Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

20 reviews

cactuschild's review against another edition

dark 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 one keeps you up when you finish it. Masterfully written, beautifully constructed. This is not just a prequel, it is the ghost of the Hunger Games given living form. If you hated what the movies did to the trilogy, you should read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Violence, and Classism

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

sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This book is not as powerful and gripping as the original trilogy (from what I remember) but is a really interesting insight into the development of the Hunger Games and Snow's roots.

It's definitely an experience watching Coriolanus as a young kid knowing what he ends up standing for and doing as an adult, and it made me never really feel for him when things happened to him. I did feel for Lucy Gray and Sejanus though, and seeing how their stories were woven in with Coriolanus's was sad and frustrating. I also liked getting the background to the games and how they developed, and the involvement of Snow and his friends and family in making the games what we saw in the original trilogy.

I think the pacing was off at times, which was the major thing that impaced my experience in this book. I think it could've been 100 pages shorter and still pack the same punch. 

Overall, I had a good time with this, though I don't know if anything could live up to the original trilogy (which I might now reread). I would recommend if you like villan origin stories and stories with unlikeable characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Cannibalism and War

Minor: Racism

lemonysquish's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I liked it? But the end was so rushed and overly ambiguous. We know Snow is bad and he was never a good guy..

but that was a steep drop off in character development in the last ten pages

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Fire/Fire injury

elenaluisa's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

0.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation

studydniowka's review against another edition

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

recycled_personalities's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

LITERALLY DESTROYED ME BUT NOW ITS MY FAVOURITE BOOK AND IDK WHAT THAT SAYS ABOUT ME. PLEASE READ IT IF YOU ALREADY READ THE HUNGER GAMES IM BEGGING YOU!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship

Minor: Racism

maddiezreads's review against another edition

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

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

Minor: Vomit, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

mscalls's review against another edition

challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

powellki's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

 I was looking forward to this book, I was, however I felt very let down by the final product. In this revisit to the world of the Hunger Games, we're greeted with Coriolanus Snow, future president of Panem and currently a dirt-poor boy clinging to a family legacy that was tied up in munitions in district 13.... the district that was bombed to end the war.

Find the full review at A Bibliotaph's Reviews.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Murder