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A review by thebooknookgroup
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
If you've managed to not know anything more about this book than what I wrote above, I suggest trying to keep it that way. I think this book is best enjoyed not knowing about Snow's trials and tribulations beforehand.
This book is intentionally written and structured very differently than the original trilogy. It is less about Panem, the hunger games, foreshadowing revolution, and the tributes themselves than it is about illustrating the gradual progression of how an innocent child's moral compass can become so distorted over time that we're left with one of the most notorious villains in Young Adult literature.
I may be a bit biased because The Hunger Games is the reason I started reading in the first place, and I read this three years ago when it first came out, but I'll still stand by my 5-star rating. I thought the character progression here was beautifully executed. We get to be inside of Corio's head where his story is super believable. I felt a lull in the plot at times but looking back realized those scenes were important to understanding Snow's development. There was some predictability at points but I actually didn't mind it.
If you're a fan of the original Hunger Games trilogy, this is a must-read. However, I do understand why other readers rated this lower than I did.
This book is intentionally written and structured very differently than the original trilogy. It is less about Panem, the hunger games, foreshadowing revolution, and the tributes themselves than it is about illustrating the gradual progression of how an innocent child's moral compass can become so distorted over time that we're left with one of the most notorious villains in Young Adult literature.
I may be a bit biased because The Hunger Games is the reason I started reading in the first place, and I read this three years ago when it first came out, but I'll still stand by my 5-star rating. I thought the character progression here was beautifully executed. We get to be inside of Corio's head where his story is super believable. I felt a lull in the plot at times but looking back realized those scenes were important to understanding Snow's development. There was some predictability at points but I actually didn't mind it.
If you're a fan of the original Hunger Games trilogy, this is a must-read. However, I do understand why other readers rated this lower than I did.