The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - June 15, 2020

[Kristie, Moderator]

We are going to have a buddy read of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins starting June 15th. It is the newest book in the Hunger Games series, a prequel about Snow. Everyone is welcome to join. Please use spoiler tags as needed.



It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the 10th annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, 18-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 out charm, 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 favor 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.

[Lynn, Moderator]

So I've finished ... while there's no real spoilers, I've put my review behind spoiler tags in case any of you want to go in to it not knowing anything.

(view spoiler)[
Well ..... I didn't dislike the book, but it sure had it's problems.

Like in the original trilogy, Collins writing is accessible and easily digestible with some impactful and unnerving scenes. Because of this, despite it's flaws, I had no problem getting through this rather (too) lengthy story.

I found the additional world building (basically part 1) to be super interesting. It was fascinating to see The Hunger Games in it's early years, struggling to make an impact with the Capitol citizens and what the Government are attempting to do about this. Snow becomes a mentor and we get to see how his ideas influence how The Games take shape to what we know them as.

Snow however, was actually one of the main problems for me. Any tension that would have come from situations happening in the story didn't materialise because we know Snow from the future and where he ends up.
In The Hunger Games, Snow was a great antagonist; tyrannical, complex and ruthless. In this, he was bland. I found myself not really interested in reading about him with selfishness being his most prominent characteristic.

The pacing of the book was also very problematic. So much of the story was slow paced and meandering, only to be in and out of some pivotal moment of the story so quickly it caused reading-whiplash. This was particularly bad when it came to the ending, with such a severe one eighty on Snows part and leaving an open ending (to the point I feel there's probably going to be a second book).

Overall an OK read, if a bit disappointing. (hide spoiler)]

[Kristie, Moderator]

That's great review, Lynn. I'm not a fan of (view spoiler)[ open ending books. I think they feel unfinished. If you can answer without spoilers - Could it be that it was left open because we know where he ends up, so you're supposed to fill in the blanks with your imagination? Or does it really seem like she's going to try to get another book out of it?

I was really hoping if she wrote another book that it would be about Haymitch. I think there are so many characters that she could write stories about. I hope she doesn't stick with Snow for material. He's not someone I find particularly interesting and I struggle with picturing him as the "hero" of a story. (hide spoiler)]

[Lynn, Moderator]

Kristie - (view spoiler)[It's not out of the realms of possibility that this was done on purpose for you to fill in the blanks because we weren't left on a cliffhanger.

However while we were left open ended about Snow, the more obvious unanswered questions were actually about another character. So it's also quite possible that a second book might concentrate on a different character(s).

I'm obviously speculating here, so I may be totally wrong about another book entirely .... I just get that feeling.

If this helps at all, while I feel this book had it's problems I still enjoyed being back in this world and if there was a second book I would read it. (hide spoiler)]

[Kristie, Moderator]

Thanks, Lynn.

Nikki - Your spoiler is stuck open. I think you need to fix something in your html. Could you fix that please?

[Lynn, Moderator]

Comment below made by Nikki, which I had to delete because spoiler tags were broken. They rated it 3 stars.
Feel free to post again Nikki .....

(view spoiler)[So many feelings.
Overall it is really interesting how the book sets up the early days of the hunger games and give a look into how the capitol citizens were managing after the war. Some of the new characters are interesting and keep you engaged. Unfortunately Snow is not really one of them. I kept wanting him to be complicated and nuianced but he is just a narcissist and a sociopath.
I enjoyed the way that Collins set up some of the things we know from the later books such as Snow's love of roses, but it goes too far. It is unnecessary to make every tiny detail line up with his life 60 years in the future! You don't establish every characteristic about yourself by age 18!
The book is long (arguably too long). From about 50% - 85% I had no idea what the climax of the book was going to entail and then when it happened it went by way way too fast. I kept wondering what we were building toward which was not particularly satisfying.
I don't know if I would read another book in this series. Snow is such an irredeemable character that I'm not sure what else there is to tell (hide spoiler)]

[Lynn, Moderator]

Kristie wrote: "Thanks, Lynn. "

Do you think you'll read it?

[Kristie, Moderator]

I will, but I’m going to wait for my library instead of purchasing.

[Nikki]

I never commented ?

[Lynn, Moderator]

Nikki wrote: "I never commented ?"

A different Nikki .... I left a link to their profile above.

[Rebecca]

Sounds fun! I have the book but work got busy so I haven't started yet. I will try to be ready for this 🕮 🎧

[Michelle]

Gonna pick this up today!!