The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
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- Create Date：2021-06-14 00:51:07
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Suzanne Collins
- ISBN：0702309516
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Summary
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games。 In the Capital， 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。
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。
Reviews
Joanna
，
I have a few unanswered questions， but otherwise this book is great。
Josephine Anderer
，
5 stars。 I’ll be honest， when I picked up this book I wasn’t that excited to read about President Snow。 He’s the villain of the original trilogy and I didn’t think I really needed to know anything more about him。 Yeah， I was wrong。 THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING。 I know a lot of people would’ve wanted the prequel to be about Haymitch （don’t lose hope， it could still happen）， but this book rose high above my expectations for Snow。 I’m going to start with everything I didn’t like about the book （don’t wor 5 stars。 I’ll be honest， when I picked up this book I wasn’t that excited to read about President Snow。 He’s the villain of the original trilogy and I didn’t think I really needed to know anything more about him。 Yeah， I was wrong。 THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING。 I know a lot of people would’ve wanted the prequel to be about Haymitch （don’t lose hope， it could still happen）， but this book rose high above my expectations for Snow。 I’m going to start with everything I didn’t like about the book （don’t worry， this will be short）。 The beginning was slow， but once the Games are over it picks up。 And it’s really good from then on。 Another thing I didn’t like was all the characters。 There are a lot of characters with a lot of similar names。 The good thing: most of these characters are minor， and don’t have any major roles。 Okay， here’s everything I liked。 I’m just going to express my happiness for Lucy Gray right now。 Yes， she’s no Katniss， but she’s still pretty awesome。 She’s tough。 But in a more subtle way。 I also love when authors put songs into their books。 It just adds something。 Having Lucy Gray be a performer， may have been Collins’s best idea yet。 Everything else about the book I loved， but we would be here a while if I listed them all off。 Here’s something I’m not sure if I didn’t like or did。 The way the Hunger Games are set up is a little strange。 It’s so different the way the Capital is running them is nothing like the Hunger Games in the original books。 They’re not as high-tech or fancy。 Which is partially cool to see how the Games started out， but also a little strange to see the Games betrayed differently than in Katniss’s games。 Anyway， great read！ More prequels， please！ 。。。more
Awanda
，
Epilog menyelamatkan keseluruhan cerita。
Inês
，
As críticas negativas quase me fizeram não ler este livro， mas ainda bem que o fiz。 Apesar de não acrescentar muito à história original， é uma boa origin story do presidente Snow e integra vários elementos dos livros anteriores que fazem com que a leitura seja quase uma caça ao tesouro。
Regina
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Es ist ein unfassbar gutes und spannendes Buch。 Da es mich so seinen Bann ziehen konnte， ist es ein Jahreshighlight。Ich bin allerdings etwas von Snows Charakterzügen geschockt。 Er ist so eigensinnig und nur auf den eigenen Vorteil bedacht， dass ich ihn am Ende des Buches nur noch hassen konnte。 Am Anfang fing ich ihn an zu mögen， dies hat sich im Laufe der Zeit jedoch immer mehr gewandelt。Es ist schade， dass man nicht erfährt， was am Ende mit Lucy Gray passiert。 In allem war es ein großartiges B Es ist ein unfassbar gutes und spannendes Buch。 Da es mich so seinen Bann ziehen konnte， ist es ein Jahreshighlight。Ich bin allerdings etwas von Snows Charakterzügen geschockt。 Er ist so eigensinnig und nur auf den eigenen Vorteil bedacht， dass ich ihn am Ende des Buches nur noch hassen konnte。 Am Anfang fing ich ihn an zu mögen， dies hat sich im Laufe der Zeit jedoch immer mehr gewandelt。Es ist schade， dass man nicht erfährt， was am Ende mit Lucy Gray passiert。 In allem war es ein großartiges Buch， obwohl ich den Protagonisten nur noch abscheulich finde。 。。。more
Sri Novia
，
I like the details of this novel portrayal of Snow's character in the background， but I don't like the plot。 The pace is slow and some of the tense plots are less。 This novel still good to enjoy because many things make us curious。 I like the details of this novel portrayal of Snow's character in the background， but I don't like the plot。 The pace is slow and some of the tense plots are less。 This novel still good to enjoy because many things make us curious。 。。。more
Claire Yoder
，
Wow！！ I enjoyed this book so much more than expected。 The plot and characters really drew me in， and the metaphors were not too difficult to understand！
