"The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" by Suzanne Collins

"The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes" by Suzanne Collins
Hey! I know, I know. It's been a couple weeks now, maybe a bit more but I've been busy with school. As much as I wish reading was my entire life, it, in fact, is not. I also don't know when the next time I will be able to read another story. Definitely not for at least two weeks. But Winter break is coming up soon in Australia so I'll have two weeks off then to (hopefully) get some reading in as well as some (unfortunate) studying. 
Anyway, without further ado, here is my review on a book that I have been longing to read since the moment I found out it was coming. 







Novel: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 
Author: Suzanne Collins
Published: 2020
Genre: dystopian, coming-of-age, romance (although I don't really want to call it that...)
The number of pages: 517 
Series: The Hunger Games #0 (prequel to Katniss' story)


I mean, what do I say? Was it worth the wait for another book from the world of The Hunger Games? A world I love? A world that helped me fall in love with reading all those years ago? Short answer; no, probably not. 



“You’ve no right to starve people, to punish them for no reason. No right to take away their life and freedom. Those are things everyone is born with, and they’re not yours for the taking." - Sejanus Plinth




Blurb:
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 outmaneuver 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.



Well, where do I begin? I guess I had a lot of expectation for this book. I mean, The Hunger Games was an exceptional trilogy. I don't think anyone can deny that. In fact, out of everyone I know who've read it, I doubt I know anyone who would say a bad thing about it. It was a great series that fuelled the YA dystopian film adaptation movement back in the 2010s. I loved the books so much and the movies were definitely good. I can't see a life without the series now. So, I was initially very excited to read this. Even if it was from the perspective of evil, Coriolanus Snow (I'm still unsure if I know how to pronounce his first name correctly), aka President Snow in the trilogy. Obviously, I knew it wasn't going to have a happy ending, not one like The Hunger Games. It was going to be about his rise to evil, the story behind why he turned out the way he did. And that excited me. The idea of learning about his life, despite not being liked character, was intriguing, no doubt. But unfortunately for me, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes lacked something that The Hunger Games gave me. I couldn't connect to the characters at all. I didn't find anyone particularly likeable or relatable and the closest I came to it was Tigris, Snow's cousin who is barely in it anyway. I don't think the romance side of the story was any good and I knew it was probably going to end very badly anyway, it was just a matter of time. After all, we all know how President Snow turned out. To be honest, I don't think Collins developed Snow in a way that worked throughout the story. He was actually a well-liked, somewhat respected boy who had hopes and dreams of going to university and he actually came across as caring in a lot of points throughout the book. Of course, there were a few hints of his selfishness and the vile nature of putting himself first. But young Snow had hope and I don't think Collins should have categorised him in this way because when he came time to show his 'true colours' it seemed almost bizarre. Where did his evilness really come from? In The Hunger Games, he was such a vile man, someone who didn't care for District life. It was weird to see that he actually connected to some people from the District, that he seemed to care for them. I feel as if she could have gone about the story differently, with Snow having somewhat of a different way of life from the beginning. I felt as if he suddenly just snapped which I don't think is realistic or right. I wanted to understand why. Why was he so selfish? What really made him the way he was when he seemed to care about a few people in his life? Obviously, there were moments when you saw his potential as the future President Snow. He betrayed people, lied, saved himself. But still, what really went wrong? There didn't seem to be any negative factors in his life to cause the outburst. I mean, sure, he was financially stricken, but that doesn't make someone evil. I think it also lacked the action, the drama and definitely the connection between two love interests. At times the storyline really didn't excite me and I was finding it harder to finish. It could have been that Snow isn't a character I ever particularly cared about, but I think it had more to do with the fact that it lacked much intrigue. I feel as though Collins may have been more successful in choosing another perspective. I saw a comment a while ago about having a perspective from Maggs, the sweet older lady from Catching Fire. It would have been interesting to see how she won her Hunger Games years prior to being called back for The Victor's Games. Despite all that, there are a few things I liked. There were references to songs Katniss sings from the trilogy and even Katniss herself (sort of, in the form of a plant anyway). I also saw a lot in common between Lucy Gray (the District 12 girl that Snow mentors) and Katniss. I liked that. You got to see someone else who was willing to fight for a cause she cared about. I wonder if maybe that is why President Snow is so hellbent on silencing Katniss in the trilogy. He may have seen similarities between Katniss and the girl he fell for. This book has been optioned for a film adaptation and just because I had quite a few negative thoughts, doesn't mean I won't be the first in line to see it. I can't wait to see who they cast as young Snow and I can't wait to see what they do with the story.Nonetheless, I will forever be grateful to Suzanne Collins that I was able to, once again, delve into the magical and wonderful world of The Hunger Games. Despite not loving it, I did not hate it and I found parts to it quite interesting to read for Snow's perspective. So, thank you, Collins. I'll always be grateful to authors like you who have inspired me to write and aims for goals that I believe in. 


PROS: I liked the links between The Hunger Games and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
CONS: I lacked the love and excitement that I felt whilst reading The Hunger Games. I think that Snow didn't need an entire story to himself. He was particularly a character that ever deserved for his story to be heard.

So, I give this story a 7/10
Hopefully, I will see you all soon! 
Bye for now, 
Madi xoxo