The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel)

The book came in excellent condition, and had a few plot twists along the way.

Why I Like This Book “Well, as they said, it’s not over until the mockingjay sings.” I was filled with nervous excitement to start reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I love The Hunger Games trilogy, but throughout the reader is persuaded to hate President Snow, which I do. So, why would I want to read a prequel all about him? The curiosity to find out what happened during the war and uprisings in Panem, and how it affected Snow made me actually pick this book up and start reading it. I wanted to know what happened for him to carry the games on for 75 years and predominately turn evil. The nostalgia of The Hunger Games is probably what I enjoy most, rather than reading about Snow’s life. So, if you were a fan of The Hunger Games, I would recommend reading this as the whole story revolving around the 10th Hunger Games is very interesting and captivating. The Story “The strain of being a full-fledged adult every day had grown tiresome.” The build-up to the 10th anniversary of the Hunger Games is quite fast-paced. Almost immediately in Collins’ fourth instalment, we are introduced to new information, tributes and fresh ideas to make the games more fun for the viewers. In the book, a new perspective on the games is revealed. We get to sit back and join the voyeurs in the Capital, as opposed to seeing the hunger games we already know. We follow Snow on his journey through District 12. What seems to be a story about romance and love quickly takes a turn. Murder, destruction and the inner battles Snow struggles with, take up a huge part of the book towards the end. We see the conflict of him wanting to be a good person and wanting to change the failure that his life has become. The Characters “Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping.” Who likes Snow? I’ll admit he is a very good villain throughout The Hunger Games trilogy and I’m sure a lot of people are curious about him and how he ended up being so corrupt. Collins’ intention wasn’t to make you feel sorry for Snow, and if it was, I really didn’t. His actions and intentions frustrated me and I almost didn’t want to read on, because I knew he would only make bad decisions. However, I’m glad his character is so consistent and carried on making these bad decisions. Collins wasn’t trying to make him a new person, or coax us into liking him. I really started appreciating his character and understood what made him be the man that he was in The Hunger Games trilogy. Lucy Gray Baird has to be my favourite character, maybe a lot of you will agree once you’ve read it? She has numerous similarities to Katniss Everdeen and not just the fact that she is the tribute from District 12, extremely clever, and family motivated. The romance that commences during the book is cute but necessary to show us Snow’s true character and abilities. I got a little spark of joy whenever I read a name I recognised from the original books. Again, it was the nostalgia of seeing some of these characters or their relatives again that made me love reading this book. The Design “We’ll get new dreams out there…” I always take the paper cover off of my hardback books. It looks neater and they always end up falling off for me anyway. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is one of the nicest designs I have seen. The cover is so simple and bright, it is the first book your eyes get drawn to, especially on my bookcase. As well as the cover, the artwork continues throughout the book with the beautiful illustrations of snakes. Original photo to show page artwork of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Page Artwork Overall Thoughts “Snow lands on top” There are a lot of different views on The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and I didn’t know how I to feel while reading it or after I finished. Even writing this now I am still debating which rating to give. I have always said I’d love to read/watch more Hunger Games from previous years, and I was so excited to think this is what Collins’ was giving us. Although this was not the case. Overall, I loved reading this book, although it did start to drag a bit towards the end. This book is not written in the same story structure as The Hunger Games. I wouldn’t recommend if that is what you’re looking for. However, if you are interested and curious to see Snow back in his prime, how the uprising in Panem truly affected The Capitol and the Districts and how the games were early on, I would highly recommend you read this book. Rating: 4/5

I loooooooooooooved this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you are a big fan of the original trilogy YOU WILL LOVE THIS. I was very apprehensive before reading this for two reasons, 1) The original trilogy is AMAZING, do we really need more and how could it possibly live up to it? And 2) When the protagonist was announced, I was very unsure as to whether we need to hear from President Snow, can anything really justify or even explain his actions? Especially when a Haymitch prequel has been so heavily requested. Nevertheless, my original concerns were quickly addressed. 1) Yes the original trilogy was amazing, this book did not take away from that. I do not like to compare them, it is not possible to say that this book was in any way better or worse than the rest of the series as in my opinion they work well alongside each other in a complementary way. I would certainly argue that this book added a lot of depth to the overall story of Panem and the Hunger Games, it also helps us understand why President Snow’s hatred for Katniss is so deep. This book also contains a lot of familiar names that fans of the original series will recognise, we also learn about how the Hunger Games have changed and the reasons behind that which was all remarkably interesting to read about for me. 2) This book, luckily, does not justify President Snow’s actions. Snow was an extremely well-written villain in the original trilogy and this book adds so much depth to his already complex character. Rather than being a justification for his actions, the book allows us to understand the series of events which led Snow to becoming who he was in the original series. Some of Snow’s traits, such as his ambition and hunger for power, were already rooted in him from the beginning of the book and motivated him throughout. At the end of the book, I still hated Snow, I understood his character much better, but he remains a villain, nonetheless. I loved how nostalgic this book felt whilst I was reading it, I loved having the opportunity to immerse myself in the world of Panem once again. All the characters in the book, especially Lucy Gray, were so well-written. I have since read some of the criticism that this book received, with many readers considering it to be quite slow. While I understand that some parts of the novel lacked the fast pace that the original trilogy had, I personally enjoyed the thought-provoking themes that this novel also explored, with Snow’s exploration of the ideas behind social theory, government, and war. There is something about the Hunger Games world that will always draw me in, therefore I would certainly not be opposed to Suzanne Collins writing more in this universe. I definitely recommend this book, it might not float everyone’s goat but it definitely makes for a compelling read.

excellent read

Bough this book just out of curiosity with no expectation - well, I literally couldn’t stop reading it! The writing is simply amazing, sending the reader into the story. 100% recommended!!! Book quality is ok and delivery was on time, as expected.

A really great book! I recommend you read the hunger games first beacuse this is the prequel and it gives you a better prestictive of her world. I love her take on politics and how you dont really know who's in the right or wrong esspecially in the ending. My father and I read it and it lead to some great convosations. i recommend for +12 because there is come quite voilent scenes thoughtout the book. Overall its a great book and i would definitly read it again!

Ótimo

Inga skav eller liknande när boken kom hem. Är så taggad på att läsa den, Hunger Games fick mig att komma in i läsandet så ska bli spännande! Jag såg filmen förra året så har höga förväntningar på boken nu🫣

Thrilling, but a little love story.