The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0)

by Suzanne Collins

Tigris had said to trust her, and he did. Only his cousin’s cleverness with a needle had saved him so far.

blinded him to other things that could harm him. A tendency toward obsession was hardwired into his brain and would likely be his undoing if he couldn’t learn to outsmart it.

The newly rich climbers in the Capitol were chipping away at the old order simply by virtue of their presence.

People were easy to manipulate when it came to their children.

“Well, you know what they say. The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings,” she said.

The security that could only come with power. The ability to control things. Yes, that was what he’d loved best of all.

Coriolanus felt sure he’d spotted his first mockingjay, and he disliked the thing on sight.

something about the mockingjays repelled him. He distrusted their spontaneous creation. Nature running amok.