Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins

15 reviews

emsprobablyreading's review

challenging dark 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

5.0

I love love love this book. A wonderful prequel to the dystopian series that defined my adolescence. Suzanne Collins has done an excellent job of giving her readers a look at how the Hunger Games from Katniss' time came to be as well as a trip inside the mind of her greatest adversary, President Snow. The callbacks to the original series are wonderfully crafted, and I especially love how Lucy Gray is both her own character and written is such a way to set up Katniss as the perfect ghost of Snow's past, come to make him pay for his sins. I could write an essay on the implications of this book, but instead I leave you with this: if what you enjoyed about the Hunger Games trilogy was the commentary on war, power, control, privilege, rebellion, and what it means to love one another, then read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, War, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Slavery, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide, Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Medical content, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Confinement and Vomit

laineydunne's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Murder, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Police brutality, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Addiction, Animal death, Slavery, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Hate crime, and War

emiliehomme's review

slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Suicide

thattheatrekid's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

Loved this book! I still don’t feel sympathy for Snow; he’s still a sleazeball; but I do understand why he is how he is. His fundamental view of the world is just wrong which caused him to become the monster he was. A great read (did it in 1 night!) and I liked the glimpse of Capitol’s past and the early version of the Hunger Games. The plot moved well. However, sometimes the direction Snow went with some decisions or outlooks just didn’t make sense with the rest of the context. It felt more like Susanne was trying to get him to the spot of a believable villain than to weave a story where the progression to get there was natural. But! Overall loved it and would definitely read it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Torture, Child death, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Injury/injury detail, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Cannibalism

Minor: Vomit, Police brutality, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and War

anouks_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Alcohol and War

Minor: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Gun violence, and Drug abuse

rae42's review

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Suicide, Addiction, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Murder, Blood, Gore, Grief, and Gun violence

Moderate: Dementia

Minor: Vomit

Kinda hate that it's humanising characters which later do horrible things in the original trilogy

jmeier's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

3.75

This was a great return to the world of the hunger games, but as with many additions to popular series, it fell flat on its own. The book should have been about 200 pages shorter and much more subtle with its foray into the enlightenment themes. Collins practically slaps you in the face with her one-dimensional caricatures of Hobbes and Locke in the form of Gaul/Coriolanus and Lucy Grey/Sejanus respectively. I'm sure this would be a fun way for the YA age group to engage with studies of philosophy 101, but it doesn't stand out as much more than pedantic fluff.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Suicide, Child abuse, and Child death

maddiezreads's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Stalking, War, Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Racism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit

taliahsbookshelf's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Coming back to the world of the Hunger Games, this time many years before Katniss and Peeta shook the very foundation of Panem, A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows the tenth annual Hunger Games. Who is the main focus, you might ask? None other than future President Coriolanus Snow. 

This book contains the twists and dark reality that Suzanne Collins has perfected in her works. It shines a light on the darkness within us all, but it also points out that there is still good in people. There is still hope, there is still light, and there is still honor. 

One thing I always find myself drawn to in a Collins book is rooting for the wrong character, even if I know I shouldn't. In this book, even though you know the atrocities that Coriolanus commits in his future, it's difficult to not want him to succeed. It's difficult to recognize the darkness in him as a young child, even though the signs are all there. I don't want to root for Snow, but I found myself doing it over and over again. 

While this book is certainly separate from the original trilogy, there are certain aspects that are so clearly connected to why Snow behaved the way he did with Katniss later in his life. It's clear that Lucy Gray and Katniss are one in the same, and may even be related, though many years separate the two. This is found in no better place than this: 

"Hey, you found some katniss. Good work, CC." Coriolanus wondered if he meant it to be decorative, like the Grandma'am's roses, but she immediately examined the roots, from which small tubers hung. "Little too early yet."

It's certainly a curiosity when you have that, along with the origins of some of the most powerful ideas and songs of the original trilogy and how those connect to the future leader of perhaps one of the darkest countries in the world.
 
Favorite quotes:
 

"It took two parties to make a war."(183)

"If the cause wasn't honorable, how could it be an honor to participate in it?"(202)

Spoiler

"She could fly around District 12 all she liked, but she and her mockingjays could never harm him again."(516)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Suicide

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug use, Police brutality, and War

syd991's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is apparently an unpopular opinion, but I absolutely loved this book. 

Firstly, I loved the original trilogy for the games themselves, I wasn’t so focused on the love triangle/relationship between Peeta and Katniss. 

I think that’s why I loved this book so much more. It’s told from the perspective of a young President Snow, and is much more Hunger Games focused. However, there is still difficult and a variety of relationships that are explored. If you love the originals for the games themselves, I would definitely recommend this book. Beautifully written, thought provoking, and pays homage to the original trilogy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Injury/injury detail, Gore, Murder, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Blood, Classism, Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War