The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Rating: 4 stars

This book takes place in the dystopian country of Panem. It takes place 64 years prior to the original Hunger Games trilogy. The novel tells the story of a young Coriolanus Snow (the future President of Panem) and his role in the beginning of the Hunger Games. In order to gain a scholarship to go to university, Snow had to mentor a tribute in the games and have them win. Snow ends up with a District 12 girl named Lucy Gray Baird. To ensure her survival and his scholarship he uses deceit and manipulation. Although he wins the games, his manipulation does not go unseen. Snow is sent to District 12 as a punishment. Alongside one of his other classmates, Sejanus Plinth, he navigates the districts where he is reunited with Lucy Gray, whom he had started to form a romantic relationship with. In order to remain on top, Snow lies and deceives his friends. Snow uses his power and control to rise back to the top. This story details the beginning of Snow's ruthless and corrupt reign.

The main characters are Coriolanus Snow, Lucy Gray Baird, and Sejanus Plinth. Snow used to be part of a wealthy family in the Capitol, but due to the war and the loss of his parents he experienced a rough and impoverished life. In order to maintain his rich boy status he keeps up an act in front of his classmates through his power and intelligence. His relationship with Lucy Gray is an unlikely pair. Lucy Gray is Covey which is a group of people who used to travel and preform music throughout the districts but were forced into District 12 after the war. She is an intelligent and defiant often using her wits and talents to manipulate the capitol audience and calculate her survival in the games. Sejanus used to be from District 2 but his father's business rose and he made it to the capitol. Unlike Snow he wants to end the games and put an end to the injustice. His behavior forces Snow to betray him. Sejanus and Lucy Gray were similar because they both saw the bad in the games but the good in Snow. The setting of this book is like the original Hunger Games trilogy and many connections between characters and items can be seen between the books. On the other hand, it tells a unique perspective from the original series by illustrating the power of corruption and lies from a main characters point of view. This book also remind me of the Star Wars series. Both Snow and Anakin turn toward the "dark" side because they want to protect what is theirs and they enjoy the feeling of being powerful.

The cover is nothing extravagant, but I think is a good representation of the book. It is just green with a snake and a bird rested on a thorny branch. While it is simple it is also mysterious which is a good representation of the story. The book is very unexacting and has a lot of plot twists. Also the songbird represents Lucy Gray and the snake represents Snow and the cover illustrates how they are intertwined with each other.

I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to others, but suggest they read the Hunger Games trilogy first despite this being a prequel. The book is thrilling and has many plot twists that keep you on your toes. It also adds the extra details that all book lovers want when it comes to such a complex and in depth series as the Hunger Games. There is also a movie for this book which makes the book come to life even more. Overall, it is one of my favorite books in the series. I enjoyed finding the connections from the trilogy to this book and each one blew my mind. This book is good for many age groups. It's thrilling and exciting while also being dark and mysterious. It does require great attention to detail though to fully grasp every detail and connection Collins makes.

Reviewed by Jordan H