The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) Book Reviews

AUTHOR
Suzanne Collins
SCORE
4.5
TOTAL RATINGS
5,727

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins Book Summary

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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Book Name The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel)
Genre Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults
Published
Language English
E-Book Size 12.36 MB

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) (Suzanne Collins) Book Reviews 2024

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Amazing. No lack of plot twists and exciting sequences in Suzanne Colinā€™s latest installment

Full of twists and tragedy. This book got me back into reading, itā€™s incredibly well written and surprisingly gruesome for a young adult book. just like the others in the series. It doesnā€™t do much to justify its existence really, serving mostly as an extremely interesting read for fans of the series, but regardless itā€™s a great story.

AWESOMENESS. I really enjoyed this book. I love the series so I was really excited when this came out.

A good read. So good!

4.3/5 for making me scream. Itā€™s hard to enjoy a book where you despise the main character from start to finish, but this book pulled it off. I donā€™t understand other reviewers who are sympathetic towards Coriolanus Snow, he is clearly a sociopath from start to finish. Anyway though, this book was an amazing addition to the Hunger Games world. It didnā€™t get five stars from me because parts seemed to drag. The characters were the best part, each one of them from the most central to the plot to minor characters were well thought out and unique. I rather hated this bookā€”in a very enjoyable kind of way. I recommend reading, just be prepared to rip some of your hair out trying to wrap your brain around Snowā€™s twisted worldview.

The best in the series!. All I can say is that you have to read this book if you enjoyed The Hunger Games.

Great book. Very good!

Extremely frustrated. Itā€™s not letting me read the book I bought

Great prequel. Gives great insight about Snow and his thinking process. A bit over explained in some spots but a good read. Interested to see how the movie plays in comparison.

Sad. Well written.. Sad book but to be expected. Worth the read.

Beautiful. Loved this book. Beautifully tied together

So close to getting the point. Coriolanus gets so close to getting the point so many times, and yet, we still have another three books showcasing how far off the mark he got.

An excellent revisit. It was a really refreshing read into a world I thought Iā€™d never get to see expand. The book twisted and turned in ways not what Iā€™d predict, and amounted to a satisfying finish.

Incredible work. This book was amazing ! Definitely liked how it connects back to the original trilogy throughout the book. Loved the backstory to how Snow became the way he did. Lucy Gray was a great addition to Snowā€™s history. Would love to read her POV.

Pleasantly surprised. Didnā€™t think I would be interested in President Snowā€™s origin story but it was a great read

A great prequel.. Normally, I read the prequels before I read the main series, because it makes more sense to read it that way for me, but this is a book that I read after I read the Hunger Games and Iā€™m glad. It gives you a lot more insight into President Snow and makes him seem more human. In the original series, the only thing we know about him is that heā€™s evil because heā€™s evil. There was no reason, but this books shows you why he hates Katniss and District 12 so much. Probably my favorite book out of the Hunger games books and one of my favorite books of the year.

Amazing. I havenā€™t read a book in years, but I read this one in three days. Iā€™ve never read anything that fast. Mysteriously, and unexpectedly, this was an amazing read.

Love it!. Itā€™s a super good book, it has some really good plot twits and is super well tied together. Im excited for the movie to come out.

Entertaining. Not my favorite book of all the Hunger Games, but it was definitely entertaining and fun.

Even better. I thought this prequel was even better than the first books. It took us into the heart and soul of the future leader when he was still a malleable teen and young man. It showed us how, despite his wrong-headed prejudices and egotism, to sympathize with him, and care about him. And it ultimately showed us how his heart, teetering between right and wrong, was turned forever to the evil path he was destined to take.

Can't get enough of this world. I don't like rereading books or rewatching movies unless it's like this right here. I feel like it was so thought provoking caught me off guard forgetting young Snow became the President Snow. I don't know how but I felt like I was conflicted reading from his POV cause I understood something's and then just so smoothly would be Snow obsessing over something in the wrong way. I just love this book as I did the others.

