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

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

I am so impressed that Suzanne Collins has made Coriolanus Snow into such a human and understandable character without softening him or excusing his despicable qualities. She puts him fully and unflinchingly on display, without judgment, to let the reader form their own opinion of him. It's easy to see how the selfish, image-obsessed, calculating, power-hungry young man in this book becomes the autocrat of Panem we're familiar with from the trilogy. At times, Coriolanus is sympathetic, and the amount of dramatic irony that creates when it seems like he's about to make the right choice, to end cruelty, to act morally, but the reader knows he can't, because of the trilogy--it's incredible. This is an extremely compelling book, one of the best character studies I've read, and one of the best prequels I've read.
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