Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

17 reviews

caelix's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

The first time I picked up was right after watching the movie if I’m not wrong, and I don’t know why but even though I was super excited to read it, I dropped it after reading not even a chapter. 
This was in December 2023.

Now, August 2024, I picked it up again on a sunny day and started to read.. and then didn’t stop. I ate the whole book up in a total of less than 24 hours. It was another masterpiece by Suzanne of course, I don’t know why I doubted her pen the first time around! 

Having now both watched the movie (though now I’m definitely due for a rewatch) and read the book, I can confidently agree with the people that complained that the movie was too different from the book. I have to say, though, it’s not changed I disagree with necessarily. All around, considering the director inability to see the anti-war statement in Suzanne’s books, I think it’s a good adaptation. Very enjoyable movie, really good cast (I love Rachel and Tom sm), dynamic change between the different parts of the story.  It makes you like Snow, and then leave you with an awkward feeling toward him, which is what the book also goes for. But I think what the director missed was once again, the myriad of little things Suzanne adds in her writing that add this special touch to it, a certain humanity.

I did like Snow in the book, he’s funny, sharp, you can feel why people would feel interested in him, but he’s also just a boy. He has friends and he has family and he has morals that he follows because that’s how he was raised, even if some of them are questionable. All the moment where he interact with people he genuinely considers his friends, or all the time he talks about his childhood with those people around him; all the times those people talk to him and show their characters, and His character through this interaction, those are the bits that the director cut and changed, and I think it’s a big lost.

I personally think the arena scene was more interesting in the movie for sure (and it is my favourite version of the scene) but I do feel like there was another sense to the scene original. That this wasn’t a spectacle, no matter how much you try to make it one. Thats it’s just children killing each other’s.

Anyway, all of this to say, I loved the book and all the added details about the Capitals during the war and the political aspect of things! And I loved seeing Snow interactions with people throughout the whole book!

I would recommend 100%, but be wary of some gruesome scenes here and there!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Classism

Moderate: Death

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This books starts on July 4th, so what a fitting day to finish it! I loved The Hunger Games series when I first read it, devouring each book within just a couple of hours. Still, for some reason, I wasn’t all that interested when I heard about this prequel. Who wants to read about the man we know becomes the ultimate villain? Turns out, I do.

Even if I hadn’t known the future of Coriolanus Snow, I would’ve hated him. From the very first page, he is vain, selfish, and entitled. There are plenty of new characters to love and root for in this book, but never once did I find myself rooting for him. Collins does an incredible job of giving us a look into the mind of a narcissist. 

Like the other Hunger Games books, this one is easy to binge. Even when there’s not a lot of action on-page, it spurs you forward and you’ll look back and wonder how you just blew through 200 pages at a time without realizing it. I’m glad I decided to read it, and I’m looking forward to the next prequel she has planned!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Vomit, Cannibalism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

lucyford's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

4.25

Honestly, this is probably my favorite Hunger Games book yet. I loved the world-building and connections to the previous books, and the character depth of all the characters was amazing. Everything about it is so creative and I was continuously shocked by the genius ideas of the Author. Definitely worth reading (and watching the movie)! 

The only thing I didn’t like was that you were never super attached to the characters because you generally know where they’re going to end up (could also be a result of watching the movie first though).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mle11's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Torture, Vomit, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

rchulin1's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful sad 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

