Long after the end of the Hunger Games trilogy comes the thrilling and brilliant prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, written by author Suzanne Collins. This dystopian YA novel features themes of human nature, loyalty and trust between people and in their relationships, and having to make difficult choices. While readers may have gotten a glimpse into the current president of Panem, Coriolanus Snow, and origins of the deadly Hunger Games, a game where children are taken from each district and must fight to the death on live television in order to live, in the first three books, they are able to gain a much deeper level of understanding while reading this prequel that takes place during the 10th Annual Hunger Games, which is sixty years before the current trilogy takes place. This novel follows young Coriolanus Snow as a student in the Capitol’s prestigious high school during a time when the Hunger Games are losing popularity and funding, mainly because people do not want to watch young children from the ages of 12-18 murdering each other on television. In order to gain more viewership from the Capitol citizens and the citizens in the Districts, Snow and a few other top students in his school are selected to “mentor” the tributes before and during the Games. This includes helping them get through the newly put-in-place interviews, sending them food and water during the Games, and influencing the public’s opinions on the tributes, which in turn helps the Hunger Games get more funding from the betting done by the Capitol citizens. When the mentors finally get to meet their tributes, Snow meets his District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray, and they hit it off, both relating to each other and wanting to help each other with their circumstances. As the events for the 10th Hunger Games progress, problems arise and the true nature of many of the novel’s characters get revealed.
When I first picked this book up, I had trouble putting it down because each page featured interesting background information and unexpected problems that further added to the climax of the book. I found it especially interesting when the novel reached the point in time after the Hunger Games concluded and Snow’s story was further looked into. One of my favorite aspects about the novel was that it showed how the Hunger Games in the original trilogy came to be, and it also showed how different the first ten Hunger Games were compared to how they are in the trilogy. This memorable book touched upon many heavy topics such as war and its effects on both sides and how evil can arise from it, and these topics made Snow and Lucy Gray’s story progression all the more riveting. Overall, if you are a good fan of the Hunger Games, or you need a little push to start the book/movie series, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is just the right book for you. It has the perfect mixed amount of world-building, character progression, commentary on the government and its position during wartimes, and even a little bit of romance. This is a must-read novel for everyone!
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