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 Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Kyla

All the things, Coriolanus thought as he dabbed his eyes, that were so annoying about her and had ultimately brought on her death. 

Suzanne Collins

Ambition will fuel him. Competition will drive him. But power has its price.

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

A LOCK of HIS HAIR? Coriolanus is so down bad he doesn’t even know it’s actually so funny 😭 No normal person would ever think of gifting that, you’re actually crazy.

“There was a silk scarf dyed a luscious deep orange that she could probably use in her hair. A gold pin he'd won for academic excellence, engraved with his name. Maybe a lock of his hair tied in a ribbon? What could be more personal than that?”

Why is this so funny 😭 its so twt coded 💀

Who were all these people hanging around on a weekday at the zoo? Didn't they have jobs? Shouldn't the children be in school? No wonder the country was such a mess.

Lucy gray is smarter than Coriolanus 🤭🤭

Hana 

"People aren't so bad, really," she said. "It's what the world does to them.

Nooo sejanus doesn’t deserve to be hanged he was the only good one ugh

squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could block out the sound as well. But he could not, and he heard it all. Sejanus's cry, the bang of the trapdoors, and the jabberjays picking up Sejanus's last word, screaming it over and over into the dazzling sun.

"You're mine and I'm yours. It's written in the stars."

There, arranged on the table like lab specimens, were three items: an Academy napkin stained with grape punch, his mother's silver compact, and a dingy white handkerchief.

The meeting could not have lasted more than five minutes. Afterward, as agreed, Coriolanus headed directly to the Recruitment Center, where he became Panem's newest, if not shiniest, Peacekeeper.

saying this after sejanus just died.. GAY

yaya

What else? He found himself thinking of Lucy Gray, the one and now only love of his life.

Sejanus turned to Coriolanus. "We'll see you later?" Coriolanus felt self-conscious. "Do I look okay?" "Gorgeous. Trust me, that lip's working for you, soldier," said Sejanus 

Coriolanus felt sure he'd spotted his first mockingjay, and he disliked the thing on sight.

“You know what I won’t miss? People,” Coriolanus replied. “Except for a handful. They’re mostly awful, if you think about it.”

“People aren’t so bad, really,” she said. “It’s what the world does to them. Like us, in the arena. We did things in there we’d never have considered if they’d just left us alone.”

“I don’t know. I killed Mayfair, and there was no arena in sight,” he said.

“But only to save me.” She thought it over. “I think there’s a natural goodness built into human beings. You know when you’ve stepped across the line into evil, and it’s your life’s challenge to try and stay on the right side of that line.”

“Sometimes there are tough decisions.” He’d been making them all summer.

“I know that. Of course, I do. I’m a victor,” she said ruefully.

He’d continue the Games, of course, when he ruled Panem. People would call him a tyrant, ironfisted and cruel. But at least he would ensure survival for survival’s sake, giving them a chance to evolve. What else could humanity hope for? Really, it should thank him.

His eyes filled with tears. They would hang him, but she would be there, knowing he was still a genuinely good person. Not a monster who’d cheated or betrayed his friend, but someone who’d really tried to be noble in impossible circumstances.

He didn’t mind the jabberjays so much — they seemed rather interesting from a military standpoint — but something about the mockingjays repelled him. He distrusted their spontaneous creation. Nature running amok. They should die out, and die out soon.

The mockingjay cocked its head and then sang back. No words, but an exact replica of the melody, in a voice that seemed half human, half bird. A few other birds in the area picked it up and wove it into a harmonic fabric, which again reminded him of the Covey with their old songs.

“We should kill them all.” The words slipped out before he could stop them.

But he was angry, too. It took two parties to make a war. A war that, by the way, the rebels had started. A war that had left him an orphan.

So he added a paragraph about his deep relief on winning the war, and the grim satisfaction of seeing the Capitol’s enemies, who’d treated him so cruelly, who’d cost his family so much, brought to their knees. Hobbled. Impotent. Unable to hurt him anymore. He’d loved the unfamiliar sense of safety that their defeat had brought. The security that could only come with power. The ability to control things. Yes, that was what he’d loved best of all.

