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martysaurus27's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I remember the original trilogy fondly - granted, I was a kid with low literary expectations - but the writing in TBoSaS was just too sloppy to get past. Endless lazy exposition ("He buttoned his shirt - and it reminded him of [paragraphs of lore]"), an eye-rolling circus of one-dimensional characters (including the insufferably goofy Not Like Other Girls™️ female protagonist who is essentially a poor, Appalachian Jessica Day with snakes her pockets), an implausible romance ramrodded into the plot seemingly against its will, and a plot that consistently did just about the least interesting thing possible with every opportunity... Snow might land on top, but this book sure doesn't.
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Drug abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
genevieve_eggleston's review against another edition
- 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
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
hannahbenje's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Murder, and War
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, and Classism
britwalsh16's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Maybe it’s just me cause Snow was never a villain I loved to hate. He was always on par with characters like Umbridge from Harry Potter. They don’t deserve redemption, & that’s what this book seemed to try to convey for most of the book atleast. 🤷🏻♀️
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
alexasolis98's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism
Minor: Addiction and Alcohol
hannahcstocks's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
mle11's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Torture, Vomit, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
theirgracegrace's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
The story follows a tense summer in the life of Coriolanus Snow, the tyrannical president that we meet in the main trilogy sixty-odd years later. He is eighteen years old and slated to be mentor to Lucy Gray Baird, a Covey girl living in District 12. He develops an infatuation with her early on, and much of the book is given over to how he tries to keep her safe before and after the 10th Hunger Games.
The characterization of Coriolanus is incredibly moving, showing how the idealistic teen has his critiques of and subtle attacks on the Capitol used against him and against Lucy Gray. It crushes his spirit, and turns him into the monster who betrays everyone and trusts no one that we later see. Nostalgic nods exist to the main series are plentiful, as it appears that the young Coriolanus was instrumental in the implementation of much of the horror of the Games.
All-in-all, a wonderful (if stressful!) book that played with my expectations just as cleanly as the Games themselves. I would heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the main series and wants to hear a tale of how it started!
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Infidelity and Excrement
Two of the tributes contract rabies and it is described in detail when they suddenly show symptoms in the arena. Snakes (including snake attacks, one of which is fatal) are common in the book, as the title suggests. There are two hangings of criminals that occur in the book in the latter portioncardan_greenbriar_1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
J'ai adoré Lucy gray mais le personnage de Coriolanus est détestable. Il utilise tout le monde pour avoir du pouvoir.
<spoilerIl fait semblant d'être l'ami de Sejanus, il utilise Lucy Gray pour remporter le prix Plinth, même si au final il l'a pas eu parce qu'ils se sont rendus compte de sa tricherie. Il cherche tout le temps à excuser ses actes en se disant qu'il avait pas le choix alors que si
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Addiction
bxnny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Chronic illness and Excrement