Review for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

 

Review of "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" by Suzanne Collins

After re-reading The Hunger Games trilogy, I was very excited to read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. While the initial premise of the book, a young Coriolanus Snow mentoring a girl from District 12, had some promise I think that the overall story falls short. When finished with the book, I realized what author Suzanne Collins was trying to do with the character of Coriolanus Snow. It's not the story of a young man falling in love and getting his heart broken, like I thought it was going to be. Instead, it's the story of a young man who becomes capable of the horrific things that are revealed about future President Snow in The Hunger Games books.

If you're going into this book hoping for more history about Panem and the hunger games, then you won't be disappointed. However, if you're looking for rich characters and a charming love story, you might be a bit disappointed. The book is at it's best when it focuses on the 10^th hunger games, the progression of the hunger games and the districts. The world building of Panem is done well and expands our knowledge from the original trilogy. However, the problem comes when the book tries to make too many connections and references to things from the original trilogy. The book also hits you over the head with the title of the book, constantly referencing mockingjay's (songbirds) and snakes. 

Future President of Panem Coriolanus Snow is center stage but the narrative is not told in first person, and I believe that makes it difficult for the reader to ever really understand and empathize with him. Most of the book actually deals with Snow's questioning whether or not he will be able to graduate and attend a university. Throughout the book Snow makes a series of morally questionable decision that seem to be for the right reasons, but by the end of the story you realize that these decisions show what he is capable of doing for his best interest. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes shows the power and influence that social status in society has on a person.

Overall this is a decent addition to The Hunger Games universe, but not one of the books I will read over and over again. While I wish Collins would write more prequels exploring characters like young Haymitch or Mags; I think this book shows that maybe Collins should stop here. The politics of this book weigh it down a bit, but maybe that was only because it's set in the Capitol. Still, a good read, but I'll be happy if this is Collins last in the series. It's hard to root for any of the main characters and the story is overly drawn out. For better context of who president Snow is and how Panem has been shaped leading up to Katniss' story, this is a recommend. It's a must read for any hard-core fan of the franchise, but you're missing much if you're a casual reader.

One thing I will say is the artwork for the cover is amazing, and perfectly in line with the trilogy covers.