The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) (The Hunger Games)

Just loved it

Suzanne Collins, the diva that you are!

Book arrived in great condition. Good prequel to the hunger games trilogy. But worth only one read. Might as well get the Kindle version.

Suzanne Collins please take a bow! TBOSAS engulfed me just like The Hunger Games had! She's not a romance writer but she writes love stories so well in harrowing dystopia. I remember feeling kinda disappointed when I heard that this book would be about Coriolanus Snow. But man oh man oh man... the last few pages reminded me once again how much I hated Snow. To see his cold, devious and tyrant self emerge slowly from all the circumstances was nothing but scary. (spoiler) PS, Lucy Gray was the og rebel. To think Katniss unknowingly rubbed Snow off by singing the love song written for Snow gave me such satisfaction. Lucy Gray, you deserved better. 😔✊

There are no spoilers in this review, so it's quite safe to read :) The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was not at all like what I thought it would be, and I loved it. It's like the Hunger Games books in many ways - answering many questions and yet leaving many unanswered. It is the thrill of recognizing certain aspects of the trilogy in this novel that made it so interesting; that, and the endless action. Each chapter contains so many surprises, and the plot twists and turns in such a way that I can never predict what's going to happen next. This is a must-read for all returning Hunger Games readers and dystopian fiction lovers. Can't wait for the movie!

Same day delivery with very good quality of book at an affordable price!!

Recommended age group: 11+ "Snow lands on top." (Oh Gosh where to start with this...) The book is beautifully articulated with brilliant foreshadowing and references to the future. The original symbols and motifs that have been part of the trilogy , had a major roles and thus one gets to know of their deeper history, how the mockingjay ,being a symbol of rebellion manages to get on Coriolanus Snow's nerves. Since it took place around the tenth hunger games, the reader manages to gain an all-round perspective about the rebellion and the establishment of the games. Usually I find prequels that are realised after the series end to be lethargic , however this one stood apart and defied the odds. Suzanne Collins did a fantastic job on this one. And lastly, the show is not over until the mockingjay sings.

The storyline is excellent as expected in the prequel to the series, but my ten-year old, who is crazy for Hunger Games, often finds it difficult to comprehend The Ballad. When I checked the text, I realised the boy could not figure out things because the 'pronoun back-reference' is often not clear. Check chapter four of the book. One has to track back to know 'she' refers to the grandmother or the girl whom Coriolanus is going to receive at the railway station. (Sorry, I am not clear about the names as I have not read any of the books.) I had to help out my son with the noun mentioned on the previous page (three paragraphs behind), even when the noun 'grandmother' had already occurred in between, which referred to the pronoun 'she'. Then, my son could make sense of the prose on the pages. My son said, 'But the paragraph has changed, right? Why hasn't she repeated the name?' Poor boy! Well, not Suzanne Collins' error. But, yeah, one should shoot the editor with a paper bullet made out of a style guide's page, as a punishment for confusing children.