The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins // 541 pgs

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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.

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I really wish I ever cared about Snow, because maybe this book would have hit a bit harder. Having finished the rest of the Hunger Games trilogy, I decided to continue with the other installments in the universe; I enjoyed the trilogy immensely.

Seeing an earlier, more janky version of the Games sounds interesting, and quite honestly, that was the only engaging part of the book to me. Maybe it was the fact that it was first person, or maybe it was because it wasn’t Katniss’s voice, but I could not get as enraptured with this book as I did the previous three. I was bored the entire time, and while there were little blips of events that piqued my interest, none could get me fully invested (until we got to the Games).

Snow being poor immediately after the war does make sense, and I can understand that the fear of poverty plays a role in his general greed and cowardice. In all aspects it should work, but somehow for me it just doesn’t. It feels as if we’re often told that he is just a sad poor boy pretending like he’s still rich to have friends, yet we don’t experience more than that. I think watching that poverty descend upon him would have allowed me to sympathize a bit more and given more credence to his insecurities. 

The section where they’re preparing for the games felt so drawn out and almost unnecessary; I liked some aspects, but most of the time I was waiting for something to happen. There are so many characters, yet I cannot tell you a single one of his classmates aside from Sejanus (though he is the tertiary main character so I should remember him). When the Game finally begins, the book picks up. The Game itself is slow; not a lot happens and everyone is hiding, but I still enjoyed the mood and tension throughout this part. I was still rooting for the tributes, and each death did impact me emotionally. The third section of the book is when things dip again, unfortunately. I do like Snow getting punished for cheating and forced away; I kept wondering how he eventually gets out of this, and it did pique for the rest of the book. Unfortunately, it also quickly lost me. 

Lucy Gray Baird, Snow’s tribute he is representing and his love interest, annoyed me. The bits of The Hanging Tree in Mockingjay were fine, I enjoyed them. The songs in this book though were not fun, but perhaps I just don’t enjoy reading songs in books. Every time I would see a song on the page I’d roll my eyes and skim through it. Lucy Gray herself (I also personally, and pettily I’ll concede, hate that it’s always Lucy Gray, and never just Lucy) reads very manic pixie dream girl, which I can accept since it’s through Snow’s perspective. I still don’t like her folksy schtick, and only grew to like and appreciate her in the last chapter. I also was annoyed that of course she’s from District 12, it would have been interesting if we gave focus to a different district at least once.

Snow and Lucy Gray’s relationship was incredibly rushed, and didn’t feel authentic or believable on either end. I liked when it was more nuanced that Snow felt like he owned her, subtly showing that he isn’t actually in love with her but rather enamored, only for him to directly state that he feels like he owns her. Yes this book is made for teens, but teens can pick up nuance; it felt like Collins didn’t trust the audience to get that Snow is bad. Snow justifying his bad actions in the relationship was also nice, and I do think the last chapter of the book is one of, if not the, strongest parts of the book. 

Overall, I wish there was somehow both more and less in this book. It felt too ambitious in some aspects, but not ambitious in others. Sejanus was a great character, and while he was annoying and sometimes dumb, I appreciated what he represented and how his character arc ended. I liked seeing some of the worldbuilding in the Capitol, and I think there were a lot of ideas that, if polished just a little, could have made this a fantastic book.