Reviews tagging 'Child death'

De ballade van slangen en zangvogels by Suzanne Collins

502 reviews

sweetjuly_src's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicide attempt, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Gore, Child death, Murder, Confinement, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Dementia, Mental illness, Animal death, Murder, Cannibalism, and Bullying

fragrant_stars's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved loved loved this goddamn book so much. I feel like it's an excellent portrayal of the ugly side of trauma and mental illness. It's tragic really how certain characters had every opportunity to make the right choice, and yet in the end made terrible choices instead. It's good, I think, to have sympathy for villains and understand how they became who they became. It's a good reminder that there is no biological or innate difference between us and the most terrible person in the world- it all comes down to choice in the end. Well done Suzanne, you have my heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Child death, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Classism, War, Kidnapping, Gore, Drug use, Addiction, Animal death, and Blood

Minor: Bullying, Racism, Classism, Alcoholism, Medical content, Cannibalism, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Police brutality, Torture, Vomit, and Alcohol

carolina2005'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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Death, Murder, and Blood

Minor: Classism, Confinement, Grief, Vomit, Suicide attempt, War, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Child death, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

skylover's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book is so much better to reread after seeing the new movie. The villainy of Snow is built slowly but surely throughout the story, and as someone who roots for an underdog or a happy ending, this book can be hard to like when neither happen. Snow is greedy, hypocritical, selfish, and a villain from the get-go, but it's Lucy Gray and her mystery, Sejanus and his rebellious spirit, Tigris and her wise beyond her years spirit, that help carry the reader through. I have so many mixed feels but I'll read anything by Suzanne Collins. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, and War

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Death of parent

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I have to admit I liked this more than I thought I would. I watched the Hunger Games series in the theaters, and my goddaughter wanted to watch this one. We never made it to this one. We’ll probably stream it. The ones I saw were so gruesome that I was expecting to shrink while reading each page, but I was surprised. I liked this first book, the insights into how Snow got his start. Now feeling more open to the rest of the series, which my goddaughter started reading at 13 (her capacity for gore at such a young age shocked me). I shall grow my own bravery on her bravery. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, War, Domestic abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Bullying, and Drug use

hannran'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Torture, and Violence

pysselfia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Body horror, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Classism, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Addiction, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, War, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

euyrdice'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction and War

Minor: Death of parent and Cannibalism

dr_ew's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

1.5

This was a really disappointing book. The writing itself was fabulous of course, but the story was bland. It was set up so well, and lots of the world building elements were really intriguing, but it went nowhere. Such a bummer.

By the end of the book Snow is different, I guess. But it’s hard to describe those differences as character development, as they didn’t seem to come from anywhere. Certain behaviors and choices could be explained by circumstance, but his ultimate shift seemed uncharacteristic, or at the very least unexplored. That would have been a much more interesting story in my opinion.

I also didn’t care much for the narration. Why did they get Santino Fontana and have him SPEAK the ballads???

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: War

words_and_dreams's review against another edition

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

4.0

I do love a nuanced villain story and this delivered. 
Set 60 years before the original Hunger Game series, we follow the POV of Snow, a young and ambitious student in the capital. 
Collins does a good job of making us feel empathy for him whilst still showing us the early signs of who and what he will become. He is never the hero but he had so much potential to be, therein lies the tragedy. 
Lucy is an interesting figure as we never get a full picture of her. We see her through Snow's eyes, as a tribute that can bring him victory, a love that belongs to him or an enemy. She is only ever what he needs her to be. I have seen some reviewers of book and movie complain that we don't get to know her but that's kind of the point. 
Not as great as the original series but still had me hooked. My main issue with it was the pacing was a little off at times, a lull two thirds in and then the end seems a little rushed. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, and Violence

Minor: War, Addiction, Cannibalism, and Xenophobia