Reviews

Book: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Author: Suzanne Collins
Reviewed by: Shreya - Grade 9
Rating: 3/5
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins acts as a prequel/side story for the
Hunger Games. In this story, we follow Cornelius Snow, who is the president of the Capitol and
Districts in The Hunger Games. Right now, however, he is just an ambitious young man who is
one of the mentors to the tributes in Hunger Games at the time and starts to develop affections
for his tribute, Lucy. This book takes place at least 60 years before The Hunger Games.
In my opinion, this book was okay. Nothing great like the Hunger Games series itself, but it
wasn’t terrible either. The protagonist, Cornelius, was interesting at first, but then he became
very predictable and boring, and him thinking he was better than everyone else just because of
the family he was born into got tiring quickly. The storyline struck me as strange and
disorganized, although I did like the plot twists that occurred throughout. The ending also left
me unsatisfied and a little confused, although perhaps that isn’t entirely fair, considering it is a
prequel to a pre-existing story, so there wasn’t much room to expand and do anything shocking.
Overall, it was a bit boring and I was unclear on where things stood in regard to the storyline.
Regardless, I’d recommend this book to anyone interested. I would strongly suggest reading the
Hunger Games series beforehand - that way, you will be more clear on the context (and it’s a
great series!). It’s also fun to see the differences in the construction of the actual Games in each
book. Suzzane Collins does her world-building well. The content is relatively kid-friendly, with
the exception of the actual Games, but they are never described in much detail.
Overall, if you’re interested, check it out! I think you’ll find the main character interesting, with
the choices he chooses to make.