Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

343 reviews

keayra_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and War

lauren_shilling's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense 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

This book was amazing. I went into this a bit worried that it was going to be another tragic villain backstory, and I am happy to report that, while Snow does experience hardship and struggle, that is not really what this is. This book follows 18 year old Snow as a mentor in the 10th Hunger Games, and it details the very early beginnings of his rise to power. I thought it handled his character in a really interesting way, by setting him up to be a sympathetic character but showing how, despite struggling in many things, he is not a good person. He is still prejudiced and controlling, even when responding to hardship or experiencing romance and "friendship." I thought it was an interesting take on his character, and a super complex and nuanced one as well. As I was reading, I would almost feel bad for him, but then he would say/think/do something that reminded me of what he's going to do and that he's going to do it for completely selfish reasons. The dynamic between him and Lucy Gray was so interesting to explore, as was the dynamic between him and Sejanus. Lucy Gray was also a highlight of this book for me. She was such a great character to learn about, and the contrast set up between her and Snow was pretty cool to me. I found her to interesting, because at first she seems a bit weird, but as you get to know her and learn about her life and her past, you get to understand her in a very deep way. Something else I was worried about, that the main female character would be too similar to Katniss, since Katniss is such an interesting and engaging character, but I really shouldn't have doubted Suzanne Collins. Lucy Gray is so different from Katniss, yet there are so many connections between them that were so well done. Sejanus was another highlight for me. He had a unique and interesting story, and though he as a person was sometimes seen as annoying, he was a very good person in his heart, and I couldn't help but love him. He serves to represent almost the ideal of goodness to contrast with Snow and other Capitol citizens, and I thought it was well done. There are some truly horrifying moments in this book, and Suzanne Collins did not shy away from it at all. It was horrific but incredible. Overall, I loved this book, and I am so glad I read it.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and War

kate_arts's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

kmsander4's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-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

3.0

This book was not at all what I was expecting.

I read the Hunger Games series many, many years ago and really loved it. So, I was excited to dive back into this world but, if I'm honest, I found it really slow.

While Collins does a good job to get the reader to buy into Snow as a sympathetic character and then absolutely destroys everything in the final few pages. I didn't expect her to light the character on fire like she did. 

But the worst part? I didn't even really care. I found that all of the characters irritated me by the end. I don't know if that was the intention because of our narrator or not, but that's what I felt.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Gun violence and Suicide

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

elenabluenette's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Drug use, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Dementia, and Alcohol

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

Quite literally judging a book by its cover, I had originally written off this one as a cash grab by Collins due the success of The Hunger Games. I have never been so pleased to be proven wrong in my life.

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!

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Content Warnings

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 portion

cardan_greenbriar_1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

• 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

Vraiment j'ai adoré, comme tous les autres tomes mais j'ai mis que 4 car je l'ai trouvé un peu long à certains moments.
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

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Content Warnings

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

challenging dark sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

lawenn's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Torture

ladybanecourt's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

✨5/5✨

"Snow lands on top."

This was such an interesting book!! It is easy to hate Snow from reading the first Hunger Games books as it gives us the impression that he is just downright evil. But this prequel, set from Snow's life from before, gives us key points about his character, past, and motivations. Definitely a good read.

P. S. Sejanus is my favorite character fr

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Torture

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Classism