Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

La ballata dell'usignolo e del serpente. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

525 reviews

abbimmorgan's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

I decided to reread the Hunger Games trilogy after 10 years and was pleasantly surprised by how well the books held up, especially being YA. I hadn’t read this prequel yet, so I was excited to give it a go. And how entirely underwhelmed and disappointed I was.

This book was boring. In the THG, Collins doesn’t waste a single word or sentence. Here, the book dragged out forever. I almost didn’t finish it. There were so many pointless details, long, unnecessary songs, and characters that could’ve been completely removed. It was interesting to learn more about the beginning of the games and how they evolved over time, and how the war affected the Capitol citizens, but this story could’ve been done in less than 300 pages. There was very little action, but when it did happen it felt very rushed. We had to hear details about every meal Snow ate, but the actual exciting parts were breezed by? 

And as another reviewer put it, some of the Easter eggs for the original trilogy felt too “nudge nudge wink wink.” They were too in your face and overplayed. 

I feel like overall this book was a waste of my time and I’m annoyed how many hours I spent reading it since it was so long. If it would’ve wrapped up after 250 pages, this could’ve been a 5 star book. But I’m left feeling very disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Cannibalism, and Murder

andreamariaanderson's review against another edition

Although I managed to get through the first three Hunger Games books, I had to put this one down. Early on in the second chapter, I think, the scene of a hungry individual sawing off the leg of a girl to consume was just too much horror for me. I could not continue. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism

uselesspirateraven's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

crunchylettuce's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Violence

Minor: Child death, Drug use, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Cannibalism

thebaconbaron's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Murder

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

chavonnwshen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

What a haunting book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cannibalism and Abandonment

christygsp's review against another edition

3.5

I liked this better than The Hunger Games. There was less kids killing kids focus, and more preparation and strategy into what even made the games come about and how it would be reflected eventually when the timing of HG happens. Yes, we still had the games, yes kids still killed each other, but it wasn’t first person POV, and the distance was good for me in this. 
I normally don’t care about having a “sympathetic” origin villain story (let villains just be bad can we?) but this one was really quite good. It had enough sociopathic insights for us to not really connect to Snow as a good guy who just turned on the system, but someone who really had it inside him all along. He was selfish and leaned towards more brutal mindsets before the events of the book, so it wasn’t a huge shock when he all of a sudden becomes the bad guy of HG that we know. 
Too much cannibalism mentioned for me in the first half, and some of the death explanations were pretty intense but not too bad overall. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Cannibalism and Injury/Injury detail

kathi_90's review against another edition

dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cannibalism and Alcohol

mmefish's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Cannibalism