Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Balada șerpilor și a păsărilor cântătoare

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Balada șerpilor și a păsărilor cântătoare by Suzanne Collins

362 reviews

romanticmelody's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved reading this book.
Suzanne knows how to write a good story.
I liked that we got to see the world of Panem after the Dark Days. To read about the reasons why the games exist and where that deep hatred/dislike that the Capital harbors for the Districts came from.
I especially loved meeting the new characters. I admit I fell in love with Sejanus. He had a good heart and was a kind and good friend. The fate he has was not one I had been expecting. Not only that, but the fate that Lucy Gray meets in the end was also not one I expected, but it is one that leaves you wondering with that ambiguous ending to her story.
And Coriolanus Snow! Oh, if I could just reach into the story and grab a hold of him, I’d smoother him. He’s a brat. A snobby, selfish, ridiculous brat. He’s one to take any opportunity given, but also one to be self conscious of his image and how his character would look like to others. In the beginning his character is a simple boy wanting to uplift his family status from ruin and poverty. Understandable. But as we get more into the novel, things start to change and Coryo’s character develops from a boy and into a man, one that no one would want to cross or trust ever again. This story really makes you think if Coriolanus character was always meant to be that way or if it was nurtured. The classic battle of nature vs nurture.
I really enjoyed this book. And if you starts liking Coryo, that’s fine, but reminder that in the end, there is nothing redeemable about his character. In fact, this story is not a redemption story. Keep in mind, this is a story about a boy who becomes an awful person. Some people might not like stories like that, but for me I enjoy them.

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justmeandmybooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

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halaagmod's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

1.75

This book should've been done much, much differently. So much wasted potential, in my opinion, for a Snow backstory.

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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

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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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ladywhiskers's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny tense medium-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

5.0

The best example of an unreliable narrator I've read recently.

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literalhedgehog's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

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

5.0

Susanne Collins is a genius.
I was captivated, this book sucked me in the same way the rest of the series did. I also LOVE the fact that I Hated the main character. It’s a hard balance, writing a first person pov from the antagonist of another series- it’s their point of view so you have to have them make sense of the actions they are taking, but I feel like that puts the main character at a risk of being likable. Not the case here! I understood Snow, and saw his motives. But I also saw all the places he could have done better and didn’t! It’s part of the reason I was able to finish the ebook version of this novel but not the audiobook one- with the audiobook I was TOO in his head.

I really want to discuss some of the symbols I caught at the end- the compass and the poem!!!! Omg just, is this a book for the youths, yes. But is it a literary art form??? VERY MUCH SO.

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