Book Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

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Okay, so when I heard that Suzanne Collins was coming out with a prequel to The Hunger Games series, I thought we were going to the drunk guy aka Haymitch’s backstory. BUT, nope. Instead, we got Coriolanus Snow. It’s low-key an understatement to say that I was disappointed. Nonetheless, I still read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes because the title is beautiful, the cover is beautiful, and The Hunger Games series is beautiful. 

In a nutshell, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy, and it takes place during the 10th annual Hunger Games which follows a 18-year old Coriolanus Snow. This Hunger Games is unlike its predecessors because for the first time, the Games are having Capital students mentor the tributes, and Snow has been assigned to Lucy Gray, a girl from District 12. 

Now, I started to read this about six months after it came out, so most of the reviews I read were pretty bad…so I went into the book thinking maybe I wouldn’t like it as much. To my pleasant surprise, it’s actually a pretty solid book !! Sure, it’s not as good as the OGs, but then, can one really compare anything to them ??

Anyway, the thing that I LOVED about this book is that it isn’t a redemption book for Snow; he started off being in the grey area but slowly declined into the villain that we all love to hate in the trilogy (no gonna lie, but I thought his fall to the pits of evilness was quite fantastic). I think reading this really helped me understand why Snow was the way he was in The Hunger Games series and to view him as more human. Like, even at a young age, he’s all about control (and this can be seen with his relationship with Lucy), but it’s clear that his desire for power grows stronger over time, so he was maybe normal for a second or two. Also, speaking of Lucy, I didn’t love her character, but I liked her. I thought her singing/connection to music was AMAZING and that she really acted as a FOIL to Snow. She and Snow kinda had this romance thing going on, but it wasn’t the focus, though I still enjoyed it mainly because I will adore any romance there is in any book. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book because I got to learn SO much about the history of the Hunger Games, despite the pacing being a mess and the ending falling flat. Honestly, I think you should give this book a go if you enjoy The Hunger Games series, because you might not even know you needed this until you read it :)) 

Rating: ⅘ stars

-Review by Teen Advisory Board Member, 4/18/21