Pretty good. It isnā€™t my favorite book in the series or in general. I read the original trilogy in three days (one book each day) because I loved them so much. This took me a week to finish.

Good but felt like I had some unanswered questions. I think it needed more info about what happened to Lucy. I know it was written from his perspective though but that part is irritating I like how it ties into the series though and shows snows perspective on a couple of things

Amazing.. This story was amazing, definitely in my top. I decided to read this after I watched the movie, I wanted to see more of Coriolanusā€™s POV, and I did. This book was amazing. I almost felt sorry for him, but in the end I know Lucy is still out there, I got hope for my girl. This story was fascinating, thrilling, and terrifying. The end when heā€™s in the forest really was the cherry on top for me, it was as almost I felt his rage/sadness. Wish he never said anything about 3 people and went on to live with Lucy but without that weā€™d never have Katniss to thank for ridding the world of a terrible leader <3

Fascinating!. Excellent book! In many ways I found it the most intriguing of the series. Collins does an excellent job of capturing the ironies that create the human beings we become. The idea that war destroys the victor as well as the vanquished is a provocative idea. I would love to see books about Coriolanusā€™s rise and the ambiguity of Lucy Gray. Somehow I think Ms. Collins has wonderful permutations to choose from in future books.

Extremely well written. Having read the Hunger Games trilogy I wondered how Collins would depict President Snow in his youth. I went in open minded and was immediately drawn to how well written this was. His youthful, innocent perspective was all I could see, and I loved coming to understand why/who he was. The turning point, towards the end, was a little too fast and easy. Snow was a deep thinker and mulled over every single circumstance throughout the entire book- and then everything simply changed when he had a few minutes to himself. Unanswered questions at the end were a huge disappointment, unless Collins plans to continue his story, and that of Lucy Gray Baird.

# I love this book!!šŸ„°šŸ˜Š. I love this book because itā€™s all about Snow when it was the 10th hunger games And also had Lucy grey

Favorite book in the series!!!. This book took over my mind and it was all I could think about.

Amazing. Great book, still donā€™t like snow:)

Not for me. I somehow donā€™t know why I wasted my time reading this. I was not satisfied.

perfection. suzanne collins is a genius

Songbirds and snakes. It twisted and turned it certainly makes sense why katnis caught his attention

LOVED!. Absolutely loved this prequel - the ā€œhow the bad guy became the bad guyā€ story. First, with it being so long since I read The Hunger Games series, I forgot how much I love the authorā€™s writing style - just enough explanation and scene-setting without overdoing it so you can make the movie inside your head. Second, the story itself and brainwashing into why The Hunger Games are necessary really got me. I unfortunately found myself nodding along and being like ā€œyeah I kinda get what theyā€™re sayingā€. Third, I absolutely loved how the author answered some historical questions that happened too long before the original series to explain them in depth, but are explained here. Lastly, I enjoyed how the themes of the bookā€™s title played out multiple times in the story - ballad, songbirds, snakes - SO creative. Absolutely loved this book!

SO GOOD. This might be my favorite out of all the hunger games books

Very entertaining. A really good recounting of Snowā€™s backstory and the foundation of the Hunger Games. If you enjoyed the trilogy, youā€™ll love this introduction to their antagonistā€™s mind and motivations.

Fitting. Loved all her books. Excellent and surprising!

Interesting. Iā€™ve seen many reviews from people probably who havenā€™t finished the book yet. Saying how getting to know Snow before he becomes president redeems him. I disagree. I certainly see how he is a person like anyone else but that capacity for self-preservation (as he put it in Catching Fire when talking about Katniss) is very evident in himself. He starts out innocent enough, most people can relate to wanting to be praised or comfortable. But he is very good at convincing people, most of all himself that his actions are warranted. So much so that he blurs the line between right and wrong more and more each time. This was more than anything a deep look into the mind of Coriolanus Snow. With some bright characters and captivating settings along the way. The finale of Lucy Gray left me wanting more but I think it wrapped up nicely and again showed you more of the psyche of Snow. an excellent prequel that leaves me wanting to recap the main series. I found myself connecting dots and realizing how all his annoyances in the prequel really tie into how and why he reacts to certain things in the main series. Say what youā€™d like but Iā€™d say he is the most developed character in the series give how little we knew of him and after this how much we learned about him

