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

adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Out of all the things in the Hunger Games universe, Suzanne Collins decided we needed a Snow childhood story? When there are so many more interesting characters like Haymitch? Ugh! I am still incredibly angry about this book and I’m glad I didn’t waste my money on it and borrowed it from the library. 

Snow was awful. Granted, I already knew he was awful from the Hunger Games but this really solidified that this guy was a tool. There were so many things that were just awful about him. He’s snooty and condescending. He wants friendships so bad but then treats said friends like garbage. He looks down upon poor people and is all surprised that they have any sort of feelings. Snow is just a terrible character. If this was supposed to be some sort of character redemption for him, it failed miserably. It was also very much not needed. 

What I did like about the book was the Hunger Games aspect. It was interesting to see how it came to be the spectacle it was during the Hunger Games trilogy. This book takes place during the tenth annual Hunger Games, where viewership is down so they are trying to come up with ways to make the Games more interesting. Because you know, killing kids isn’t interesting enough. While it was tragic to see children dying, just like it was during the Hunger Games trilogy, but I did like seeing the progression of how they changed the Games. 

I mentioned above that Snow had a disdain for poor people. The whole theme of this book was about hating poor people. I am a poor person. I grew up poor so I know what it’s like to be poor. It sucks to be honest. The whole time I’m reading this book was just the overwhelming amount of disdain for those that are poor. It’s not like those people asked to be poor. War causes poverty and that’s what happened in this book along with other things. My blood was just fuming the whole time while I read this book. 

Overall, we didn’t need this book. It wasn’t worth it and there were so much better characters to write about then Snow. It solidified my disdain for the man and even though this is some sort of redemption arc for him, it doesn’t change my feelings at all. If you are a huge Hunger Games fan like I am, I would highly suggest you skip this book because it’s not good. 
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