Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins

45 reviews

maite_moonchild'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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, Death, Body horror, Classism, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, War, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Child death, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Child abuse, and Colonisation

haring's review

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.5

This is my first book from Suzanne Collins and since I haven’t seen the movies this is my first time diving into the world of Panem. I liked the twists that came up although I would’ve liked more from the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, War, Body horror, Confinement, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent and Cannibalism

mattiedancer's review

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

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Sexism

viviundworte's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gun violence, Blood, Classism, Drug use, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Addiction, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, Body horror, Cannibalism, and Racial slurs

befrazzledenby's review

dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

Okay, so, I've not read any Hunger Games book since, like, the 8th grade, but wow was this an amazing prequel. Am and I prepped by watching the series on Netflix, then buddy read together all 500 pages. It took me over a month but I am so glad I persevered, lol. 

I was really worried in the first half of the book because I was starting to...like Snow? He was relatable, he felt human and just very real. I was mad about that, but then I realized that's part of the brilliance of this book. I won't spoil anything, but let's just say Snow's downfall in the last ~200 pages is just amazing character development (devolvement? lol), especially given my feelings at the beginning. 

So much happened in this book, so much so that the first half almost feels like a different book entirely. Collins moves through the plot pretty well, though, I think, knowing when to give us more character drama vs. plot drama and not overloading so much, which helped me with the length here. Very excited to talk more about this with Am especially given its really heavy social and political themes. Whew. What a ride this one was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Police brutality, Torture, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Cannibalism, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Vomit, and War

cepbreed's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Because of the hubbub surrounding the movie trailer release I decided to pick this up after years of neglecting its existence. My little brother even read it and recommended it to me and I still didn’t give in. Now that I’m done I’m so angry I hadn’t read it earlier. This book made me hate Snow exponentially more.  He and Lucy do not have some wonderful love story. He manipulated her, that is fact. Lucy was a girl thrust into an unimaginable position and all she could do was cling to her only support, her mentor. Snow fancied her as some manic pixie dream girl and I loathe not hearing from her perspective in the books. He thinks he owns her It isn’t only Lucy, he also manipulated Clemensia. Snow took an opportunity to pander for her forgiveness and charm her into accepting his completely falsified apology and she did. He mistreated Tigress though she did everything possible to protect their small family. She was forced to bargain with her own body at an incredibly young age and his only respond was disgust. Poor sweet Sejanus put all of his trust in his “brother” but was betrayed at every turn. Not once did Snow have a sincere, not self-motivated, positive thought about anyone. Certified sociopath. FUCK SNOW I HATE THAT GREASEBALL.

I could talk about the symbolism behind the compact and compass forever.

Songs:

• Fun - Troye Sivan 
• National Anthem - Lana Del Rey 
• Fist - Deftones 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, and Murder

Moderate: Torture, Violence, and War

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Drug abuse, and Drug use

jazhandz's review

dark reflective tense 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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Murder, Violence, Death, Child death, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, Animal cruelty, Classism, and Body horror

Minor: Addiction and Cannibalism

weepingstones's review

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Violence, Classism, Death, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: Physical abuse, War, and Police brutality

Minor: Vomit, Medical trauma, and Medical content

smalljoys's review

adventurous dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, War, Death, Blood, Child death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Confinement, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Slavery, Animal death, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, Dementia, Medical content, Suicide, and Grief

ericaburns1's review

dark funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence and Classism

Minor: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, War, Alcoholism, and Cursing