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...
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.
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