“It certainly supports her view of humanity,” said Snow. “Especially using the children.”

“And why is that?” asked Dean Highbottom.

“Because we credit them with innocence. And if even the most innocent among us turn to killers in the Hunger Games, what does that say? That our essential nature is violent,” Snow explained.

“Self-destructive,” Dean Highbottom murmured.

“Peacekeeping’s good work if you can get it. Better than mill work. Lots of food, and money enough to send back to my folks. Some people sneer at it, but I say the war’s history and a job’s a job.”

“So you don’t mind policing your own people?” Coriolanus couldn’t help asking.

“Oh, these aren’t my people. My people are in Eight. They don’t leave you where you’re born,” said Smiley with a shrug.

Sometimes he stared out the windows at the dead cities they passed, now abandoned to the elements, and wondered what the world had been like when they’d all been in their glory. Back when this had been North America, not Panem. It must have been fine. A land full of Capitols. Such a waste...

What was there to aspire to once wealth, fame, and power had been eliminated? Was the goal of survival further survival and nothing more?

Listening to the birds, Coriolanus noticed the absence of jabberjays. The only explanation he could think of was that the mockingjays had begun to reproduce without them, either with one another or with the local mockingbirds. This elimination of the Capitol birds from the equation deeply disturbed him. Here they were, multiplying like rabbits, completely unchecked. Unauthorized. Co-opting Capitol technology. He didn’t like it one bit.

But if it came to it, he’d speak out. Wouldn’t he? Against the Capitol? Like Sejanus had? Even if it meant repercussions? He didn’t know, but he felt on the defensive. “I do. I think you should say what you think.”

“That’s what my daddy thought, too. And he ended up with more bullet holes than I could count on my fingers,” she said.

What was she implying? Even if she didn’t say so, he’d bet those bullets came from a Peacekeeper’s gun. Perhaps from someone dressed exactly as Coriolanus was now. “And my father was killed by a rebel sniper.”

Lucy Gray sighed. “Now you’re mad.”

“No.” But he was. He tried to swallow his anger.

It frightened Coriolanus, this level of want. He’d been broke most of his life, but the Snows had always worked hard to maintain decency. These people had given up, and some part of him blamed them for their plight. He shook his head. “We pour so much money into the districts,” he said. It must be true. People always complained about it in the Capitol. “We pour money into our industries, not into the districts themselves,” said Sejanus. “The people are on their own.”

Greer Andersson

4.5 ⭐️
You have NO idea how excited I was to jump back into this universe as I LOVE the original trilogy so so much. I think this book did such a good job and humanising Snow, and I genuinely had moments where I was having mental conflict for feeling sorry for him or rooting for him and Lucy (trust me that changed by the end).
Also I LOVED Sejanus, he is my pookie and deserved better 🫶🏼

It was so interesting learning the backstory about how the games came to be and how they were so different in the past. Yes there were points where the plot lagged a little, which is why it isn’t 5 stars.

I’ve missed this universe so much 😭😭 Haymitch story next?? 👀👀

cerise

4.5 just because i hate snow and his attitude. this was written so well that it made me feel many emotions and gave answers to how president snow became. whatever struggles and obstacles in life snow had to overcome, those things dont give him the rights to be that evil. he just wants power, money, and advantage all to himself to the point that even his love for lucy gray wasnt enough—if that was love at all. this is such a literary gem in the hunger games universe.

i know he’s not supposed to be likeable but god damn i hate snow 😀👍 this dragged on for too long :/

kezzie

I put off reading this book for so long because I hate snow, and alas I hate him even more now. I loved all the symbolism throughout the book, and I feel you could analyze so many things and why Snow acts the way he does/ the foils of the characters and how disgusting the Capitol and others in it are.

It was really harrowing reading this book while in Washington D.C. LOL. It was a good depiction of seeing how people treat and "other" and how they justify all there actions. Snow himself is also an interesting case study because he had several chances to reject the system but chooses not to. He embraces it and chooses to climb rather than just simply not exist in it. He believes everything is his/ that even elements he didnt contribute to are his victories or owned by him. It's chilling knowing that we justify this with how the world reacts to current conflicts going on/ that there are certainly people who think like this. 

