Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

35 reviews

katattack345's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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 book had me hooked from the get go as did the original trilogy. I went into it not knowing what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. 

It is far more darker than the original trilogy but I still loved every page. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Murder, Grief, Gore, Addiction, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Death, Blood, Child death, Vomit, War, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: War, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Cannibalism, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Forced institutionalization, and Drug use

Minor: Dementia, Torture, Colonisation, Body horror, Dysphoria, Classism, Cursing, Infidelity, and Terminal illness

jo_d's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely stunningly well written. The subtle changes in Snow throughout the book while simulatniously maintaining consistancy in character and decision making was a jarring insight to what is (in my opinion) among the most interesting villains in YA. The setting for the book, the 10th Hunger Games, rehighlights what the movies did wonders in erasing: that the games are far from glamerous, and are instead violent indicators of what people, given too much power, are willing to do to others, espeically those they deam inferior. Absolutley would recommend, it was thought-provoking, adgitating, but I found myself unable to stop reading. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gun violence, Torture, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Vomit, and Confinement

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Drug use

Minor: Sexual violence and Trafficking

risaleel's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, War, Genocide, and Gun violence

Minor: Bullying, Classism, Medical content, Grief, Slavery, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

kt2e56's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad tense fast-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

3.0

Not as good as the original trilogy, but a good read regardless. I think my biggest issues are with the fact that its central character is someone we already know from the future. I

t seems like Collins had to go back on quite a bit in order to make this narrative fit in with what she already told us in the original trilogy. 

I’d say that some other issues with this book are that most of the characters are just…flat. Dr. Gaul with her ridiculous nursery rhymes is too cartoonish of a villain, Lucy Gray is a manic pixie dream girl (which on the one hand makes sense because we’re seeing her from Snow’s POV, but that doesn’t make her any less grating), the rest of the Covey and their weird country bumpkin way of life are equally as grating and Snow himself has zero shades of gray. He’s awful all the way through (I’ll get back to this).

The most interesting characters by far are Sejanus Plinth and Dean Highbottom, both of whom I kind of wish had been the POV characters for this prequel.

BUT I will say that in terms of politics and big picture ideas, this book is way more ambitious than the original trilogy. Yes, Snow is a bit one note but I *do* actually appreciate that. He’s a fascist, point blank. He’s an elitist bigot whose family has fallen on hard luck but we don’t ever have to feel sympathy for him because he STILL clings to that bigotry even though it’s glaringly obvious that The Capitol is to blame for his family’s trauma. It’s also VERY interesting that Collins doesn’t even attempt to hide the links between fascism and misogyny. 

Spoiler

Let’s talk real world for a second and how commonplace it is for alt-right young men to be drawn to their worldviews because of an innate sense of entitlement not only with wealth and the economy but with women as well. A big part of fascism is controlling women. It’s never a surprise when an alt-right extremist has a history of domestic violence. Never.

And Collins making it abundantly obvious that Coriolanus doesn’t truly LOVE Lucy Gray but seeks to own and possess her is actually really great. There’s no love story here. We know Lucy Gray is doomed from the moment she’s in his clutches. He wouldn’t have done ANYTHING for her if he didn’t want to fuck her so badly tbh.  This was so obviously going to end one way and I’m glad that Collins didn’t chicken out and went for it and avoided giving him a change of heart although I wish she wasn’t so ambiguous with it. 

The ending as a whole was another issue for me. It felt a bit rushed and convoluted and I wish Snow’s meeting with Highbottom was stretched out just a little more as opposed to stuffed into the epilogue.

All in all though, this was a solid read and I’m sure I’ll be seeing the movie in the Fall. I’m curious if Collins will be expanding even further on this world or not… 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Gun violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Misogyny, Police brutality, Blood, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Trafficking, Mental illness, Addiction, and Medical content

fromatreebranch's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Finding !!! connections with the rest of the books like clues here and there is so cool. And Snow really

Spoiler

becomes himself in this one. It's really amazing watching the depths of his evil be created, tested, and affirmed so young

. I... am hoping that the

Spoiler

singing

will feel natural in the film; that tends to take me out of it sometimes, but I see how integral it is to the whole thing.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

It is a heavy read in the sense of understanding the ways it is explicitly and implicitly exposing real life; something like watching a Black Mirror episode I guess.

katethecatlady's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad 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? Yes

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, War, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

Minor: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Gore, Animal cruelty, and Bullying

angelsfw's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Dementia, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Drug use, and Violence

Minor: War

booksemmahasread's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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? It's complicated

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Classism, Blood, Child death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical trauma, War, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Gun violence

Minor: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

nadialonso's review

adventurous challenging dark 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and War

Minor: Vomit

tesslaah's review against another edition

adventurous fast-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

5.0

The character development of Snow is so well done that he seems like a whole new person by the end while also having never truly changed. While many characters influence him, Snow is ultimately the one who makes his own choices to who he becomes. Collins does a great job of making a young Snow likeable enough that you’re rooting for him, but it’s still clear that he is & will be the unlikeable villain you come to know in the Hunger Games trilogy. There are many clever & thoughtful references & call backs (forwards?) to the trilogy that readers will really appreciate but you could also love this book without ever having read the series. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Physical abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Drug abuse

Minor: Cannibalism, Death of parent, and War