Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

26 reviews

genevieve_eggleston's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

I’m usually a big believer in reading the book before watching the movie adaptation, but this was a rare exception. I finally gave in and watched the movie on a long flight, but I actually ended up being grateful that I’d watched the movie first. After watching the film adaptation and then reading the book only a couple of weeks later, there were many moments when I realized that certain elements of the original book had been altered or even completely omitted from the movie version. Had I read the book when it first came out and then watched the movie later, I doubt I would have recognized as many of the differences. I personally enjoyed comparing the similarities and differences between the original source material and the film adaptation, which also kept me actively engaged in the storyline and provided a sense of urgency to discover what might happen next every time I had to set the book aside. Certain elements of the book were definitely relatively dark and violently gruesome, which explains why some events were modified or removed in the film version, but this intense backstory helps to provide context for the seemingly heartless President Snow that later appears in The Hunger Games. I found the storyline to be extremely intriguing and enjoyed the dynamics between the various characters. I would highly recommend this book, especially to people who grew up loving the original Hunger Games series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, War, and Classism

whitne_ey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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 death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, and Alcohol

emma_lynn_writes's review against another edition

4.0

This is a "villain origin story" done right. It fosters understanding of our common humanity, but not excuses. What you believe about the world will determine how you act, and I appreciated how the author engaged in centuries-long philosophical debates in a way that I think will be accessible to a younger audience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Torture and War

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

paigeinabook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective relaxing sad tense 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

4.75

I never thought Suzanne Collins could get any Suzanne Collins, but she did! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

emilywemily6's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-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

4.75

This was a reread for me because of the movie that just came out. I absolutely loved this book and enjoyed reading the entire thing. It is so fascinating to see Panem before the Hunger Games trilogy and see glimpses at both the world before and the trajectory set in motion because of Snow’s involvement in the games. The last 50 or so pages took quite the turn, and while I like the ambiguous ending, I feel like Snow and Lucy Gray’s feelings took a really quick nosedive that wasn’t quite as developed. I wish Lucy Gray had a little bit more depth, and I think that depth would have helped me understand her choices at the very end a little better since it seemed like Corio’s perception of her was distorted in the woods. Overall, this books makes me want so much more in this world!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Medical content, Toxic friendship, and War

Minor: Cursing and Eating disorder

lyramadeline's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing

adrienanthony's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Dementia, and Gaslighting

aely's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was awful and disturbing and terrifying and oh my god—

SEJANUS DESERVED BETTER

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

vailtoset10's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

metelfordwrites's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism