Reviews tagging 'War'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

740 reviews

lochnessbookster's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, and Gaslighting

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Fire/Fire injury

joshykb's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. The fact that I was able to go 4 years without spoilers from the book or movie is wild to me. It was great to revisit Panem and my childhood memories of reading the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins always does a great job of finding a way up the ante in a world that already has such high stakes. My only complaints about the book have to do with the pacing. While the story moved rather fluidly, I felt like the pacing of the character arcs — particularly Coriolanus’ — seemed a bit rushed. But, so much happened to these kids in what was essentially one summer that rushed character changes isn’t too unexpected.

I did not particularly enjoy Snow’s final encounter with Lucy Gray, nor the quickness of his descent into evil. I also wouldn’t liked to see a bit more of Sejanus before he was executed. I think there were also a few more loose ends — particularly the allusions to Coriolanus’ mother and her relationship to the Plinth’s, and the future of Coriolanus & Tigris’ relationship that warranted some exploration.

However, it was still a fun read that reignited my love for the Hunger Games series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and War

nixoneshoe's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

turidt's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Vomit, and War

mirithyl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

In eerste instantie vond ik het boek erg langdradig (19 uur voor een audio boek), maar toen eenmaal de Hongerspelen bezig waren werd het voor mij lastiger om het boek stop te zetten! Dit boek laat je inzien hoe Snow is geworden zoals hij is in de boekenreeks met Katniss. Vooral aan het einde komt dit heel goed naar voren. In het boek krijg je echt de character arc mee van Snow. Zeker een aanrader! Het kan alleen zijn dat je even door een zure appel moet bijten om de smaak te pakken te krijgen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol

wild_rabbits's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gun violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol

georgiaabigail's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Although I didn’t enjoy it as much as the original trilogy, I adore the hunger games universe and learning more about the earlier games and how Snow became who we know him to be. I struggle reading books when I dislike the main character but I was too invested in the plot to stop!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death and War

avasbookmark's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, War, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse and Death of parent

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Police brutality

okaychanly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 I understand why Suzanne Collins chose to write a prequel, as President Snow in the original THG trilogy was an intriguing, complex villain. There were some parts that I had to push through, and then suddenly in the third act, things felt really rushed. And when you’re reading from the mind of young Coriolanus Snow, it’s obvious that this is a guy you should not root for, no matter how hard post-war life has treated him. Moreover, the way he lays “claim” to Lucy Grey and tries to take control of everything and everyone around him is disgusting to watch. That being said, this book still compelled me (watching Snow’s descent into madness) and I wanted to know how things would turn out, plus it had a good amount of Easter eggs and info alluding to the main series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Cannibalism, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

maryconney's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Medical content, and War

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, and Alcohol