The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes written by Suzanne Collins

By: Jacqueline Ponce

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (TBOSAS) is the prequel to the very known trilogy series, The Hunger Games. TBOSAS was published on May 19, 2020 with its genre consisting of young adult and dystopian fiction. 

Summery:

64-years before the story we all know, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is about to become a mentor in the 10th annual Hunger Games. The powerful name of Snow is falling and without succeeding as a mentor, who knows where it will lead. The odds are not in Snow’s favor as he has to mentor the female in district 12, Lucy Grey Baird. District 12 never wins, much less with a  female winner. It’s a disgrace to the Snow name. It’s up to him to turn this situation into something good. She didn’t necessarily have to win. He just needed to create a good spectacle out of her. 

Lucy Grey Baird was not supposed to be in the Hunger Games. It wasn’t her name on that slip, she knew that for sure. She just had to go on and make enemies with the wrong people. But one thing was for certain, she would do everything in her power to win. To return to the Covey. 

They both will do whatever it takes. Risk it all for the glory. 

Review:

This book is based before the events of the Hunger Games trilogy. So therefore, it consists of overlapping character i.e. Coriolanus Snow (Future President of Panem). 

Readers who love reading the backstory of villains will enjoy this book. In TBOSAS, Snow is young and learns his way of life. He is figuring out how to survive in an environment that is not helping him but causing him harm. He is keeping a facade of his livelihood in front of his peers and administrators. In the story, they give him many opportunities to choose “the right side” but he continues to choose the darker path. 

The story is about the theory of Nature V.S. Nurture. How one is raised and taught to what someone chooses to become. Although the story is not just about Coriolanus Snow it is heavily focused on him. 

My favorite part of the book is at the end when the reader gets to see that Snow is choosing the dark side. That all the hope the reader had, even though everyone knows his future story, has disappeared. 

Characters in this series or describe perfectly. Readers get to know these characters very deeply. Suzanne Collins, has a good way to get into the head of her own characters and describe their emotions thoroughly.