Welcome back, dearest Book Nerds!
Weve now officially made it to the cusp of August. Before too long, some will be headed back to school, but not just yet. First, we must bring you one last Book Report for the month of July, and its an absolute doozie, to be sure..
What book might that be, would you be asking? Well, its none other than The Hunger Games prequel "The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes", by Suzanne Collins ! Weve been waiting for this one for a while, so let`s slither right into it, shall we?
“May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!”
What Its About: Set decades before the events of “The Hunger Games” trilogy, we follow the story of the future President of Panem, Coriolanus Snow. With his once wealthy noble family now all but destitute, young Coriolanus is desperate to regain their status, and restore their fortunes. When he is assigned to mentor a Tribute (or contestant) during a gruesome yearly event known as The Hunger Games, during which children are forced to fight to the death, he hopes that winning the substantial cash prize awarded to the last team standing will be just the opportunity he needs to finally move up in the world. His convictions are tested however, when he and the Tribute he was assigned to, a plucky musician named Lucy Gray Baird, slowly start growing closer, and Lucy opens his eyes to what it means to be part of a game you never wanted to play.
What I Expected: A fun and gritty tie-in to the Hunger Games
What I Got: A tragic, haunting story of corruption, greed, and love turned toxic.
What I Loved: One of the biggest hallmarks of The Hunger Games series, is that it pulls absolutely no punches. Its commentary on the damage wrought by class disparity and discrimination, as children from vulnerable means are forced to hunt each other for the entertainment of the wealthy, is crystal clear. A lot of major franchises offer pure wish-fulfillment escapism, but The Hunger Games is anything but that.
The world Suzanne Collins build is stark, bleak, and soul-crushingly painful from the first page to the very last. Despite this,the story is still so hypnotically compelling that you can`t turn away from it if you tried. It feels like you, the reader, are every bit a witness of the Games and their brutality as the people of Panem watching on their screens, helpless to do anything about the injustice being played out right in front of them.
During The Hunger Games series, we follow Tribute Katniss Everdeen as she tries to take down the heartless President Snow, and put an end to The Games forever. In “The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes” however, we get to look through the eyes of President Snow himself, decades before he rose to power. As we are following the man who would one day become a villain, Collins does an excellent job of showing what ultimately made him such a hated figure, while never fully forgiving him for the choices he made.
We see Coriolanus sincerely wish to help the people who have been so wronged, and yet the same system that has caused so much destruction is the one he believes protects the world from falling into chaos, so why would he wish to go against it? He falls truly, deeply in love with his Tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, and does everything to save her in the arena, but his love for her quickly becomes corrupted, as he sees her as little more than another prize to be won. He loves his family more than anything, but he does not care who he has to crush in the process of helping to get them out of poverty.
This inner turmoil and contradiction is the mark of an incredibly written villain, and im absolutely obsessed with how Snows descent into darkness is portrayed in this book. Its sad and painful, yet inevitable, like the very best classical Greek Tragedy. It ties into the later books in ways that are subtle, yet powerful, so if you`re a fan of The Hunger Games, I promise that this is more than worth your time!
What To Watch Out For When Reading: (Including but not limited to) Child Death and abuse, General Violence, Execution by hanging, References to cannibalism, Drug use, Snakes, Rats, Blood, PTSD, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Mistreatment of a dead body, Poisoning, Shooting
Check It Out If You Enjoy: The Hunger Games series, The “Divergent” Series, by Veronica Roth, “The Maze Runner” series, by James Dashner
…And it is with this, dear Book Nerds, that we reach the end of our final Book Report for the month of July! Have you read this book yourself, or do you plan on reading it in the future? Please feel free to let us know in the comments below!
We`ll be back soon with more Bookish content, so until next time, take care all, and we bid you good reading! ❤
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