has really good and really slow moments. I do like the different character view this story has. Instead of being in the perspective of someone from the districts, it shows the perspective of someone in the capital. I also like how different everything is 64 years before the first book. However there are moments where this story feels rushed in some places, and way too dragged out in others. TLDR if you are a fan of the hunger games series itā€™s still worth the read

BLEACH AND TONE. I hate Snow and I hope the next time he bleaches his hair it falls out (heā€™s so fine though)

Overview and opinion.. I liked Cornelius at first, except for his greed for power. But after he killed Bobbin you can see a downward spiral in his character that increases as time goes by. His love for Lucy kept him going for longer, but it had to end. At Peacekeeper training he goes up a little under the positive influence of his friends, but Serangesā€™s plot began the beginning of the end. With the death of the mayors daughter, his second kill, he digs deeper the tunnel that fully collapses with the death of Seranges and the following events. When he kills Lucy, he fully breaks down. From there itā€™s easy to see the bloody path that he follows to become the cruel power hungry tyrant from the Hunger Games trilogy. All in all I think this is a excellent book, well written and with plenty of Easter eggs to the original trilogy.

A smart perspective of the future tyrant. Suzanne did something I think was so smart in this HG installment ā€” having Coriolanusā€™ perspective be told in the third person rather than the first. It was almost as if we got a safe distance from Coryo yet nonetheless got a good glimpse into his mind.

Great look into Snow. Wow. At one point your actually rooting for Snow!!

AyooooošŸ˜³šŸ˜³ā¤ļøā¤ļøšŸ˜­šŸ˜­. Soā€¦this book is really good. But you have to hate snow ALOT going in because this book almost made me feel sad for him. There. I said it. I love Lucy Gray, and that hanging tree scene blew me away šŸ˜³. I got chills when I realized (if you know you know). Her songs are so cool too. Iā€™m so excited for the movie! I think I know why Snow hates Katnissā€¦itā€™s because she reminds him of Lucy Gray, isnā€™t it? This is pretty much every emotion I felt in order: šŸ˜šŸ˜ÆšŸ„ŗšŸ«¢šŸ˜±šŸ™„šŸ˜°šŸ˜­šŸ˜±šŸ«¢šŸ«” Bye!

Amazing!. I read this book 1 and a half years ago and I loved it after the series it was an amazing view of snows rise to power. BUT! I have a suggestion for Suzanne Collinā€™s. PLEASEEEEE make a sequel for the capitol hunger games!!!!!!!! That the rebels make the capitol do

Canā€™t wait for the new movie. Okay I just red this book and I liked how it from president snowā€™s perspective,but overall it was pretty interesting and really gave me more questions than answers.But I hope to find out more information about mags and finnickā€™s games,and if you go to YouTube and search up the 2nd quarter quell you can find a cut video from catching fire that shows how haymitch won.I also want to find out why the quarter quell was started and I believe that it was used to target certain people or districts like with 3rd quarter quell. Also check out a YouTuber named Christian Blanco he makes his own non-cannon hunger games and mixes them with the cannon ones. šŸ˜ƒšŸ¤©šŸ˜ŽšŸ˜€šŸ„¹

TBOSAS. This book was so incredible! Suzanne Collins is a master of her craft and she only writes when she has something worth saying! Watching young Coryo Snow devolve and change into the ruthless President Snow we got to know in the original series was quite a ride and Lucy Gray Baird is the cherry on top of this amazing treat of a book! She gives us so much knowledge and insight in to Snow that completely reshapes any interactions we have with him in the original series. Going back through and rereading the original trilogy with a new perspective on how and why Snow is who he is adds so much clarity and emotion to his character. A must read for any Hunger Games fan!

