The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The Hunger Games #0
By Suzanne Collins
*Read after the original The Hunger Games trilogy*
TheStory
This book is a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy but was published ten years after the last in the trilogy. It follows President Snow before he became the tyrant of the series. In his youth, he was just Coriolanus Snow. As a student at the Capitol Academy, he is assigned a District 12 tribute to mentor for the 10th Hunger Games. District 12 has never won a game, but proud and arrogant Coriolanus plans to change that fact.
Hailing from a once-powerful Capitol family that has now fallen on hard times, Coriolanus’ greatest ambition is power, which will also result in the restoration of his family’s honor, wealth, and prestige. When his mentee captures the attention of the Capitol audience during her performance at the reaping, Coriolanus formulates a plan for his success. In trying to gain Lucy’s trust and help her survive, he comes to question the system and his own ambitions for power.
Upon meeting the charismatic and eccentric Lucy Gary Baird, Snow has to decide between his feelings for her and his desire for power. The story explores their growing relationship and his gradual descent into the President of Panem that we all know and loathe.
In a shocking story of love, ambition, and the corruption of power, betrayals arise. The final confrontation results in a captivating conclusion that shows how the love of power can corrupt anyone.
TheReview
Due to my lack of interest in prequels, I rarely read any of them. But this one was recommended to me by the person who got me into reading for the first time ever - my mother.
I still wasn’t expecting much when I started the book. Truly, knowing the ending - that Snow ends up the villain - had me hesitant. But it was SO GOOD! It was still a beautiful story about love. Sometimes love and sacrifice isn’t enough to change someone. Coriolanus’ love of power was greater than his love for another. It’s such a deep dive into corruption and evil.
This book foreshadows (or technically post-shadows?) so many of the nuances from The Hunger Games. I definitely recommend reading The Hunger Games trilogy first. Given that Snow is the villain in those books, this is just his villainous backstory. But it slaps.
One of my biggest pet peeves is the justification of a villain. But Suzanne Collins didn’t try to justify Snow here. The book follows him through his last year at the academy, the first time he fell in love, and gives background into how he came to be the villain we know in The Hunger Games. No justification, just story.
Watching Coriolanus explain himself to himself was a trip. It’s absolutely wild to read him justify his own actions to himself just to convince himself that he is in the right. He is a manipulator in the strongest sense of the word.
The ending specifically left me with a major book hangover. I thought about it for days afterward. Also because the ending isn’t necessarily conclusive. A reader could draw a variety of opinions from the way the ending was written, and technically, anyone could be correct.
The writing throughout the book was done so well. The characters (love ‘em or hate ‘em) were so well written. Even the ones I hated, I couldn’t help but love to hate. Given that this was written ten years after the last book in The Hunger Games, Collins must have had notes on notes on notes tucked away somewhere to write this book this well.
Overall, it was a deep, through-provoking read - not just for a prequel but as its own story. I would recommend reading The Hunger Games first and then this one since it has a lot of throwbacks and references to the original trilogy - some of which wouldn’t make sense if you didn’t read The Hunger Games trilogy prior to this one. Or just read this one by itself. It’s that good.
P.S. I read The Hunger Games in high school but I still think this one is better than those books.
TheRating
Storyline: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
World Building: 4/5
Spice: 0/5
Writing: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
The Hunger Games Series
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The Hunger Games #0
Sunrise on the Reaping
The Hunger Games (technically 0.5)
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games #1
Catching Fire
The Hunger Games #2
Mockingjay
The Hunger Games #3