The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) (The Hunger Games)
Ambition will fuel him.
Competition will drive him.
But power has its price.
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined -- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
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Readers say *The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes* offers a detailed origin story with rich world-building, political intrigue, and deeper lore that exp...
It's always going to be a hard sell, writing a book centered around the backstory of the villain. And I really didn't feel sympathetic toward the Snow family. I actually found myself wanting this book to end. Also, the audiobook was not great. The narrator sounds like Willie Wonka (Johnny Depp version) when he recites lyrics and while he speaks as Dr. Gaul. Overall, I enjoyed the easter eggs that tied back to the original trilogy. But I didn't want to have to read this just to experience them.
3.0/5 stars
I went in to this book knowing that it was a prequel of sorts following the story of Coriolanus Snow, and I wasn't all that interested in his character, but because I loved The Hunger Games so much I couldn't pass it up. There were some high points along the way but a book that should have taken me 1-2 days to complete ended up taking me almost 2 weeks because I just could not get invested and seemed to seek out excuses to put it down. The Hunger Games will always be at the top of my all-time favorite reads and because of those I have tremendous respect for Suzanne Collins; I just cannot share the same enthusiasm for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and for that I am honestly saddened.
I went in to this book knowing that it was a prequel of sorts following the story of Coriolanus Snow, and I wasn't all that interested in his character, but because I loved The Hunger Games so much I couldn't pass it up. There were some high points along the way but a book that should have taken me 1-2 days to complete ended up taking me almost 2 weeks because I just could not get invested and seemed to seek out excuses to put it down. The Hunger Games will always be at the top of my all-time favorite reads and because of those I have tremendous respect for Suzanne Collins; I just cannot share the same enthusiasm for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and for that I am honestly saddened.
Ending felt rushed and sudden, but the book was well written and interesting. I enjoyed being put back into the world of Panem and learning about the background of the Hunger Games.
As a huge fan of the hunger games I was so excited to read this finally! I’ll be honest I had bought this from Costco back in 2020 simply because I saw it was a prequel to the series but I really didn’t know much about it and it wasn’t until the movie came out that I knew it was time to finally read it. The hype for the movie is huge but I’m not sure the book is as hyped and I can see why. It’s a good book and I love how many origin stories and connections we get to see but it definitely wasnt as exciting feeling as the original trilogy. I devored those books back in the day and this one, although good, didn’t captivate me the same way. I was surprised by how much I found myself liking Snow because of knowing how much I hate him in his later life. I don’t really buy into any theories of Lucy gray being related to katniss but I do see how we might think that. What I think was the coolest part of this book is seeing how far the hunger games have come from the 10th to the 74th. To know this part of the games history was erased yet it was the start for the way we know them is pretty mind boggling. Overall, I really enjoyed it but I think I’m more excited to go see the movie now.
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