A Thrilling, Intense Read. This book is many things: Fascinating, intricate, dark, and occasionally beautiful. It does not shy away from the darkest aspects of humanity, and it uses shock value in the most effective ways possible. Nothing in this book felt without purpose or direction - the entire time I was reading it I could see the road it was paving before me. Naturally it was never quite the whole story, as with many of the things in this book. If you are considering reading this book, I absolutely recommend it - if you can stomach a book with brutal honesty, and one that closely examines humanityā€™s worst sides.

So good!!!!!!!!!!. I loved it and it has a twist that you do bot expect. If you loved the hunger games youā€™ll LOVE this. It is a little graphic violence wise but itā€™s a great book. Totally recommend!!!

Heartbreaking. The book was SUPPER good in my opinion so well written I think that in the end a lot of little things that went unnoticed were now revealed about the main character morals. I was kind in disbelief with the end but I think this being a villain origin story it was appropriate. Totally recommend reading definitely a great book to follow up the hunger game trilogy!!!

Jayla the wiuiam h. The girl Lay Lay

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wow, just wow. this book was incredible! i loved how it gave the reader a glimpse into Snows life before he became president and it also makes him seem more human like. this book explains and shows why Snow acted the way he did during the first 3 books. i am currently re reading the series right now, and after reading this book, i see Snow completely differently. this book was amazing i 100% recommend! p.s. this book is written in third person (i personally rather first person but i still loved this book!) :)

Fabulous prequel. I hope there might be more novels following Coriolanus Snow, what a characterā€¦ love him or hate him is written with such a great mind, a very interesting study. Suzanne Collins really brings to life her characters and they are complex and more than meets the eye

Interesting Read. This book is about Snow after the war, studying, and during the 10th hunger games. I was underwhelmed with the story and I feel it could have been told in a short 100 page story. The ending was expected and disappointing at the same time with the only worthy reading bits is in the epilogue. Read it if you like but I donā€™t think you are missing out on anything.

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Spoiler Alert, but Amazing!. I bought it the day it came out. Literally. I never thought that Coriolanus (who I used to call Cornelius, sorry) would have this sort of amazing backstory! And so far people believe Maude Ivory is Katnissā€™s grandmother...? But anyways. Letā€™s move on to the best parts of the book. 1. The first word is Coriolanus, which corrected my mistake in my mind 2. WDYM TIGRIS IS HIS COUSIN- THATā€™S THE BEST WHATEVER ITā€™S CALLED EVER! 3. Lucy Gray is just inspirational 4. Yay, it includes more songs! Is it just me, or do you pore over the songs for half an hour until you know them by heart? 5. Coriolanus doesnā€™t seem so bad now... 6. The expected l~o~v~e between Lucy Gray and Coriolanus was just amazing... 7. It gives a backstory to The Hanging Tree! Okay thatā€™s enough for now, so if you havenā€™t gotten it yet, go get it, itā€™s worth it.

FANTASTIC. I had watched the first 4 Hunger games movies and was appalled when I saw this book the day it came out. I loved the progression and the way the focus of the book is less in the games and more on the tale and story of the characters. I will forever hate the way Lamina died but overall this book is fantastic, amazing, suspenseful, captivating and remarkable. When the movie adaptation is released I will watch it 100 times over and still find new clues and theories.

