The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Review

Welcome back to school! I know this year school is a bit different than normal so I thought now would be a good time to return to something tried and true, The Hunger Games! Last spring Suzanne Collins released The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. This book returns readers to the world of The Hunger Games 64 years before the original series started, giving us the backstory of one of the most hated literary villains, President Snow.

The book takes place during the tenth hunger games. Coriolanus is selected to be one of the first tribute mentors. He is assigned to mentor Lucy Grey Bard, a girl from district twelve.. His mentorship is the ticket he needs to save his family and to have the highly successful life in the capitol he always dreamed of. The tenth hunger games start to go off course, and Coriolanus needs to decide what really matters to him. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a fun look at how the hunger games have evolved as well as how Snow grew up to become the man he did, filled with new discoveries about the games, nostalgia for the original trilogy, and points that help clarify parts of the original books.

The craziest thing about this book is how it genuinely makes you root for Coriolanus to succeed but then slipping in little reminders of the person he grows up to be. I cannot count the times over the course of this read that I found myself battling with conflicting emotions! Which to me is a sign of a great book! I would highly recommend this book to fans of the original series and anyone who hasn’t read the first three. You do not necessarily have to have read the original trilogy to enjoy the story of this new book but it is much better if you have. My only critique would be the pacing of the book. Some parts in the beginning and the middle seem like they should be longer or shorter but the ending definitely goes off with a bang! You can find The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes wherever books are available online.

MAYA OEVERMAN

Editor Emeritus at The City Voice | MIPA Honorable Mention Award Winner

I am a Senior at City and I normally write the weekly book reviews! If I'm not reading, you can usually find me at the barn riding and taking care of the horses.