Samantha Suarez
，
There's a lot of mixed reviews about this book and I completely understand that， but I was very consumed by the story。 I was so fascinated with Snow's psychological understanding of what the games were and where he stood morally as a teen。 It was interesting to read the philosophical arguments in his head knowing where he ended up in the future。 There's a lot of mixed reviews about this book and I completely understand that， but I was very consumed by the story。 I was so fascinated with Snow's psychological understanding of what the games were and where he stood morally as a teen。 It was interesting to read the philosophical arguments in his head knowing where he ended up in the future。 。。。more
Elijah
，
This book was pretty good， there were just some parts that took me forever to get through
Readergirl77
，
Nathan enjoyed the entire series。
Becca
，
3。5 starsOk， having read The Hunger Games， I went into this book knowing full well Snow was bad。 But I have to say I was not expecting all that happened， at the end in particular。 There were times I started to feel a little sorry for him throughout the story， but then he would quickly say or do something and I would be like， "You're a jerk！" So， it was interesting to read his back story， but man I felt completely disgusted by him throughout。 3。5 starsOk， having read The Hunger Games， I went into this book knowing full well Snow was bad。 But I have to say I was not expecting all that happened， at the end in particular。 There were times I started to feel a little sorry for him throughout the story， but then he would quickly say or do something and I would be like， "You're a jerk！" So， it was interesting to read his back story， but man I felt completely disgusted by him throughout。 。。。more
Lorna Walker
，
As a big fan of the Hunger Games trilogy， I really enjoyed the opportunity to find out more about the development of the Games。I can't say I liked any of the characters but I kind of expected that in a story where the main focus was on a young President Snow。It does make me wonder what he could have been like with different influences in his young life as he wasn't entirely without humanity。 He had the capacity for empathy and love and even sentimentality。 But could all that have ever overcome w As a big fan of the Hunger Games trilogy， I really enjoyed the opportunity to find out more about the development of the Games。I can't say I liked any of the characters but I kind of expected that in a story where the main focus was on a young President Snow。It does make me wonder what he could have been like with different influences in his young life as he wasn't entirely without humanity。 He had the capacity for empathy and love and even sentimentality。 But could all that have ever overcome what seems to have been in his nature？I can see why those people who were expecting this to be more like the trilogy have been disappointed， but I liked it。 。。。more
Lindsay
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 As a prequel and backstory of President Snow， I had no idea what to expect！It began very differently， Snow is poor and only a moment away from revealing the misfortune his family has fallen upon。 As it continues， Snow is assigned to be a mentor in the Hunger Games for the first time ever。 And as the mentors assisted with the 10th annual Hunger Games， I was unsure where and how the transition of Snow was going to happen。 The Hunger Games themselves were probably the slowest part of the book， and As a prequel and backstory of President Snow， I had no idea what to expect！It began very differently， Snow is poor and only a moment away from revealing the misfortune his family has fallen upon。 As it continues， Snow is assigned to be a mentor in the Hunger Games for the first time ever。 And as the mentors assisted with the 10th annual Hunger Games， I was unsure where and how the transition of Snow was going to happen。 The Hunger Games themselves were probably the slowest part of the book， and it wasn’t until the final part that things started getting intense！Overall， the book was very interesting and entertaining to read。 I loved observing the mental switch that turned Snow into who he became and thought it was a great villain story。 My only qualm with the book was the excessive amounts of references and shout outs to the actual Hunger Game series。 In my opinion it came off as though the author was trying a bit to hard to tie it to the future events。 。。。more
Patricia
，
No era del todo necesario。 Te cuenta algunas curiosidades relativas al origen de los juegos y de la clase de ambición que tenía Snow desde joven。 Sin más。 es bastante lineal
mars
，
