Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

[Brendafaye]

Star rating: 3/5

Nearly a decade after the last book in The Hunger Games trilogy was released, Suzanne Collins has treated readers with a prequel, providing a new glimpse into the earlier days of Panem.

Summary:

Fans of The Hunger Games know Coriolanus Snow as the evil dictator of Panem with a penchant for violence and cruelty. In this prequel, set decades before the original trilogy, Snow is eighteen, dirt poor, and struggling to make a name for himself and secure his future. The 10th annual Hunger Games are coming up, and it will be the first year the tributes are assigned mentors. Snow is assigned as mentor to District 12's female tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, and as he gets to know her, he finds himself feeling more and more conflicted about the Games and those who run them. This novel gives readers insight into Snow's humanity and how he transformed from a poor, compassionate boy into the harsh president we all know, as well as how he transformed the Hunger Games forever.

Review:

I'll be honest - this is a difficult review for me to write. I really, really wanted to love this. When this book was first announced, while I was so excited to have more stories about The Hunger Games' world, I was less than thrilled to find out that the prequel would be about Snow. "What's the point?" I thought, feeling like no story about him could make me hate him any less. That being said, I tried to go into this with an open mind and little expectation.
This book did hook me in the beginning because of the stark difference it portrays from the Panem we knew in the original trilogy. Still only a decade after the rebellion war, there is still a lot of financial struggle in the Capitol. The Hunger Games look very different as well, being played in a small arena with tributes who are starved and given no prize or recognition for winning. While televised, the Games are hardly watched, and there is no betting, sponsors, or attempts to let the country get to know each tribute in the weeks leading up to the Games. Almost accidentally, Snow plays a major part in changing the games to look more like what we know from the trilogy.
Despite this initial hook, the book truthfully lost me about a third of the way through. For me, the whole thing falls flat and generally feels, as I first expected, pointless. The development of Snow's character felt forced and confused. Many of the events throughout the book felt unrealistic, and in the end I felt there were quite a few loose ends in the plot. Overall, it felt rushed. If this were book one in a trilogy about Snow, there could have been more time for story and character development, but as a standalone, it just doesn't work for me.
Overall, I am happy to have read it and to have learned more about the earlier days of Panem, but I just felt it could have been better. I would love to hear some others' thoughts on this book - please feel free to comment!

[gali]

Thank you for the review. The book is on my list.

Please also note reviews of books not received from this site are not official reviews.

[Claris L]

I was thinking of picking up this book, given that I've read the original Hunger Games trilogy before, but it's unfortunate to hear that this one is a letdown. Thanks for the review!

[BookandCatLover1998]

This is a really good review and I feel the same way about the book! That makes sense how you thought that if there was a trilogy about Snow there would have been more room for a character arc. I enjoyed reading this book as well but I felt like it didn't really fulfill the original HG series. I felt that throughout most of the book, Snow stys the same, except for the end. Its just sort of abrupt and , I don't want to ssay unexpected, but we knew it had to be coming the whole time and were just wondering when exactly it would happen.

[Barbie_sidhu]

Its a great review. Looking forward to try book myself.

[Piskiepixie]

Thank you! I will read better prepared.

[drwcroaker]

I read the book and agree with most of your your review. I stayed interested for the first two-thirds. It was interesting that Collins chose to show us an era of the Hunger Games when they were not popular. Unfortunately, she puts the reader in the same boat as the rest of Panem being bored by a Hunger Games where not much happens.

[monserrat_21]

When I first heard the new book would focus on President Snow, I was also disappointed. I thought that there were so many great characters she could've chosen to write a book about, like Johanna, Finnick, Annie, Mags and so many others. I do understand why she did it though, if she wanted to show us how the Games came to be the way we see them in the The Hunger Games series.
I did enjoy the book, it was interesting to see what it was like in Panem and the Capitol those first years after the Rebellion, how they treated the tributes at first and how that began to change thanks to Snow and the other mentors.
I was worried that the author would try to justify and make us like Snow, but it didn't feel that way for me. She showed us what he was like from the very beginning and how his journey only made him worse.
I agree with you that the last part was a bit of a let down and that it felt a little rushed. I, too, think it would have worked better as a series.
What saved it for me, I think, were the other characters, like Lucy Gray and Sejanus. They kept me interested in the story when I grew bored of Snow.
I also would give it 3 out of 5 stars, though based on just the excitement of being back in The Hunger Games universe makes me want to give it an extra star.
Thank you for your review!

[dianaterrado]

I heard so many mixed reviews on this book. I am a huge fan of the Hunger Games books but I do not think I will ever read this one. (So sorry Snow)

[Vannaskivt]

I'm about three-quarters of the way through this right now, and I agree, it just hasn't hooked me. I like it, but feel like when I put it down, nothing is pressing me to get back into it. It is certainly not as good as the other Hunger Games books. The most problematic part for me is the lack of interesting action in the 'games'.

[Allison Ritter]

I was very disappointed with this book too. I was excited as well when it came out, but after reading it, I was left trying to find the same greatness I felt that appeared in the end of Mockingjay. I knew it was supposed to be about the bad guy, but somehow I still expected something better. Even though the original series included some of the same darkness that appeared in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it was countered by Katniss. In this book, Coriolanus embraces this darkness, so there is no counter and the reader is left thinking, "Who in their right mind would do that?" But I guess that was the point.
The only thing I really did like was how Suzanne Collins connected some of the things that were in The Hunger Games, like the Hanging Tree song.