book review : the ballad of songbirds and snakes

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Genre: Fantasy

Suits the reading age: 16+

Rating: 8/10

If you like these books: Hunger Games trilogy, Divergent trilogy, Maze Runner trilogy

Over ten years after the release of Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins takes us back to the 10th annual Hunger Games following the life of a charming teenage Coriolanus Snow and his glamourous mentee Lucy Gray Baird. Fans of the franchise will enjoy uncovering the mystery behind the villainous President Snow and the Capitol experience of a war torn Panem. Collins introduces the reader to all those who have contributed to the formation of the Hunger Games as we now know it with familiar surnames such as Flickerman making an appearance.

Continuing on the dystopian theme of the franchise, the book centres numerous philosophical questions surrounding human nature, justice and social contract. This is definitely a book for the deep thinkers of the world! Through the lens of an innocent Coriolanus Snow we explore the horrors of the Capitol's rule and the justifications for it. Interestingly, we get an insight into the winners and losers of the war which seem to exist in abundance both within the districts and the capitol. 

The development of the main characters, Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray Baird, and all those supporting them is extremely well written. We experience an array of different personalities and form many attachments throughout the story - my personal favourite being Tigris, Coriolanus Snow's cousin. Due to the multiplicity of layers existing within each character it is also unclear on who we should despise, taking all contextual factors into account, the novel makes it difficult to pinpoint a villain. This may be a reflection of the thoughts Coriolanus has to battle with throughout the story. This novel is a classic case of - 'people are not born heroes or villains, they are created by the people around them'.

The looming of the Hunger Games always makes the books within this series slow burners as we know that this is the climax we are anticipating. However in this instalment, the build up and denouement is equally as gripping whereby those within the Games are not the necessarily the focal point of the story. The only down side of the story for me, is that the ending felt slightly rushed. Whether this was a literary tool to show the turbulence of the situation or rather just an attempt to finish an already length book, it would have been nice to be provided with slightly more closure. Nevertheless, the book leaves us thinking deeply about the events that transpired.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and it has easily become one of my favourite books in the series.  Although this book is not necessarily intrinsic to understanding the previous instalments, it provides a great sense of clarity. The beauty of a prequel lies in the fact that fans are already invested in the story and will therefore love to understand more about this world. 

It has been announced that a film will be made for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Michael Ardnt (the screenplay writer of Catching Fire) and Francis Lawrence (the director of Catching Fire and Mockingjay Part 1 and 2) supported by Collins herself. My advice is get the book out of the way before the films come out and you cant resist watching it!

Buy it here: https://amzn.to/3nw6rv3



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