this was a solid prequel to the insanely popular hunger games series。 experienced fans of the original trilogy will enjoy the easter eggs and references to it throughout the book。 i still have no sympathy for snow， but i’m not exactly clear if this was supposed to a redemption or not。 either way， it was interesting to see how low panem sunk over the years。 i took off 2 stars bc i had absolutely no idea where the story was going or what it was supposed to focus on for a majority of the time and f this was a solid prequel to the insanely popular hunger games series。 experienced fans of the original trilogy will enjoy the easter eggs and references to it throughout the book。 i still have no sympathy for snow， but i’m not exactly clear if this was supposed to a redemption or not。 either way， it was interesting to see how low panem sunk over the years。 i took off 2 stars bc i had absolutely no idea where the story was going or what it was supposed to focus on for a majority of the time and for too many out of character moments that ruined the experience for me。 。。。more
Hanning
，
After a while into the book， I feel like my urge to continue reading became completely based on it being a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy， instead of compelled by its plot。 I wish I could’ve learned more about Lucy Gray。 She seems like a deep character， manipulative， self-preserving， and strong in her own way。 Sejanus is also capable of being an interesting narrator， though unfortunately he and Lucy Gray both had fallen short under Coriolanus’s lens。 Already knowing what Coriolanus would be After a while into the book， I feel like my urge to continue reading became completely based on it being a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy， instead of compelled by its plot。 I wish I could’ve learned more about Lucy Gray。 She seems like a deep character， manipulative， self-preserving， and strong in her own way。 Sejanus is also capable of being an interesting narrator， though unfortunately he and Lucy Gray both had fallen short under Coriolanus’s lens。 Already knowing what Coriolanus would become， I spent the first half of the book waiting for the other shoe to drop。 I had predicted the loss of Lucy Gray or her betrayal would be an imminent ruse to his cruelty， and guess what， I’m right in a way。 It’s hard to realize sometimes that Coriolanus is the antagonist， while the rebels are actually on the “right” side。 Though who could blame Coryo for thinking the way he does？ His family’s circumstances and the guidance of Dr。 Gaul are destined to change him from being relatively innocent to justifying slaughter。500 pages is completely unnecessary， when his story should skip the routine of his younger life in the capital and move on quickly to District Twelve and what comes after。 I want to see how he would act in university， how he would eliminate his “enemies” one by one （like he did Highbottom）， and how he would step his way to the President’s seat。 Part Three of the book should be the most elaborated one， instead it’s the most hurried。 I’m not exactly disappointed with the callbacks （call-forwards？） in the book about Katniss’s story。 The Hanging Tree is also a meaningful Easter egg。 Still， I regret not knowing more about Lucy Gray and her reasons behind her actions。 Three stars *** 。。。more
Danceangel
，
A fuller review might follow， but personally I think that this book is at least as good as the Hunger Games #1。 And I do understand why so many people dislike it - might be too scary for them to realize how easy it can be to slide downwards thinking that you are working to land on top。
Neha Yadav
，
Author: Suzanne CollinsBe it any of ‘The Hunger Games trilogy’ sequel， Suzanne Collins is one of the enlightened writers who know how to play with words and make the best out of your Sci-Fi read。 However， surprisingly Collins works linear with the time was expected to amaze all the avid readers with another sequel ‘The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes。 After Suzanne’s first book received major critical acclaims from top reviewers and authors， each published novel of hers won numerous awards。The book Author: Suzanne CollinsBe it any of ‘The Hunger Games trilogy’ sequel， Suzanne Collins is one of the enlightened writers who know how to play with words and make the best out of your Sci-Fi read。 However， surprisingly Collins works linear with the time was expected to amaze all the avid readers with another sequel ‘The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes。 After Suzanne’s first book received major critical acclaims from top reviewers and authors， each published novel of hers won numerous awards。The book published with readers eagerly waiting for another 'Hunger Games' movie adaptation。 However， The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes which is the prequel of 'The Hunger Games' revisits the tyranny of Panem flipping the pages 64 years before the actual events of The Hunger Games you read all these years that starts from the morning of the reaping of the Tenth Hunger Games。 The selling point was rather gauged to be huge since the novel was printed across the World in English with around 2。