Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Balada șerpilor și a păsărilor cântătoare

I enjoyed the movie, but am SO glad I read the book. There were many changes from the source material—arguably not consequential ones, at least individually, but IMO the totality of these differences resulted in a significant departure from the book in terms of character and thematic elements.

Suzanne Collins really said, “Your pretentious classmate who makes sweeping statements about the inherent depravity and violence of ‘human nature’ is a selfish asshole who’s going to end up going to hell if they don’t get their head straight on.” And good for her. Good for her.

Reminded me a little bit of one of my favorites, Tender is the Flesh, in that the protagonist is an excellent showcase of a truly horrible person who is probably more like you(/me/any of us) than is comfortable to admit.

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eguare's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

The primary tension of this book comes from its status as a prequel, wherein the reader already knows that the main character is the primary villain of the Hunger Games trilogy 60-ish years after the events of this book. Knowing that, the book has a dark, ominous cloud over it even in the parts that would, in any other book, provide hope for the protagonist's redemption. The characterization and deep dive into the motivations of "future President Snow" were fascinating and often heart-droppingly horrifying.

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elspethmigliore's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated

5.0

this was INSANE. the perfect way to begin the series. it literally sets up the latter books in the most beautiful way im in awe.

at first, i shipped lucy and snow SO HARD bc like obviously. but then i kept reading and i realized how they were so different and how power-hungry snow is that i knew it couldn’t work. and i’m glad it didnt. i dont think either of them deserve to be stuck with the other, despite how evil snow becomes. he’s good deep down, but whats engrained in him could never leave. i wish they had a better goodbye, but also i think it was the most clever way to end their story.

i cannot get over how they ended. what incredible revenge they had on each other. and i genuinely cannot get over how perfectly this sets up for the trilogy.

it’s so eerie to know how in control the capitol is with every situation, but it makes for an even more satisfying end when it comes to the later trilogy. lucy sets up for katniss’s character perfectly.

also, i know when i watch the movie im gonna ship them so hard bc tom blyth is so hot, but i still stand by what i said.

✅ ONE HUNDRED PERCENT WILL BE REREADING THIS WAS INSANE

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beesanddaisies's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I think I only haven't given it 5 stars because I’m salty that we didn’t get even more character development and world-building. Even though the story only spans about 2 months the book felt to short! That’s my main criticism. Everything else was fantastic, usually I find it difficult to get invested in a book but with this one it was dead easy. The plot is exciting, Snow is a monster, and I was obsessed with seeing what monstrous thing he was going to do next.

His internal monologue reminds you for the original President Snow even if his actions inspire the idea that there is still hope for him, the way his mind works was insane and such a pleasure to read.

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