4.5

Wow just wow it's hard to not get popular books spoiled but even so l still was surprised. I really was able to transport myself into the games into district twelve on a whole other level. The ending was so surprising I could definitely feel Snow's insanity building something | kept thinking about was the title: the ballad of songbirds and snakes. So at first I assumed the title was to be about Lucy's time in the hunger games the battle between her innocence and her violence which is true in a sense but I feel like the true symbolism was that Snow eventually became another snake Lucy tried to handle in a way. So Lucy is the songbird and Snow is the snake. Throughout the entire book we see Snows internal battle with the mentality he was raised with being a child of the capital and the mentality of someone on the outside although he was only in the Games for a small moment the entire book was in a way his own game. He was stripped of his innocence his way of seeing the capital through rose colored lenses into truly seeing and not only not fearing the capitals ideals but embracing them. A few times he mentions how he impulsively does things and those impulses are his inner self trying to break through even with him aiding Lucy it just shows how selfish he is he saved her for his own benefit. Lastly I deeply appreciated the small nods to the other hunger games books "May the odds ever be in our favor", the meadow song, his dislike of mocking jays, Katniss! I can deeply see how he changed the hunger games and the role he played in the beginning he dislikes how the tributes were transported in cargo holds and in the other books we see the tributes now being in a far fancier train. We see the peacekeepers being more harsh and we see how the arena changes every year so that the former years games doesn't play a role in this years and so on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

clara01's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I was really looking forward to reading this book as I loved the Hunger Games but I'm quite disappointed. The book is really slow throughout and I did have to push myself to finish it.

From the Hunger Games I know the character of Snow but he was even more despicable in this book. I don't think I've ever disliked a character more, he was self absorbed and pure evil at times. He always believes he's right and most of the book is just him justifying his actions. 

Also the female singing parts were quite weird and unnerving to listen to when being spoken by a man. There was quite a lot of singing, it would've been nice for it to be sung on the audiobook.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Police brutality and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Classism

picnicatthehangingtree's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.75

A fascinating look into Snow’s journey to being the tyrant we know from the original trilogy, the red flags were there from the beginning. I am choosing to believe

that Lucy Gray survived and escaped into the woods and doesn’t just live on through her songs.

The pacing was a little off sometimes but overall exciting and gripping. Suzanne Collins is a genius. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

azileotulp's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

I can't praise this book enough. Suzanne Collins has such a special way of writing that manages to always keep me engaged and wanting to know more. I didn't even mind the slower parts the way I do in other books because they added so much to the story. Every sentence felt perfectly crafted to contribute to the themes of the story. I honestly already want to read it again and again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Grief

Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

This prequal was a villain origin story of both Snow and  the Capital.  It’s how they came to be what they are in the Hunger Games. 
I loved the dynamic of Coriolanus Snow, Lucy Grey, and Sejanus. I think it paints a broad picture of Snow and how he falls further down the power hungry hole that leads to manipulation of people. He was a starving child who would do anything for himself to survive and make his family proud. Even if this means the trust and love and friendship between him and others is thrown away in favor of control. 
Not a perfect book: it had some pacing issues but overall I liked this a lot!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Vomit

Moderate: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

memoirsofabooklover's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

this was a brilliant sequel. perfect length, it really gave you time to delve in to the story. suzanne did a brilliant job of putting us in snow’s mind. the way she started off making you feel sorry for him because he has real hardships and goes through many genuine emotions you find yourself kind of rooting for him and *almost* forgetting what he was to become

the complexity, yet simplicity, and eventually tragedy, of his love story with lucy gray was so well written, you weren’t sure if you could trust her and the way it spoke her ballad in to existence at the end was chilling

. the attention to detail was incredible; so many nods to, and easter eggs from the original trilogy. and not only those, but also the fact that we see the creation of the world that katniss is brought up in, and connect so many dots.

the songs origins brought from the original trilogy, as well as the other songs sung were haunting, as well as it being incredible to see their origin and true meaning behind them. the symbolism of it all was poetic. seeing snow’s mindset already being brainwashed by his society, the superiority he feels from his tile and status being further twisted and deepened to become the man who we meet in the original trilogy.

the depravity and brutality of the treatment of the districts in this earlier setting was astounding, after reading the original books you don’t imagine things be much worse in the past but it is, despite the wicked and twisted things yet to come, along with snow’s power. overall, it was a brilliantly thought-out and crafted novel, perfectly tying in to the original trilogy; whilst being its own twisted, compelling story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic