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Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
72 reviews
cluckieduck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Suzanne is an excellent storyteller, and it was great to revisit the world of Panem 60+ years ahead of the The Hunger Games. I loved the background and expansion of how the Hunger Games themselves were developed, the extra layers of detail showing the Capitol's recovery from the rebel attacks, and the morsels of call-backs (call-forwards??) to the OG trilogy kept me enthralled.
The use of President Show as the protagonist was an interesting choice. It was hard to equate the Coriolanus (or Coryo to those near & dear) of TBoSaS with the eventual antagonistic, sadistic President Snow. I was waiting for such a major cataclysmic event, and perhaps my lacklustre feelings towards the ending are because I expected something major, but I found the ending just...meh.
I wanted and obvious turn of our protagonist from 'good' to 'evil' when, in truth, Coriolanus was always a morally grey sociopath, so there was no chance for me to be shocked into his villainous turn. I wish we could have gotten an alternate POV removed from his own internal monologue to get an outsiders perspective on his behaviours or actions. Lucy Gray would have definitely benefit from some more screen time, IMO. She was an intriguing character and her eventual arc left little to be desired. In truth, I was definitely waiting for
All in all, it just didn't really...go anywhere or provide anything necessary to the overall universe of the Hunger Games. What is has done though, is make me want to re-read the original trilogy because it's certainly been a while!
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Dementia, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship
ginbat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Slavery, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Medical trauma, War, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Cannibalism, and Abandonment
katattack345's review against another edition
- 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
It is far more darker than the original trilogy but I still loved every page.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Body horror, Cursing, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Torture, Dementia, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Classism
becca_w_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Slavery, and Kidnapping
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Genocide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
rashellyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"Snow lands on top."
Suzanne Collins is the GOAT for gifting us this emotional rollercoaster of a book. Everything about this story, which is in the era of the 10th Hunger Games, is perfect. I loved the little homage to the original characters by the prequel's characters' last names. And I loved the ongoing theme of humanity, violence, and control. "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" is presented so perfectly in comparison to what we've seen and read in the original books.
One main idea that really caught my eye was capitalism and the surrounding factors of that. Everything has a price, including people. We see this with Strabo Plinth (Sejanus's dad) and Coriolanus Snow, especially at the mention of Strabo buying everything and the scene where Coriolanus expects money for protecting Sejanus. Furthering this theme, every mentor in the program is a nepotism baby, which is why the main original characters are in such higher standings in the 74th and 75th Hunger Games. As I will mention later in this review, this main idea is presented as a criticism of what we know to be America today. And I personally believe this ongoing theme in The Hunger Games was executed perfectly in Suzanne Collins's latest novel.
Another thing that is so obvious, and I hope they continue this theme in the movie, is the dehumanization of the Districts. It's the most significant thing in the first half of the book. In the originals, the tributes are sent in luxurious trains, they are fed, and given a lot of attention. In the originals, they are seen as more players to be taken care of for the benefit of the games being streamed across Panem than anything else. In the prequel, the tributes are rarely ever congratulated or greeted the same way due to the mentor program. The mentors are the players, highlighted especially by the way Coriolanus refers to Lucy Gray as "my girl." After the tributes arrive in the Capitol, they are literally dumped inside a zoo, symbolic of the Capitol's dehumanizing treatment and perspective towards them. After the war, Coriolanus and other Capitol people refer to or compare District-born people to animals or objects to be owned.
The criticism towards modern America is so genius as well, I can't ignore it. I don't remember in the originals being told that Reaping Day was held on the Fourth of July. When I read that I literally had to stop and stare at the wall in disbelief. To outright write that was so bold of Suzanne Collins. And you know what, it fits so perfectly with everything else: the careers in the originals symbolic of what we call patriotism today, the Peacekeepers and their inability to protect their country symbolic of police brutality and militarism, and the prioritization of the rich over the poor. I love Suzanne Collins for not only granting us a fictional story with important themes about children, violence, and the fine line between patriotism and evil. But to continue to write such criticism about the world we live in today is something I highly respect. I want more.
Lastly, I wanted to point out the small cameos and homages to the originals that are in "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." Not only did I enjoy the comebacks of everyone's surnames, but the direct call-out to katniss. This time, not used as a name but as a plant. I found it so funny that katniss was mentioned more than once in the book, especially towards the end. In the last chapter where everything went to shit, it says a lot that Lucy Gray's last words to Coriolanus were about her "finding katniss". Was she really finding swamp potatoes, or could have Suzanne Collins been nudging at the soon-to-be-titled Mockingjay, Katniss Everdeen? That's another thing too about Coriolanus, he hates the Mockingjays but loves the Jabberjays. This shows his undying love for the Capitol, being that Jabberjays were a Capitol creation. I figured Mockingbirds were a metaphor that could be tied to the generation before the war and the Capitol's rise to power. Similar to that, I tied together the Mockingjay as a symbol of those who rebel and work towards a new and brighter Panem. For Coriolanus to outright despise the Mockingjays is not only a reflection of his love for the Capitol, but his hatred towards the Districts and rebels...and towards his future foe, Katniss Everdeen.
Just everything about this book is so fun to read, especially if you've been a fan of "The Hunger Games" since the beginning of the books and/or movies. I can't wait to watch the adaptation and I hope Suzanne Collins doesn't leave us hanging for another ten years.
Graphic: Murder and War
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Alcohol
kt2e56's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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…
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Trafficking, and Gaslighting
dativa's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
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.anneroza's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury
ailerua's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, War, and Classism
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Addiction
singingshooter's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, and War