Ashley Denktas

I put off reading this book for so long because I hate snow, and alas I hate him even more now. I loved all the symbolism throughout the book, and I feel you could analyze so many things and why Snow acts the way he does/ the foils of the characters and how disgusting the Capitol and others in it are.

It was really harrowing reading this book while in Washington D.C. LOL. It was a good depiction of seeing how people treat and "other" and how they justify all there actions. Snow himself is also an interesting case study because he had several chances to reject the system but chooses not to. He embraces it and chooses to climb rather than just simply not exist in it. He believes everything is his/ that even elements he didnt contribute to are his victories or owned by him. It's chilling knowing that we justify this with how the world reacts to current conflicts going on/ that there are certainly people who think like this. 

Chell A

I was initially excited when this book was announced and it was revealed that this was being told in Coriolanus Snow's perspective. 

First, the first half of the book was boring and I actually put it down for A WHILE. I only picked it up again and finished everything within a day or two because things started to pick up.

Second, that being said–things in the latter part of the book were very fast-paced and I actually caught myself thinking "WTF just happened" while finishing the chapter.

Rosibel Silva Pineda

Solo reafirmo que odio a snow y que quererlo es redflag después de este libro.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakeswill revisit the world of Panem sixty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the Tenth Hunger Games.

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

I can’t even begin to express my disappointment. The overwhelming hype surrounding the book remains a mystery to me. Reading through it felt like a tedious task, devoid of any excitement or eagerness for the upcoming events. The predictability and lack of creativity made me question if it was truly written by the same author behind 

 trilogy. The attempt to explain President Snow’s perspective, while intended for understanding, ended up diminishing his complexity compared to the trilogy. The book fell short to the extent that I regretted picking it up, wishing I had opted for the movie instead. Despite its 500 pages, there was no enjoyment in completing the read.

Little Flower

I can’t even begin to express my disappointment. The overwhelming hype surrounding the book remains a mystery to me. Reading through it felt like a tedious task, devoid of any excitement or eagerness for the upcoming events. The predictability and lack of creativity made me question if it was truly written by the same author behind The Hunger Games trilogy. The attempt to explain President Snow’s perspective, while intended for understanding, ended up diminishing his complexity compared to the trilogy. The book fell short to the extent that I regretted picking it up, wishing I had opted for the movie instead. Despite its 500 pages, there was no enjoyment in completing the read.

I felt like this book book was really long and it could have been shortened but some events were good to read like the hunger games but and where he got sent to the peace keeper training then the plot twist at the end was good aswell where he wasn’t even meant to stay in the district for that long after and that he killed the president omg 😨 I love that the last words were snow lands on top 🥲🥲

Nick Perronteau

river

** spoiler alert **
           why did no one tell me this was toxic doomed yaoi

Izabela Borges

By far what I loved the most was the performance!
Santino Fontana is superb! I can't think of Dr. Gaul in any other way but his performance, and look, it will be Viola Davis in the big screen, so that's just how good this is!
Couple of things about the performance that are a bit meh but don't make it bad in any way are: first the cadence, for someone with ADHD I found listening on 1.2x or even more at times made it way better; and second the songs are spoken instead of actually sung (understandable of course, but still a bit weird).
The story was good and it was great meeting Snow and seeing how he changed through it all. Would love to know more of it, some short stories between university and presidency.

coriolanus snow is the dumbest character ever

The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes

rena.

Comentario con spoilers. Tantas opiniones y perspectivas, y yo no coincidiendo con ninguna. ¿Cómo es posible que la precuela de The Hunger Games tuviera reseñas populares calificándola tan mal? Que avanzaba lento, que a quién le importaba la juventud del presidente Snow, que no había acción, que exceso de pensamientos innecesarios, y un largo etcétera. Es primera vez que agarro un libro de Suzanne Collins y lo primero que veo es que desarrolló muy bien el estilo dark academia en esta historia. Estrujó la lógica de los juegos del hambre, desarrolló los debates morales de los personajes frente a ellos, abordó la disyuntiva entre orden y caos en el contexto académico, y cómo el ser humano se puede volver despiadado de pura ambición y poder. Todo eso y más es The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Cuando el primer capítulo me muestra este personaje de mentalidad obsesiva y egocéntrica que es Coriolanus Snow, puedo entender para dónde se encamina esta historia. Desde joven creando una faceta que encajara, intentando seguir con el legado familiar; una reputación que a toda costa recae sobre él y que necesita mantener. Sé de antemano que The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes no es una precuela para empatizar, más bien para comprender sus motivaciones y su construcción. Vi muchas críticas a la falta de acción en comparación a la línea original de la saga, y me sorprende lo poco que se aprecia el factor intelectual a la hora de evaluar un villano. Me explico, Snow es un manipulador innato, y Collins aprovechó la idea del mentor para darnos una perspectiva diferente sobre The Hunger Games; sobre su inicio, entonces cuando vemos a Snow como este protagonista que tiene un objetivo, desarrollándose en una academia que existe por y para la sociedad del Capitolio, sabemos desde el primer momento que esto no se trata de fuerza física, sino mental; saber mimetizarse, saber manipular y acechar, así como las serpientes. Creo que Suzanne Collins supo utilizar muy bien las alegorías. Todos los escenarios, situaciones e incluso objetos que van apareciendo a lo largo de la narración tienen un significado e influencia en la historia principal. Nada está puesto ahí porque sí, todo está interconectado de modo que se pueden inferir muchos de los comportamientos de los mismos personajes. 

Soy parte de ese porcentaje de personas que cree que Snow no amaba en realidad a Lucy, pero conectó con ella porque en su estadía en el Capitolio la vio como una oportunidad; un recurso para obtener más reconocimiento y poder. Con Lucy Gray podía conseguir todo lo que necesitaba. Cuando habla de esta chica que pertenece a los distritos pero que no parece de ellos, es fácil darse cuenta que la idealiza, porque la ve como algo preciado; necesita aferrarse a Lucy para ganar los juegos. A pesar del sentimiento que me generaron algunas de sus interacciones tan intensas y románticas, fue fácil ver cómo iba a terminar todo. Snow era demasiado obsesivo y controlador, y cuando vio que no podía controlar a Lucy Gray (que como personaje simboliza todo lo que Snow no es, y dentro de eso: la libertad), esta relación idealizada se comienza a torcer. A Snow le gusta Lucy, pero que ella no lo obedezca lo deja en una posición vulnerable, por eso tenemos toda esta reflexión al final donde él sentencia que no puede enamorarse ni estar con nadie que ame si busca escalar. Mientras menos humano vea a alguien, mejor para él. 

Gaul es una villana con un poder de manipulación increíble, creo que al final es posible ver cómo Snow era en realidad su proyecto personal. Me gustó su personaje porque es el que le genera las disyuntivas morales a Coryo y lo interpela al punto de llevarlo a extremos. Eso explica mucho también de su construcción final. En cuanto a Sejanus, diría que es el otro lado de la moneda. Creo que era un personaje con un discurso valórico muy convincente, pero su personalidad impulsiva y desordenada le jugó en contra. Aunque parezca un obstáculo constante para Coryo, también lo cuestiona y lo hace pensar. Posiblemente el personaje más humano y empático de todo el libro. Su muerte fue una de las más crueles.

Como ya he mencionado en otras reseñas, me encanta el elemento de la traición en la ficción, y aquí debo admitir que lo disfruté bastante. Se cocinan bien las relaciones y se consigue lo necesario para que el lector lo sufra con ganas. A pesar de que para todos era un evento esperado, a mí me supo impresionar. Creí que Coryo verdaderamente conseguiría matar a Lucy, y me alegra que no lo haya logrado. Me gusta pensar en la influencia que tiene su personaje después en The Hunger Games, esta idea del fantasma que lo persigue incluso de viejo y que se ve retratado en la figura de Katniss. 

