Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins

49 reviews

smasson13's review

challenging emotional reflective tense fast-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

This book was a wild ride. While I still prefer the original series, this novel was full of twists! 

At first I was confused as why it didn't end after act 2, and the start of act 3 felt like it was dragging on but not leading anywhere...but the end threw me. I think Suzanne Collins does a lovely jobs of trying to convince you of some sort of compassion in Coriolanus while he is struggling in the Capitol. Yet, by act 3, my hatred was renewed.

I would love to read more about the development of the early Hunger Games, I thought this was a really interesting perspective to take for a prequel novel. 

As well, I know critics seemed not to enjoy the folk songs throughout the book, but I think they lend nicely to the story telling as well as the history of the area of the USA that District 12 apparently occupies. 

Overall, it was a huge novel to get through, but never felt like a struggle. The tension and anticipation was high throughout, though at times frustrating. Definitely recommend it for those who have read the original series, it did not take away from what has already been created. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Death, Injury/injury detail, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, and Animal death

Minor: Confinement, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Gun violence, and Death of parent

brittaka's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is an excellent prequel to the Hunger Games series! Using Snow’s first-person perspective and his internal musings on the state of nature debate, Collins does a masterful job of displaying the eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow’s descent into the bloodthirsty, villainous President Snow readers of the original series will recognize. On a philosophical level, I love that Collins uses this narrative to argue that Thomas Hobbes (who wrote that humanity needs to be controlled in order to be “civilized”) is wrong. Throughout the book, readers see firsthand that those who champion the need for oppressive and violent control and order only do so in the name in maintaining their own sense of supremacy. Snow doesn’t do any of what he does in this story for the Capitol, for the people of Panem, for Lucy Gray, or even for Tigris and the Grandma’am—it’s all for himself, to satiate his own unquenchable desire for power, authority, and complete control. Snow merely uses Hobbes’s philosophies to justify his violent and selfish actions, which (along with Lucy Gray’s contradicting belief that human beings are good at heart) promotes the idea that Hobbes and Snow have it wrong—an idea that Collins fully endorses in the Hunger Games series itself. In other words, this book says “be anti-facist!” and “ACAB” in all the best ways, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has read the original series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Classism, Murder, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Grief, Police brutality, and Gun violence

Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, Animal death, and Death of parent

studydniowka's review

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Bardzo dobra młodzieżowa (i nie tylko) dystopia.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Grief, Medical trauma, Torture, Toxic relationship, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Murder, War, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, and Violence

eagleshouse's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

this has been my favourite read of the year by far. I've always loved Suzanne Collins' writing and the Hunger Games as a franchise, but I feel like this may be one of her best yet.

The protagonist is schoolboy Coriolanus Snow - the primary antagonist for the original series. However, just because the book is written from Snow's POV, does not mean he is a likeable character or a good guy.

At the beginning, Snow is the main character, and you as the reader attach yourself to him. He's a little pretentious, but nothing more grating than that. However, as the story progresses, I felt further and further horrified and concerned for Snow - the book genuinely slowly shows his progression into a horrible, evil, man, without a massive change happening until right at the end. It was Collins' use of language that Snow used that first set me off, referring to his lover as 'belonging' to him throughout the book, and progressively gets worse until the climax at the end, which honestly I was not expecting at all and yet was one of the best plot twists I've read.

it also adds so much depth to the Hunger Games story - with so many metaphors and references to both classical literature (both Coriolanus and Lucy Gray are named after pieces of literature that fit their characters, with Grays being stated in the story itself), but also the original series. Lucy Gray being the composer to The Hanging Tree and also writing it for Snow makes Katnisses use of it as a rebel song so much more poignant. 

Anyway, without fully spoiling the book, I think this is an essential read for anyone, even if theyre not fans of THG, because the use of government and capitalism and imperialism really shows through as well in such a good way. 5/5 book, my favourite of the year.
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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Injury/injury detail, Toxic relationship, Blood, Confinement, Colonisation, Murder, Violence, and War

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cannibalism, Dementia, and Bullying

jonsnowsmanbun's review

dark sad tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, and Death

Moderate: Gore, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, and Violence

tinybluepixel's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Alcohol, Gore, Addiction, Classism, Physical abuse, Death, War, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: War, Confinement, Injury/injury detail, Death of parent, and Vomit

Minor: Infidelity

hannahbailey's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

TW: violence, death (of parent, children), torture, war, gun violence, toxic relationship, animal death/cruelty, body horror, suicide attempt, grief, cannibalism, emotional abuse, forced institutionalisation, stalking, genocide, vomit

It was great to be back in Panem again-I've missed it! I'm aware how unhinged that sounds given the horrendous TWs I've listed above. But it's YA! And its Panem, a place we know is not famous for its kindness and generosity towards children.

So it was interesting to see Panem from the perspectives of Capitol citizens, however the perspective is limited through Coriolanus' gaze...make of that what you will 🥸 The POV was not quite a revelatory as I'd hoped it would be. Although, as with everything Suzanne Collins writes, I'm now thinking maybe this was intentional. There's no big reveal, we go to war and we fight and we kill each other because that's what humans do. There's no deeper message to be understood or secret to be discovered. Dammit Suzanne, you got me again! We have to stan.

I of course enjoyed the Hunger Games part, how could I not?! But the rest was overly long and stretched out. I didn't feel like we were given anything new, especially as District 12 was featured again over other districts. I wanted a lot more from Snow than I was given too. In every aspect of the novel and THG world, I'm itching to know more. Maybe one day we'll get the Finnick and Joanna novellas we deserve!

I know it's cringe and cliche but I want nothing more than for the movie adaptation to end with a close up of young Snow's face slowly morphing into old Snow's face either during his most evil in Catching Fire or at the end of Mockingjay when he *redacted*. The satisfaction would be too much to bear!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Blood, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/injury detail, Suicide attempt, Torture, Animal cruelty, Gore, Gun violence, Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Death of parent, Drug use, Genocide, and Grief

tahsintries's review

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Genocide, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Drug use, Medical content, and Torture

violetends's review against another edition

adventurous 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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Confinement, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Cannibalism, Police brutality, Death of parent, Grief, and War

cdoubet's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Child death, Confinement, Hate crime, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Alcohol, Bullying, and Dementia