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

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

i don’t know how one could leave this book sympathizing with snow. i’ve seen that as a criticism and i genuinely don’t know how at any point you could muster up a tiny bit of sympathy at all. it is very clear throughout the entire novel that he is not a good guy. that he is manipulative, possessive, obsessive, jealous, and generally awful. every time he is presented an opportunity to change he denies it. and i think this origin story for the villain is exceptional. it could have been shorter and of course i want to know more about lucy but i think that’s the entire point. because snow never actually loved her. he was incredibly selfish and languished in someone needing him in a way he wasn’t used to. this is shown throughout his perspective continuously. the prof of his incapacity to love is shown through just how little snow was willing to know her. suzanne you’ve done it again.