5 million copies。 In one of the press releases， author Suzanne Collins stated that she wanted to use 'The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes' as an exploration medium to understand the diverse state of nature， who we have been， and what we have been perceiving for survival。 After the announcement of The Hunger Games prequel， various discussions and chaos augmented around the winner of the 11th Hunger Games， Mags。 Suzanne Collins， on the other hand， has focussed more around the competition before Mags became a Tribute， and somehow， one would infer that there might be a possibility that the fan readers would perhaps get to go through a youthful version of few characters when Ballad comes into the play。 。。。more
Gonnhe
，
De la historia， han habido cosas que me han gustado mucho y otras que no tanto， pero en general me ha parecido entretenida。 Por otro lado， la narración no está mal; al principio me pareció extraña porque estaba acostumbrada a Paula Iwasaki （que ha narrado la trilogía principal）， aunque al final me ha acabado gustando bastante。
Herdina Primasanti
，
Everyone seems like hating or loving it to the fullest。 I personally don't like it as much as Hunger Games trilogy since this prequel is mostly about Coriolanus' urge to maintain his image as part of the Snow family， description of him enjoying food in Academy or with Tigris and Grandma'am， and his possessive thought of Lucy Gray。 I'm curious about the time when pre-Hunger Games rebellion happened and what happened after Lucy Gray disappeared until Katniss became the tribute 50 years later。 Desp Everyone seems like hating or loving it to the fullest。 I personally don't like it as much as Hunger Games trilogy since this prequel is mostly about Coriolanus' urge to maintain his image as part of the Snow family， description of him enjoying food in Academy or with Tigris and Grandma'am， and his possessive thought of Lucy Gray。 I'm curious about the time when pre-Hunger Games rebellion happened and what happened after Lucy Gray disappeared until Katniss became the tribute 50 years later。 Despite of this， I still enjoyed the book and liked the trivia of the hanging song。If this prequel was meant to be a standalone book， I'm not pretty satisfied since there are a lot of scenes that needs to be explored。 But if this prequel is meant to be another series， I think I will buy the next book 。。。more
Lucía Díaz
，
Amo Los Juegos del Hambre， pero me costó demasiado conectar con este libro y me demoré meses en poder terminarlo porque simplemente no tenía una real motivación de seguir leyendo。En resumen， mi impresión es que las dos primeras partes del libro pudieron haber sido más cortas y la historia se hubiera movido más rápido （sobretodo acortando un poco el desarrollo de los juegos en sí）。 La tercera parte fue la que para mí rescató el libro， ver como la naturaleza de Snow sale realmente a la superficie。 Amo Los Juegos del Hambre， pero me costó demasiado conectar con este libro y me demoré meses en poder terminarlo porque simplemente no tenía una real motivación de seguir leyendo。En resumen， mi impresión es que las dos primeras partes del libro pudieron haber sido más cortas y la historia se hubiera movido más rápido （sobretodo acortando un poco el desarrollo de los juegos en sí）。 La tercera parte fue la que para mí rescató el libro， ver como la naturaleza de Snow sale realmente a la superficie。Seguiré pensando sobre qué siento realmente por este libro porque I am very confundida。 。。。more
Katie
，
When we all read The Hunger Games， many， many eons ago it seemed， we were all Katniss watching the previous 73 72 Hunger Games and we were all thinking， "What ever happened to the footage of the 10th Hunger Games？" Any one？ Any one？ Or was it just this Katniss？ WELL Y'ALL， NOW WE GET TO SEE THE 10TH HUNGER GAMES。 Or， well， the lack of the existence of a tape。 It's probably good that tape doesn't exist on public record。 I don't remember much of it even after reading it。 No， what I found most fasc When we all read The Hunger Games， many， many eons ago it seemed， we were all Katniss watching the previous 73 72 Hunger Games and we were all thinking， "What ever happened to the footage of the 10th Hunger Games？" Any one？ Any one？ Or was it just this Katniss？ WELL Y'ALL， NOW WE GET TO SEE THE 10TH HUNGER GAMES。 Or， well， the lack of the existence of a tape。 It's probably good that tape doesn't exist on public record。 I don't remember much of it even after reading it。 No， what I found most fascinating part of this book is how we see 18-year-old Snow， who is rather pitiful and reminds me of Draco Malfoy （albeit one who's lost his fortune）， start to create the future President Snow。 We can imagine how the Games became as elaborate as Snow is。 It never was the Hunger Games; it's always has and always will be。。。Snow Games。 Cleverly hidden， of course。 。。。more
Chantilly
，
