Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

17 reviews

zghutcheson01's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this book a lot and if you want an intro into philosophy about the human condition and role of government (think Hobbes, Locke, etc.), this is the perfect book for you. I wish I got to see more of Lucy Gray and the Covey from a perspective other than Snow’s but that would defeat the whole point so can’t complain too much about that

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Classism, Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Murder, Gaslighting, Bullying, Grief, Dementia, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Medical content, and Vomit

Minor: Body horror, Misogyny, Addiction, Gun violence, Blood, War, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Animal death, and Trafficking

praisethee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Brilliant story that had me hooked the entire time. I have never hated a main character as much as I have reading this but that's what makes it amazing. The character's we're amazing and so well explored.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, War, Hate crime, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Minor: Death of parent and Animal death

al3xa's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Violence, and War

Moderate: Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Murder, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Bullying, Colonisation, Genocide, Abandonment, Deportation, and Emotional abuse

bellekeegan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Overall a good book, a great read that took me back to my time as a teenager reading the original hunger games. My one qualm is that the pacing is weird and it ends very abruptly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Police brutality, Murder, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Death, War, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Emotional abuse, Blood, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Body horror

sarahsbookss's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Murder, War, Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Vomit, Trafficking, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Classism, Death, and Death of parent

brandie_abbie19's review against another edition

dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Abandonment, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Grief, Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dementia, Death of parent, Confinement, Classism, Gun violence, War, Violence, Physical abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Murder, and Toxic friendship

jo_d's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely stunningly well written. The subtle changes in Snow throughout the book while simulatniously maintaining consistancy in character and decision making was a jarring insight to what is (in my opinion) among the most interesting villains in YA. The setting for the book, the 10th Hunger Games, rehighlights what the movies did wonders in erasing: that the games are far from glamerous, and are instead violent indicators of what people, given too much power, are willing to do to others, espeically those they deam inferior. Absolutley would recommend, it was thought-provoking, adgitating, but I found myself unable to stop reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gun violence, Torture, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Vomit, and Confinement

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Drug use

Minor: Sexual violence and Trafficking

becca_w_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Addiction, Blood, Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Gore, Violence, Animal death, Child death, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Vomit, War, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Torture, Trafficking, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Kidnapping, Slavery, Body horror, and Bullying

Minor: Body horror, Stalking, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

c_dmckinney's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Classism, Xenophobia, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Racism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Grief

Minor: War, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Deportation, and Trafficking

kt2e56's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Not as good as the original trilogy, but a good read regardless. I think my biggest issues are with the fact that its central character is someone we already know from the future. I

t seems like Collins had to go back on quite a bit in order to make this narrative fit in with what she already told us in the original trilogy. 

I’d say that some other issues with this book are that most of the characters are just…flat. Dr. Gaul with her ridiculous nursery rhymes is too cartoonish of a villain, Lucy Gray is a manic pixie dream girl (which on the one hand makes sense because we’re seeing her from Snow’s POV, but that doesn’t make her any less grating), the rest of the Covey and their weird country bumpkin way of life are equally as grating and Snow himself has zero shades of gray. He’s awful all the way through (I’ll get back to this).

The most interesting characters by far are Sejanus Plinth and Dean Highbottom, both of whom I kind of wish had been the POV characters for this prequel.

BUT I will say that in terms of politics and big picture ideas, this book is way more ambitious than the original trilogy. Yes, Snow is a bit one note but I *do* actually appreciate that. He’s a fascist, point blank. He’s an elitist bigot whose family has fallen on hard luck but we don’t ever have to feel sympathy for him because he STILL clings to that bigotry even though it’s glaringly obvious that The Capitol is to blame for his family’s trauma. It’s also VERY interesting that Collins doesn’t even attempt to hide the links between fascism and misogyny. 

Let’s talk real world for a second and how commonplace it is for alt-right young men to be drawn to their worldviews because of an innate sense of entitlement not only with wealth and the economy but with women as well. A big part of fascism is controlling women. It’s never a surprise when an alt-right extremist has a history of domestic violence. Never.

And Collins making it abundantly obvious that Coriolanus doesn’t truly LOVE Lucy Gray but seeks to own and possess her is actually really great. There’s no love story here. We know Lucy Gray is doomed from the moment she’s in his clutches. He wouldn’t have done ANYTHING for her if he didn’t want to fuck her so badly tbh.  This was so obviously going to end one way and I’m glad that Collins didn’t chicken out and went for it and avoided giving him a change of heart although I wish she wasn’t so ambiguous with it. 

The ending as a whole was another issue for me. It felt a bit rushed and convoluted and I wish Snow’s meeting with Highbottom was stretched out just a little more as opposed to stuffed into the epilogue.

All in all though, this was a solid read and I’m sure I’ll be seeing the movie in the Fall. I’m curious if Collins will be expanding even further on this world or not… 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Gun violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Misogyny, Police brutality, Blood, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Trafficking, Mental illness, Addiction, and Medical content