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A review by alyjmaahs
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
i have really mixed feelings about this book. but many thoughts so i’m going to scream into the void about it. julie if you’re reading this don’t it has spoilers.
okay so what i DIDN’T like about this book to put it simply was snow. he is such a hatable main character (not that i expected anything less considering he was who he was in the original trilogy) and it absolutely infuriated me that at the end of the book, he got what he’d always wanted. slimy little privileged boy. i am so angry the wound is fresh guys. after ratting out sejanus to gaul and getting him KILLED he kept in good contact with his parents because, like everyone else he keeps around in his life, they could serve him in some way. he was always just really stupid and self centered but … not always in an interesting way to me. he was predictable because despite the fact that all his superiors in the capitol pushed him around and taunted him, his head was so far up their asses that he’d never change. he should have listened to sejanus even just a little bit. he makes me so angry i’m so mad. terrible villain origin story because he was always in line for presidency and he always had high ambitions carrying his family’s name. all privilege. took a trip with the peacekeepers to district 12 as a slap on the wrist when sejanus was sent out the same because he wanted to release the soul of marcus the way they did back home (stupid of him to sneak into the arena? yes but snow literally gave lucy gray all the means to win and she did). infuriating how he always seemed to get what he wanted. he did not deserve it one bit.
what i DID like about this book was all of the ~lore~. i have been a huge hunger games fan for nearly 10 years now and what kept me going more than anything while reading this book was how crazy different the country of panem was in this book than the original trilogy. from the poverty in the capitol (during and after the war) to the very different way in which the games were held, i thought it was really interesting and thought provoking to connect the dots to how the games went from something even capitol citizens could hardly bear to watch, to something they became so brainwashed over that it was a treat once a year to see 24 kids go into an arena to kill each other. i also really loved the way hanging tree and that other song… i don’t remember the title. deep in the meadow under the willow. were incorporated into lucy gray’s songwriting and i think it’s super powerful that even after music was banned in district 12 (and i’d imagine the others), it lingered long enough for katniss to know it 65 years later. represents the rebellion never truly dying :,) i also found it interesting how ironically repulsed snow was by the mockingjays in 12, because i’m pretty sure this was before they were a blatant symbol of rebellion. between katniss singing those songs and wearing the pin and then becoming THE mockingjay, his stomach must have churned every time that girl made a move in the games.
i feel like i’ve said so much but i’m also just skimming the surface… i didn’t even touch on the tribute/mentor situation or all the chaos leading up to the games or the way the tributes were literally treated like animals beforehand… i could go on forever about how crazy (and fucked) this is but i’ll stop. in conclusion, lucy gray killed it in the end, rip sejanus and f u snow <3 the worst person i know fr so self centered and gross i can’t believe he lasted as long as he did in the world
um also i can’t believe the hunger games started because of a JOKE highbottom made that crassus snow rolled with. this really could have all been avoided if it weren’t for the snows. they are consistently the worst i think!
okay so what i DIDN’T like about this book to put it simply was snow. he is such a hatable main character (not that i expected anything less considering he was who he was in the original trilogy) and it absolutely infuriated me that at the end of the book, he got what he’d always wanted. slimy little privileged boy. i am so angry the wound is fresh guys. after ratting out sejanus to gaul and getting him KILLED he kept in good contact with his parents because, like everyone else he keeps around in his life, they could serve him in some way. he was always just really stupid and self centered but … not always in an interesting way to me. he was predictable because despite the fact that all his superiors in the capitol pushed him around and taunted him, his head was so far up their asses that he’d never change. he should have listened to sejanus even just a little bit. he makes me so angry i’m so mad. terrible villain origin story because he was always in line for presidency and he always had high ambitions carrying his family’s name. all privilege. took a trip with the peacekeepers to district 12 as a slap on the wrist when sejanus was sent out the same because he wanted to release the soul of marcus the way they did back home (stupid of him to sneak into the arena? yes but snow literally gave lucy gray all the means to win and she did). infuriating how he always seemed to get what he wanted. he did not deserve it one bit.
what i DID like about this book was all of the ~lore~. i have been a huge hunger games fan for nearly 10 years now and what kept me going more than anything while reading this book was how crazy different the country of panem was in this book than the original trilogy. from the poverty in the capitol (during and after the war) to the very different way in which the games were held, i thought it was really interesting and thought provoking to connect the dots to how the games went from something even capitol citizens could hardly bear to watch, to something they became so brainwashed over that it was a treat once a year to see 24 kids go into an arena to kill each other. i also really loved the way hanging tree and that other song… i don’t remember the title. deep in the meadow under the willow. were incorporated into lucy gray’s songwriting and i think it’s super powerful that even after music was banned in district 12 (and i’d imagine the others), it lingered long enough for katniss to know it 65 years later. represents the rebellion never truly dying :,) i also found it interesting how ironically repulsed snow was by the mockingjays in 12, because i’m pretty sure this was before they were a blatant symbol of rebellion. between katniss singing those songs and wearing the pin and then becoming THE mockingjay, his stomach must have churned every time that girl made a move in the games.
i feel like i’ve said so much but i’m also just skimming the surface… i didn’t even touch on the tribute/mentor situation or all the chaos leading up to the games or the way the tributes were literally treated like animals beforehand… i could go on forever about how crazy (and fucked) this is but i’ll stop. in conclusion, lucy gray killed it in the end, rip sejanus and f u snow <3 the worst person i know fr so self centered and gross i can’t believe he lasted as long as he did in the world
um also i can’t believe the hunger games started because of a JOKE highbottom made that crassus snow rolled with. this really could have all been avoided if it weren’t for the snows. they are consistently the worst i think!