Speechless. Hereā€™s a speech. When I first saw this book at Chapters, I was extremely excited. I had read the Hunger Games trilogy around a year ago and I was obsessed with them. I wanted more, if you know what I mean. Not just more of the books, but more of the Hunger Games universe. I started reading this book and I was immediately hooked. Before I get into full detail, I want to say there will be spoilers, so if you havenā€™t read the book yet I wouldnā€™t read this review. A few non-important side notes I wanted to add. I love the names of the characters in this book. The name Coriolanus looks a bit odd on paper but I love saying and hearing it out loud. Sejanus, Clemensia, and Livia are all great names. I love both the cover of the book and the creativity of the name, although the meaning of the name took a while to understand. I also love the Snow family catchphrase. ā€œSnow lands on topā€ is just so witty! Iā€™m pretty sure if Dean Highbottom didnā€™t tell Coriolanus that he could hear snow falling, Coriolanus wouldnā€™t have poisoned him. Arachneā€™s death took me by surprise. It wasnā€™t until her tribute reached for the cheese knife that I realized she had made a terrible mistake teasing her. It was one sandwich! Although the tribute was probably starving, not having eaten in a few days. The bomb in the arena really added to the suspense. It not only changed the layout of the arena but also proved that Coriolanus and Lucy Gray were starting to trust each other more, as Lucy Gray saved Coriolanus from that burning beam. One of the things that makes this book so great is how the author shows character evolution throughout it. Thereā€™s a lot of firsts; first kiss, first murder, et cetera. I feel this really brings the reader along the character's path. When Coriolanus was sent to District 12 to be a peacekeeper, I thought he was going to stay there for a while and maybe even marry Lucy Gray. I knew it couldnā€™t last or else the Hunger Games series wouldnā€™t exist, but I didnā€™t know heā€™d abandon her. It started off well, with him coming to watch her at the Hob, him meeting her at the Coveyā€™s house. They arranged to go off together and live up north, free of laws and expectations. When Coriolanus found the gun, I hoped he would leave it where it was and still go off with her, but he had other plans. He was going to tell Lucy Gray he was going back, but when the snake bit him, he went completely insane and started firing the gun, trying to find Lucy Gray to kill her. Hard to believe he did that all in panic. Then he went back to the Capitol. Iā€™m not going to say I loved or even liked the ending, but I will say I understood it. The end suits the book very well and I think a happy ending not only wouldnā€™t have suited the book but wouldnā€™t have made any sense either. If Coriolanus had not killed Dean Highbottom at the end of the book and instead went back to Lucy Gray, this wouldā€™ve meant that there was still good in Coriolanus, and that would mean Coriolanus wasnā€™t the cold-blooded murderer he was in the Hunger Games trilogy. So once again, I did not love the ending but I understood it. All in all, this prequel to the Hunger Games was an amazing book. I read it and now Iā€™m rereading the Hunger Games books. This book is an absolute must-read for any Hunger Games fan and, I have to say, one of the best books Iā€™ve ever read. If you were one of the people to read this whole review, I just want to say my thanks. This is a very long review and it means a lot to me that you would read all of it. Thank you.

Okay. Filled in a lot of blanks in terms of story line but not the best of her books.

Yes. Just yes.. I loved this. People say that I am too young to read young adult books but theyā€™re really good. In the main series we didnā€™t get a lot of information on Snow, and we sort of just thought he was a baddie but in this it goes in to detail about what he was like before he became ā€œevilā€. I also absolutely adored how Lucy Gray and Coryo slowly came to love each other until the point where they were fully fledged boyfriend and girlfriend. I also liked how they showed that not all c as pistol citizens were ruthless. And last but not least, I liked how a capitol boy and a non-capitol girl got together. It really shows that if the capitol worked hard enough, they could all be friends with districts and everyone could live alongside each other in peace. To that one person who read all of this through, I thank you sincerely for your time. Goodbye.

One of my favs!. Definitely in my top books and 100% the best book in the hunger game series. Does exhilarating read offers thrill excitement an incredible backstory to Mr. President Snow. Highly recommend!

Hungry for more. This prequel of the Hunger games series is awesome. Iā€™m not a big reader BUT I canā€™t put this book down. Exciting; and you really can not guess where the story will go next.

Beyond expectations. Couldnā€™t be assed spending money to see the movie, but i might have to this book was beyond my expectations, the relationships were very complex and turned so sour so quickly, great read.

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Summary of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins

The The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) book written by Suzanne Collins was published on 19 May 2020, Tuesday in the Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults category. A total of 5,727 readers of the book gave the book 4.5 points out of 5.

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