Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

290 reviews

biammonite's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

Honestly this was a brilliant prequel to the series and shouldn't be scoffed at as another YA 'love story'. Collins perfectly captured the origin of Snow and the Games as we knew them. As the whole thing is from his point of view we get a look into his thoughts and can see how this boy became the evil dictator, to the point where even the reader can understand where he was coming from. I could honestly ramble about this book for thousands of words, from the parallels to the later books to the worldbuilding of Panem.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

Moderate: Addiction and War

Minor: Cannibalism

saumyagupta's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

While reading the book, time and time again, there are some moments where I want to root for Snow but few thoughts later, it dawns upon me that whatever is happening is not right. It should not have been happening in the first place. The mistreatment of tributes makes us think "Oh, they have it so much better in the original triology!" but even in the original triology, children are being sent to kill each other. This book releasing 10 years later might have felt like a cashgrab to many people, but its so well thought out and dives into topics which fleshes out the original story so much. I do not believe it as a sad back story which made a villian, no, because time and time again, Snow had the choice to do the right thing and time and time again, he chose not to. The only places he did something "right" were the places where he could benefit from. Suzanne Collins is such a great author and she never fails to write a story which hauntingly matches what goes on or what will happen in the real world. I was so conflicted while reading this because every chapter filled me with immense rage. Its wonderful

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This books starts on July 4th, so what a fitting day to finish it! I loved The Hunger Games series when I first read it, devouring each book within just a couple of hours. Still, for some reason, I wasn’t all that interested when I heard about this prequel. Who wants to read about the man we know becomes the ultimate villain? Turns out, I do.

Even if I hadn’t known the future of Coriolanus Snow, I would’ve hated him. From the very first page, he is vain, selfish, and entitled. There are plenty of new characters to love and root for in this book, but never once did I find myself rooting for him. Collins does an incredible job of giving us a look into the mind of a narcissist. 

Like the other Hunger Games books, this one is easy to binge. Even when there’s not a lot of action on-page, it spurs you forward and you’ll look back and wonder how you just blew through 200 pages at a time without realizing it. I’m glad I decided to read it, and I’m looking forward to the next prequel she has planned!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Vomit, Cannibalism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

lucyford's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

Honestly, this is probably my favorite Hunger Games book yet. I loved the world-building and connections to the previous books, and the character depth of all the characters was amazing. Everything about it is so creative and I was continuously shocked by the genius ideas of the Author. Definitely worth reading (and watching the movie)! 

The only thing I didn’t like was that you were never super attached to the characters because you generally know where they’re going to end up (could also be a result of watching the movie first though).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

essypierrot's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

maresuju's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Addiction and Cannibalism

oceanbluetay's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Deadnaming, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, and Cannibalism

sunflower7skull's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Very interesting to watch the character arc!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

baearles's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Alcohol, and War

martysaurus27's review against another edition

adventurous dark

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I had such high hopes, but this turned into a hate-read almost instantly. This was a premise that asked so many good questions about the world of the Hunger Games and how they came to be in the aftermath of The War, and instead it seems the only questions the author asked were, "Damnit, my draft is due WHEN?" and "This is going to be made into a movie regardless, right?" 

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.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Drug abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism