Review: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Welcome to Panem, where the 10th Hunger Games is about to begin. Before he became president, Coriolanus Snow was a high school student. On the outside, it seemed that he and his family had plenty of money. But, that was just a cover. His family was going broke and Snow had to do something to assure his bright future.

Snow is assigned to be a mentor in the Hunger Games. If he can get his tribute to win, he can get a scholarship to the university. But, he’s stuck with a girl from District 12 who is a bit of a loose canon. 

He vows to do everything he can to make sure Lucy Gray wins, but something unexpected happens. Instead of looking forward to the games, he’s nervous and not just for his future. After spending so much time with Lucy Gray, Snow begins to fall for her. 

Amidst all the turmoil, Snow has to decide if love is worth fighting for.

Wow, this book took some unexpected turns. We were looking forward to seeing how Snow turned into a monster, when he started out as a sympathetic guy. At the beginning, he was a poor boy pretending to be rich and living with his cousin and grandma. By the end, he was the Snow we all knew and detest. However, we don’t want to spoil too much of his journey.

The Hunger Games drastically changed from the 10th to the 74th. Back then, it wasn’t much of a spectacle. Most people didn’t have TVs and the tributes were locked in cages until they went to the arena. Most of the fear came from the reapings.

Lucy Gray was a special character. She was a large part of Snow’s transition. Snow was so loyal to her that he’d do anything to keep her safe during the games. But, Snow didn’t think she was worth losing everything over.

Also, another interesting thing we learned was how Snow found a path to become president. It wasn’t direct at all and it involved him traveling to the Districts, so he knew how bad the conditions were for the citizens of Panem. What he saw helped him know hot to curtail revolts for a long period of time. No matter how much damage he saw and the cruelty of the Capital, Snow eventually became like everyone else.

One thing we enjoyed was meeting people who are relatives of the characters in The Hunger Games. If only we got to meet Katniss’s relatives.

Collins wrote another dark and engaging read. The pacing was good, except for the end. We wish we got to see more of Snow’s life, even though we could figure out on our own where it was headed. He became quite a complicated character.

Overall, read this book if you read The Hunger Games. You need to understand the trilogy first in order to enjoy this one. Have you read it yet? Let us know it the comments!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