Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

528 reviews

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

onefineelephant's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

9/10. I really enjoyed this book. Coriolanus is a very complicated character and an unreliable narrator which makes him so intriguing. However, I was worried that he was going to come across as the hero of this story (considering how awful he is from the original trilogy) but thankfully his paranoia and selfishness permeate every page. Essentially, he is the main character but he is still a villain or at the very least problematic. It is fascinating seeing things from his point of view and even understanding his actions while also recognizing that he could have acted more humane. Coriolanus is more humanized because of this book since we get to see his hardships and emotions, but his putrid personality still affects everything he touches. Additionally, I love the Covey and addition of songs with their meaningful lyrics embedded in the story. It helped that I could listen to the movie's soundtrack, though, to actually grasp the songs' tunes.  I knew how this book would go because I saw the movie first but I enjoyed the book so much more because I could actually understand his motivations and thought processes. Suzanne Collins does a great job of portraying him while also writing him in a way that clearly does not excuse his behavior. As always, I am in love with her writing and will always praise her work. 

SPOILERS:

As I said, I watched the movie before reading the book so I knew the events of the book. While watching the movie, I wondered if Coriolanus actually loved Lucy Gray like he said or if he felt attracted to her but was manipulating her for his own benefit. I guess both could be true, but the book makes it clear that he does actually love her even though his own paranoia, selfishness, and manipulation spoil even the most pure thing in his life.  The concepts of trust and love come up in this book quite a lot, especially at the end, and I think it is fascinating to examine what those concepts look and feel like. Coriolanus claims to love and trust Lucy Gray (even to himself) but ultimately proves that while he may love her, he is incapable of truly trusting anyone. I think the only person Coriolanus ever truly trusted was Tigris and we know that he ended up having a falling-out with her later in life. Considering his actions throughout the book (causing Sejanus's death, murdering people, becoming a Peacekeeper/cop, horrendously improving the Hunger Games, turning on Lucy Gray), I take deep satisfaction that he grows up to be miserable and alone. Snow may land on top, but tyrants always fall eventually.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Torture, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, and War

jessiesnoww's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I LOVED the first 2/3 of the book, but then the pace slowed way down and the stakes were much lower. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent

emilymayreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

reenashenoy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and War

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

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.

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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

laurajordensharris's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism