The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic
Summary:
It's the tenth Hunger Games, and 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is chosen to be one of the twenty-four mentors to the tributes of the Hunger Games. His family, once a powerful Capitol family, has fallen on hard times, and he's hoping that the mentorship will allow him to reinstate himself as a powerful Capitol citizen. The only problem is that he's been given the District 12 female to mentor, meaning his chances of winning are very low. As Coriolanus navigates his tribute through the Hunger Games, he must decide if he wants follow all of the rules or survive and win.
Another thing that I liked was seeing how different the first several Hunger Games were from the elaborate production that it is in the original three books. It was interesting to see how they became the way they were in Katniss' day and it made a lot of sense because when you're first introduced to the concept of the Hunger Games in the first book, you can't help but wonder how the people supported them.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book, much more than I had expected to, and enjoyed the expansion upon the world of Panem!
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
My thoughts:
Many people didn't want to read this book because they were afraid that President Snow would get a redemption. He does not. Yes, he is young (only eighteen) when this takes place. But right from the beginning of the book, he thinks only of how he can gain status and power, and when the concept of the Hunger Games is introduced, he doesn't seem to have many problems with it. Throughout the book, we can see Snow grow into the person we see in the original three Hunger Games books, laying the foundations of his ideas that we come to see in Katniss' time. This is a villain backstory unlike many others I've read, because the villain isn't redeemed: you can't look back and think "the things they did were terrible, but they had a reason," because Snow's reasons aren't ones that we would agree with. It was very well done, I enjoyed the insight into his mind without feeling sorry for him.Another thing that I liked was seeing how different the first several Hunger Games were from the elaborate production that it is in the original three books. It was interesting to see how they became the way they were in Katniss' day and it made a lot of sense because when you're first introduced to the concept of the Hunger Games in the first book, you can't help but wonder how the people supported them.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book, much more than I had expected to, and enjoyed the expansion upon the world of Panem!
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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