Book Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games #0) by Suzanne Collins
Genre: Young Adult Fiction (Dystopian)
Date Published: May 19, 2020
Publisher: Scholastic Press

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, 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.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins is a prequel to the Hunger Games. It took me long enough to read this, but here I am, finally. I did see the movie first, which is not how I like to do things either, but it’s just how it worked this time, since I wanted to see it in the theatre. So, Snow’s a bad dude. We already knew that, but I thought I’d see some redeeming qualities in him before some traumatic event changed him. You know?  Turned him to the dark side or whatever. That’s what I expected anyway. That’s not what I got. He’s always been a self serving jerk. I mean wow. The movie doesn’t even show the extent of it, because you never know what’s going on in his head within the movie like you do in the book. I don’t want to say more, because seeing his true nature from his own mind is actually pretty interesting. I love Lucy Grey. She’s talented, intelligent, likable.. Is she good or bad? Is she using him? Did she ever truly leave the Hunger Games? I don’t know, but I would absolutely LOVE a book from her perspective too. This is a must read for fans, because it explains so much about Snow and the Hunger Games and you take get to see the origins of a lot of things. 

 

Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been busy writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the critically acclaimed Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days.

While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children’s author James Proimos, who talked her into giving children’s books a try.

Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you’re much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you’re not going to find a tea party. What you might find...? Well, that’s the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part series, The Underland Chronicles. Suzanne also has a rhyming picture book illustrated by Mike Lester entitled When Charlie McButton Lost Power.

She currently lives in Connecticut with her family and a pair of feral kittens they adopted from their backyard.

The books she is most successful for in teenage eyes are The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. These books have won several awards, including the GA Peach Award. 

To learn more about Suzanne Collins and her books, visit her website & Goodreads.

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