Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

19 reviews

maddielags's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

My 14 year old self is absolutely screaming that this series is still something I’m enjoying 12 years later. I honestly thought that the trilogy would be all that we’d see but this book just adds so many more layers to the story that I’m so glad it exists. 

Going into it after the first three and how much of a bad guy Snow is, I really wasn’t sure if I would like it but I loved the character of Lucy Gray. Snow is… hard to like, but that’s kinda the point. 

This book had little nods to the trilogy and explained the back story of some pivotal stories from the trilogy, such as seeing the story of the hanging tree and how the song came to be. 

All that’s left for me to say is… read the book, if you liked the trilogy, you will like this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Vomit, Alcohol, and Classism

rainydaysinautumn's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

2.5

It pains me to rate this book so low but after two re-reads and watching the film adaptation my rating remains the same.

It needed a dual POV and it needed a likeable love interest. 

It felt lackluster after the awesomeness that is The Hunger Games.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

arce's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: War

Minor: Drug abuse and Medical content

midnightverde's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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

5.0

What a wild ride this book was. I think it’s my favorite from the series. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

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

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

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.

---

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

melongin's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, and Police brutality

Minor: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Dementia, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

mpeach's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

themelleh's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

3.0

We all know what happens to Coriolanus Snow, so it’s nice to see how he gets to be that way. Like most men, he put poor Lucy (in this case) on an unobtainable pedestal and she was the one who paid for it.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Classism

cactuschild's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

This one keeps you up when you finish it. Masterfully written, beautifully constructed. This is not just a prequel, it is the ghost of the Hunger Games given living form. If you hated what the movies did to the trilogy, you should read this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Violence, and Classism