En cuanto a la adaptación, si bien la película cambió varias escenas y se lavó un poco la imagen del Snow del libro, pienso que se elaboró bastante bien para que ninguno de los personajes perdiera su esencia, al igual que la historia su idea principal. Extrañé la participación de la bandada, pero siendo realistas no era posible abarcarlo todo en dos horas y media. También entiendo que es muy difícil representar pensamientos en las películas, por lo que mucho se puede entender e inferir leyendo de antemano la precuela. Ver la película solamente, te deja con una perspectiva muy reducida de lo que realmente es Snow. 

Le pongo cinco estrellas porque siento que se ha juzgado muy mal esta entrega, y si bien no es la clase de libros que suelo disfrutar, este me lo acabé muy rápido porque tiene de todo un poco. Lo sentí muy bien escrito y su fluidez me atrapó. Es una historia emocionante con varios giros, y fue una de las mejores recomendaciones que me han hecho el 2023. Puede que la historia apunte a un público juvenil más que adulto y a ratos me haya dejado con alguna que otra duda, pero no quita que sea un libro muy bien escrito. Creo que lo que aprecio de un autor es precisamente la habilidad para contar algo sin aburrir, y vi muy logrado eso aquí. La mejor invitación para entrar al mundo de The Hunger Games.

Magnificent work. Trading the journey of a cold and ruthless villain from his origins as a young, impressionable and probably not evil kid is no easy feat 

Zachary Roberts

Alyssa Weaver

The overall story is entertaining and there were some solid surprises that I enjoyed. However it is a true YA novel that lacked depth. It included many instances of potential conflicts being resolved within a sentence without any real consequences which I disliked. 

Alex Shinsky

Little bit slow but the character study and writing is great 

Emily Akerman

I thought I could not despise Snow more than I did but it turns out Miss Collins proved me wrong.

Mel 

Fabulous details and story writing. It was intriguing to read and understand how everything connected to the original trilogy. 

Tricia K

for someone who was a stellar student, snow makes no effort to understand the roots of rebellion–why there were rebels in the districts, how the capitol runs panem, the divide between the capitol and the districts that the capitol maintains. i think this really goes to show how the lack of a progressive and critical pedagogy shapes the way a student thinks. he mostly had dr. gaul, who taught him that control over the districts is necessary because without control, there would be chaos. snow failed to comprehend that there was chaos because there was oppression. because the social contract, which dr. gaul talked about, between the capitol and the districts was oppressive, unequal, and unjust from the beginning. of course, rebels from the district would break this social contract. the revolution is inevitable, and we know it.

snow's character was also doomed from the start. he was always concerned about his self-interests. his ambition was above everything. it makes me sick how he betrayed and killed sejanus, how he later on justifies it. he disliked, even hated, sejanus plinth from the start but was very happy to benefit from the plinths. to his core, snow is capitol–his worldview, his ideals, and what he values. 

i really hope lucy gray became free. but alas, it will remain a mystery. i love her character as much as i hate snow.

nica

for someone who was a stellar student, snow makes no effort to understand the roots of rebellion–why there were rebels in the districts, how the capitol runs panem, the divide between the capitol and the districts that the capitol maintains. i think this really goes to show how the lack of a progressive and critical pedagogy shapes the way a student thinks. he mostly had dr. gaul, who taught him that control over the districts is necessary because without control, there would be chaos. snow failed to comprehend that there was chaos because there was oppression. because the social contract, which dr. gaul talked about, between the capitol and the districts was oppressive, unequal, and unjust from the beginning. of course, rebels from the district would break this social contract. the revolution is inevitable, and we know it.

snow's character was also doomed from the start. he was always concerned about his self-interests. his ambition was above everything. it makes me sick how he betrayed and killed sejanus, how he later on justifies it. he disliked, even hated, sejanus plinth from the start but was very happy to benefit from the plinths. to his core, snow is capitol–his worldview, his ideals, and what he values. 

i really hope lucy gray became free. but alas, it will remain a mystery. i love her character as much as i hate snow.

rhegan🧋

my life is literally changed.. the way he’s referred to as coriolanus or coryo the entire book until the epilogue where he’s referred to just snow IM OBSESSED

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

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