Title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Author: Suzanne Collins
Page Count: 439
Series: The Hunger Games, Book 0
Publishing Date/Publisher: May 19, 2020
Format: eBook
Review: It has taken me awhile to write this review, mostly because I have had a hard time coming to terms with how I feel about this book. To say that I was a fan of The Hunger Games series would be a huge understatement…I was obsessed. I thought about it night and day as I blazed through the series. Nearly every other aspect of my life was put on hold, and when the first movie was released in theaters, I immediately bought a ticket and showed up in full Capitol inspired regalia. I talked to anyone who would listen about it, and religiously followed several fan blogs. All that said, I was positively tickled when I saw that Suzanne Collins would be writing a prequel. I was a little apprehensive when I read the initial synopsis, but I do love a good villain origin story, so I figured it couldn’t be bad.
I was wrong. So, so wrong. In fact, when I finally finished, my first thought was: WTF did I just read? I am completely confused about what the author was attempting to do with this story. Origin stories, when done right, can lend so much perspective to the actions of a villain. This did not happen at all with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Instead of adding more depth to the character of Coriolanus Snow, it made him seem shallow and his nature was constantly portrayed in contradiction of itself. Everything he loves, he also seems to hate, and this is very confusing as a reader because his motives are even murkier than his character. The romance was disturbing and felt very “off” to me. This particular aspect of the story resulted in an ending that was bizarre to say the least. I was left with an overall feeling of disquiet when I finished, and I am not sure if this was or was not the authors intent.
The only thing I enjoyed about this reading experience was looking for the little Easter eggs and THG tie-ins woven throughout the storyline. There were enough of them that I decided to give this book a two star rating instead of a one.
Reader: Bekah
Rating:
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