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A review by yourstrulytay
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Thanks! I hated it!
After the brilliance of THG series, I had fairly high hopes for this book. Even once I heard that the book would be centred around a young Coriolanus Snow - which, admittedly, I wasn't wholly thrilled out - I thought the premise at least sounded interesting.
Absolutely not.
I have never been so consistently bored while reading (technically, listening, because audiobooks are my BFFs right now) a book, and I have never been so annoyed by a character's inner monologue before.
I know we aren't supposed to like Snow; obviously not, considering how we met him during THG... but seriously, he was such an awful character all around. Awfully written, awfully stupid. One second, he's practically writing sonnets about Lucy Gray Baird, and the next he's whining about being stuck doing whatever task he deems beneath him. Two seconds later, he's complaining about Sajanus, after naming him as his BFF two paragraphs prior. I mean, this man is exhausting, and I listened to 16 hours of this BS... Six. Teen.
I hate DNFing, mostly because I always hold out hope that something will get better. In case you're wondering... this book did not get better. It got consistently worse as time went on; in fact, that's probably the only consistent thing about it!
So yeah, don't waste your time, I'm glad I borrowed the audiobook from a library and didn't waste money buying it because. Yeah. I hated it. So much.
(The 0.5 star is for the character of Maude Ivory who is categorically the cutest child ever and I adored her... everyone else can go home, she wins)
After the brilliance of THG series, I had fairly high hopes for this book. Even once I heard that the book would be centred around a young Coriolanus Snow - which, admittedly, I wasn't wholly thrilled out - I thought the premise at least sounded interesting.
Absolutely not.
I have never been so consistently bored while reading (technically, listening, because audiobooks are my BFFs right now) a book, and I have never been so annoyed by a character's inner monologue before.
I know we aren't supposed to like Snow; obviously not, considering how we met him during THG... but seriously, he was such an awful character all around. Awfully written, awfully stupid. One second, he's practically writing sonnets about Lucy Gray Baird, and the next he's whining about being stuck doing whatever task he deems beneath him. Two seconds later, he's complaining about Sajanus, after naming him as his BFF two paragraphs prior. I mean, this man is exhausting, and I listened to 16 hours of this BS... Six. Teen.
I hate DNFing, mostly because I always hold out hope that something will get better. In case you're wondering... this book did not get better. It got consistently worse as time went on; in fact, that's probably the only consistent thing about it!
So yeah, don't waste your time, I'm glad I borrowed the audiobook from a library and didn't waste money buying it because. Yeah. I hated it. So much.
(The 0.5 star is for the character of Maude Ivory who is categorically the cutest child ever and I adored her... everyone else can go home, she wins)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, Classism, Violence, Death, Addiction, Blood, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cannibalism, War, and Suicidal thoughts