Book Blog #270: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 

Author: Suzanne Collins

# of Pages: 517 (hardback)

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopia

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

Review: This is the prequel no one ever asked for.

I was surprised to see that this book existed. Another book in The Hunger Games series? But like any wildly successful series, those involved in making this book come into existence probably couldn't let a good thing just end. 

When I was scrolling though the reviews, I was apprehensive to give this book a shot. The good reviews seemed to be hardcore Hunger Games fans who hadn't even read the book yet. The bad reviews were evidence of the worst case scenario: the book was unfinishable for some. However,  after finishing, I don't think it's as bad as people say. I was even tempted to rate it four stars because I was fully immersed at the end. Here's why I decided to only give it three:

1. There's a lot of fluff. A lot of eating, a lot of characters introduced with little significance. This book didn't have to be as long as it was (and it was undoubtably made longer by the repeated inclusion of mentor and tributes lists and song lyrics).

2. Snow's character development throughout the book could have been more convincing. We all know how this book is going to end (assuming the reader has read The Hunger Games series). President (Coriolanus) Snow is not exactly a likable character in the main books. What makes the premise of this story interesting it that it takes the reader back to when Coriolanus Snow was 18, a time when he was no more or less evil than any other person just entering adulthood. He's presented as our protagonist but some how has to become the antagonist that is present in The Hunger Games series. I was expecting to be able to sympathize with Snow and understand how his life events turned him into the man he eventually became, but the execution of this change (or revelation) of his character felt too sudden. 

If you are a hardcore fan of The Hunger Games series and were already excited for this book, go ahead and give it a read. I was a big fan of the main books, but didn't have much interest in reading this book other than out of curiosity on what story there was to be told in a prequel. I don't regret reading it, but I don't think I needed to read this book either. Would only recommend to those who are genuinely interested.