A review by annietaber
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

The pacing on this was honestly poor, and I was disappointed that this read much more like a YA book than I think the OG ever did. Suzanne Collins you’re better than this</3 I couldn’t get a good grasp on WHY the characters did what they did and I LOVE a diabolical narrator. Instead Snow just seemed pushed around by everything in his life rather than the calculated villain he could’ve been, which would’ve been much more interesting. Also this read a bit like Social Contract Theory for dummies and there is just a much better way to do that than making a teacher literally ask Coriolanus “why do you think we need a state to control chaos?” A letdown to the rest of the series methinks, but intriguing to read about things on the other side