upon its release, led me to love it so much? No matter what the reason though, I had a fantastic time reading this. Every bit of internal monologue from Snow feels incredibly thought out by Collins. You can tell she really got to know him as a character in her preparation to write this book, and in the process of writing it. Every character is a symbol. Every plot point is a symbol. Every twist and turn of the narrative is making a commentary on the events of the original trilogy, the current political climate, or the nature of government and personal freedom. Snow as a protagonist is chilling and cunning. He is such a fun character to worm your way inside of. You find him to hypocritical, despicable, and a budding evil, and yet, you can’t stop listening to him justify himself and his actions with what he sees as cutting logic. I love a protagonist with questionable views. I love a villain protagonist even more, because it’s such an interesting reading experience to get into the head of someone you thoroughly disagree with and dislike. I have no idea what people were complaining about when they said that this book was somehow “romanticizing” Snow by giving him a love story or explaining his tragic backstory. He is just as despicable as ever, just more realistically so. I could talk on and on about all the layers Collins has I seen into this book. I LOVE Lucy Gray Baird and her Covey family. I love learning more and more about the world of Panem that Susanne has created. But, I’ll leave it here. Please don’t let the movie being disappointing or critical opinions of a villain origin story put you off this one. Do yourself a favor, and give it a try.
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