Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

46 reviews

ginbat's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It pissed me off so much I had to give it 5 stars. goddamn

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Slavery, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Medical trauma, War, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Cannibalism, and Abandonment

fierymoon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

it was such a crazy ride oh my freaking god. there is definitely a difference in the writing style, compared to the hunger games trilogy - from the introduction, through the interactions to the twists. the ballad of songbirds and snakes definitely

is one of the best depictions of a villain i've read, because we get to see how rotten the soon-to-be-president actually is and at a point you're torn on whether to root for him or not. apart from that, it

can shift the povs, depending on how the reader decides to read the 4 books - if they start with tbosas, then they'll most probably be following the following trilogy from snow's pov, while if the reader decides to read the trilogy first, then tbosas results as kind of a memoir for the dead president. oh my god, suzanne, i havent been able to pick up my jaw from the ground this is just soooooooooo *doesnt intent to finish the sentence*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Gun violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent and Abandonment

3littlewordz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I read this prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy in preparation for the movie release in November. I admit   was not too excited to read how evil was born in President Snow, but I was pretty shocked at his origin story.

Poor?!? Near starving? And dare I say... compassionate and loving?! This is not the President Snow I was expecting, but the horrid experience he lived through could certainly mold the pure evil Snow becomes 64 years later. Also, Dr. Gaul is CHILLING. One of my few disappointments is how quickly Collins pushes us through the final scene between Lucy Gray and Snow. I felt like we skipped a few conversations before ending up in the woods trying to kill each other.

Overall, I felt Collins maintained the same writing style from the previous three books. This book has me excited for the movie adaptation! 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Physical abuse, Torture, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Cannibalism and War

c_dmckinney's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

issyd23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad 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

Collins lands on top! So glad this prequel has kept its fire 5💥 

APKAB All Peace Keepers Are Bastards

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

jodean's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

This is a book that knows what a prequel should do. There's too many unneeded pre- and sequels around lately and not enough original work, so I'd been skeptic
al of this one. But it's an exception. 
I don't think anything can compare to the original trilogy, but this book makes me look at it all in a new light. It answers questions I didn't think to ask. 
<Spoiler>Also, Sejanus deserved better and God I hope Lucy Gray made it somewhere better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Slavery, Blood, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mattiedancer's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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

4.5

Writing: 4.75⭐️/5 

As with much of Collins' writing, the book thrives on its visually stunning and well-described settings. What any artistry in her writing might have lacked, she made up for with the impact of the world. And, even with a few stumbly sections in her writing, much of it read cleanly and beautifully–an intriguing insight into a poisonous mind.

Characters: 4.75⭐️/5

A few characters felt a touch jarring, but otherwise, like the setting, the world came alive with the characters. The way in which we understand Corionalus’ thoughts and mental state without overly empathizing with his goals is stunning. The side characters felt explored in their relationship with Coriolanus, meaning the people he liked we knew the most about and the people he thought ill of, we also felt the toxicity of his opinions. 

Plot: 4⭐️/5 

While the plot overall is intriguing and fascinating to watch unfold (believe me, I was slackjawed at several moments), I did feel (SPOILERS HERE) that the resolution of his attempted escape with Lucy Gray was rushed and unclear. Had the book been written in first person, I would’ve accepted this section gleefully as a possible blip in our narration due to an unreliable narrator, but I would have loved more of this section to focus on his mind unravelling a bit slower – as well as Lucy Gray’s realization moving a bit slower – so we could understand this section fully. And, even though I loved all the symbolism that ties us to the original trilogy, the added details connecting Lucy Gray to Katniss’ rebellion and how personally it integrated into Corionalus’ life felt too on the nose. The moment in which Lucy uses the excuse of finding katniss (the plant) to leave him felt a bit too heavy-handed for the analogy that later Katniss (the person) will cause his undoing. The song, The Hanging Tree, being written for him by Lucy also felt too coincidental, especially when tied with his heavy hatred of the mockingjays around District 12 during his time there. I wish some of these tie-backs had been removed or made less vital to slowly grit on his nerves, rather than to so obviously connect him to Katniss. 

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Fans of The Hunger Games trilogy

Content Warnings? 

• Death, murder, child death, parent death, illness, cannibalism, blood, injury, medical trauma, gore

Post-Reading Rating:  5⭐️/5

I wish it had gone on a bit longer, but I was happy with the conclusion.

Final Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Sexism

gildedspines's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, and War

Moderate: Addiction and Abandonment

katymat18's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I decided to re-read The Hunger Games trilogy before diving in to this one to get myself back into the mindset of the universe, and also just to orient myself. I’m glad I did because I feel like there are a lot of hints and callbacks - if you will - to the original trilogy. However as far as villain origin stories go this was a hard one to get through, I kept waiting for the inevitable iceberg that would tip Snow over into that vile, hated old man we know from the trilogy. Took awhile, but it’s such a deep dive into the inner psyche of Snow. Still not sure how I overall feel about it…

Would really love to know what happened to Lucy Gray in the end! I have my theories, and I think Collins left it to be ambiguous much like The Ballad of Lucy Gray is in the book. But I would just love some confirmation or an epilogue in her POV. I will say Lucy Gray’s influence over Snow does help to understand his gripes with District 12 and Katniss later on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Gun violence, Torture, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Addiction and Drug use