This was a fun read and it constantly had me reminding myself of who Snow turned out to be in the original Hunger Games trilogy。 It didn’t particularly add anything to the world but it was nice seeing Snow’s backstory and getting glimpses of his tyrant views as the book progresses。
Maria Júlia
，
A historia de Coriolanus teve muitos altos e baixos pra mim。 Tiveram momentos muito bons e que me prenderam， porem tiveram momentos em que a narrativa não me cativou tanto。 É compreensível uma certa dificuldade de conexão com o protagonista já que a proposta é exatamente contar a historia do "Vilão" da primeira trilogia。 Acontece que poucos elementos realmente me fisgaram， e acredito que apenas Lucy Gray despertou um maior interesse em mim para mergulhar na história。A forma como foi se desdobran A historia de Coriolanus teve muitos altos e baixos pra mim。 Tiveram momentos muito bons e que me prenderam， porem tiveram momentos em que a narrativa não me cativou tanto。 É compreensível uma certa dificuldade de conexão com o protagonista já que a proposta é exatamente contar a historia do "Vilão" da primeira trilogia。 Acontece que poucos elementos realmente me fisgaram， e acredito que apenas Lucy Gray despertou um maior interesse em mim para mergulhar na história。A forma como foi se desdobrando é interessante e algumas vezes inesperada， principalmente na ultima parte do livro， só que como já dito， os personagens não são nem um pouco cativantes a ponto de me fazer apegar e querer desesperadamente saber os próximos acontecimentos。 （Apesar disso há cenas que me fizeram ficar bem triste por causa da filhadaputagem do coryo）Os últimos 20% do livro eu li numa tacada só e confesso que foi a parte que eu mais fiquei ansiosa pra saber das coisas e foi possível fazer varias conexões com os outros livros。É um livro ok。Talvez por eu ter relido a trilogia jogos vorazes muito recentemente pode ter criado expectativas em mim， já que eu sou apaixonada por esses livros。Enfim， é uma pena eu não ter amado， 3 estrelas é o suficiente e apesar de tudo， espero pelo filme pois estou curiosa para adaptação。Ps。: eu não consigo imaginar o Snow mais novo， em TODAS as cenas eu imaginava o ator dos filmes de cabelo e barba branca， mesmo sabendo que ele tem 17 anos 🤡， enfim a confusão。 。。。more
Allie Hahn
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Truthfully 3。5 stars， but I rounded up。 😅It was well-written and interesting， and I thought it mostly ended as it should have， especially switching to calling him “Snow” in the epilogue instead of “Coriolanus。”Some of the Easter Eggs seemed a bit much for me， I’ll be honest - Tigris being his cousin？ Really？ Snow being the one to come up with all these ideas for the Hunger Games himself？ Him going to District 12 and using the house by the lake that’s Katniss’s spot later？ Anyway， I think it’s wo Truthfully 3。5 stars， but I rounded up。 😅It was well-written and interesting， and I thought it mostly ended as it should have， especially switching to calling him “Snow” in the epilogue instead of “Coriolanus。”Some of the Easter Eggs seemed a bit much for me， I’ll be honest - Tigris being his cousin？ Really？ Snow being the one to come up with all these ideas for the Hunger Games himself？ Him going to District 12 and using the house by the lake that’s Katniss’s spot later？ Anyway， I think it’s worth a read if you like the original books， but it’s definitely not on their level， in my opinion。 。。。more
Clarice
，
Better than I expected
Lori
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Enjoyed the backstory but it didn't seem like it was all that detailed to me。 Enjoyed the backstory but it didn't seem like it was all that detailed to me。 。。。more
Andrea Baker
，
Great prequel to the Hunger Game Series， all about a young Snow and how he became the man we read about in the series。
Ale
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I have read some enemies-to-lovers but this is my first lovers-to-enemies。This book is amazing。 At the beginning， I thought Suzanne Collins wanted us to appreciate Snow and maybe understand him， but reading。。。I realized that she was slowly building the character。 If in the first pages I saw Snow not as "The hunger games Snow， in the last one I saw the old Snow in him。 And it was incredible to realize where the plot brought me。I loved this book and now I appreciate Suzanne Collins more: she was a I have read some enemies-to-lovers but this is my first lovers-to-enemies。This book is amazing。 At the beginning， I thought Suzanne Collins wanted us to appreciate Snow and maybe understand him， but reading。。。I realized that she was slowly building the character。 If in the first pages I saw Snow not as "The hunger games Snow， in the last one I saw the old Snow in him。 And it was incredible to realize where the plot brought me。I loved this book and now I appreciate Suzanne Collins more: she was able to create a perfect villain。 。。。more
Holly
，