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 outmaneuvre 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
favour 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.
Three
books, four films and one WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON, The
Hunger Games changed the face of global YA.
A long-desired companion to THE HUNGER GAMES, THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES is an interesting story and expanded exploration of Panem. While I don't think this book is quite as high-quality as the original trilogy, I did enjoy it. The characters were flat, the plot meandered... but the world was as fantastic as ever.
Knowing how Panem and the Hunger Games evolved in the early days after the war was a tidbit of knowledge I didn't know I wanted until I started reading this one. I was fascinated by the growth of the world, and I absolutely felt like the founding stones for the world we know during Katniss' era are all here in THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES. My biggest complaints are in the shallowness of the characters (Lucy Gray Baird, in particular, felt like a lost opportunity), the length of the book, and the abruptness of the ending. If you're looking for a strong, character-driven story, THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES isn't it. But if you're interested in the world of THE HUNGER GAMES, I think this is a great exploration of this world, and in general, it's an enjoyable, thought-provoking read.
For a deeper discussion on this book, as well as further reviews and extended bookish content, please check out The Literary Phoenix.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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5 August, 2020:
Finished reading
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5 August, 2020:
Reviewed