Imagine a territory where one young woman and one young man from each of the 12 districts were randomly selected to fight to the death in an arena placed within the country's capital. This seemingly impossible realm comes alive in Suzan Collins’s “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”. The setting is approximately 10 years after a nationwide civil war between the districts and the capital of the country, Panem. All 12 districts revolted against the controlling capitol. The conclusion of the war brought on more jurisdiction by the capitol than ever before. As a punishment, the capitol administered the annual “Hunger Games” where one boy and one girl would be plucked from their home in the “Reaping” ceremony. The victims would then be sent to the capitol in confinement until they could be thrown into an arena where 24 young men and women would fight to the death until one victor remained. The citizens of Panem, from both the district and the capitol, would watch the Hunger Games live from television screens. Now, the 10th annual Hunger Games is right around the corner, and the prestigious Corealanous Snow, future president of Panem, has worked tirelessly to achieve outstanding grades in an attempt to win the “plinth prize”. A prize that awards the receiver enough money to attend the university and live a lavish life. Young Mr. Snow, a prideful young man, hides the fact that he and his family, his Grandmother and cousin, Tigris, are impoverished. After the war, the Snow family lost all that they had, now the remnants of the once rich and powerful family lived in a beaten-down apartment, struggling to pay rent. All of this was supposed to change once Corealanous won the Plinth prize. The students had one more assignment to determine who would secure the award, they would become mentors to the incoming tributes. This assignment not only gave the students an opportunity to win the Plinth prize, but it also was a desperate attempt from the Head Gamemaker, Dr. Velumnia Gaul, to get the citizens of Panem to continue watching the games. The publicity of the Hunger Games had begun to decline, and Dr. Gaul would not give up her esteemed position without making an effort to save the games. Each student is assigned one of the 24 tributes for the games. And while Corealanous Snow is hoping for a strong tribute, from districts 1 or 2, he ends up receiving the “runt” of the litter. Lucy Gray Baird from District 12. A feeble young woman who performs as a singer and songwriter, devoted to her tribe, the Cuvy. Corealanous is extremely driven to win the Plinth prize, but as time progresses, Corealanous and Lucy Gray begin to fall for each other, ultimately leading to Corealanous giving up the prize for the girl. After being caught cheating in the games to assist in Lucy Gray’s survival, Corealanous is sent to District 12 as a peacekeeper to serve out his sentence of 20 years as a peacekeeping grunt. After a short time in District 12, Corealanous reunites with Lucy Gray. Conflict occurs between people involving Lucy Gray’s past relationships and current plans to flee the districts. The situation spirals out of control leading to Lucy Gray and Corelanous running off. Shocking events occur as the book comes to an abrupt yet concise conclusion. Throughout reading the book, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions, but overall, the book was wonderful. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a masterpiece including romance, suspense, and action. Suzane Collins perfectly displayed the life of young Corealanous Snow, how he grew up, the source of his trauma, and the reason he became the ultimate antagonist in her other Hunger Games books. The way Collins presents Corealanous causes the reader to root for him, as he is the underdog. However, Corealanous’s inner monologue displays the conflict between emotions of envy, hatred, love, revenge, and more. Readers get an inside view of the relationship between the vengeful and caring side of Snow. This creates a striking story where one has a hard time putting the book down. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is an irresistible thriller of a book. If you enjoy exhilarating books about a dystopian world displaying a conspicuous plot, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” would be a great book for you.
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