Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games #0)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games #0)
Suzanne Collins

Published By: Scholastic
Publication Date: May 19, 2020
Date Read: May 30, 2020
Genre: YA – Dystopia
Source: Bought
Format: Hardback
Pages: 520

From Goodreads:
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.

~ My Review ~

There are no words to describe just how excited I was when I heard Suzanne Collins was writing a prequel to The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is one of my all time favourite series and I can’t even count how many times I have read it. There was some controversy over the fact that this is from the perspective of President Snow. He was the key villain in the original series but I love a villain backstory. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was, to me, brilliant. I couldn’t put this book and down and I loved every moment of it.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a fantastic prequel to The Hunger Games. There was a lot of people saying how they wouldn’t read this one because it’s the story of President Snow. I can’t even tell you how sad hearing that makes me, because this book is phenomenal. It isn’t President Snow’s backstory… it is the history of The Hunger Games and it explores what that world was like so soon after the war and how ‘Games’ developed into the ones we know from the original trilogy. This book was so much more than a backstory of a character, it just happens to be told from Snow’s point of view. Having Snow being the protagonist works as we get to see the events from the perspective of someone in the Capitol.

Even through I couldn’t wait to read this book, I was a little worried about it being from Snow’s perspective. He’s the evil villain of the original trilogy and I didn’t want to feel pity for him. The worst thing for me would have been trying to humanise him but I needn’t have worried. Suzanne Collins did not write this book with the intention of making Snow a hero. He is a morally grey character who will do anything to get to the top. We knew this about him already and this book shows how making one bad decision escalates into something worse… that escalates into something worse. I actually loved seeing his actions and views and he has an even bigger role in The Hunger Games than I ever knew.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was fantastic. I did find it a little slow to start with and there were a few pacing issues. It would speed up and I’d find it absolutely fantastic but then it would slow down again. Due to this it did affect my enjoyment a little bit, but this is still one of my favourite books. It was absolutely incredible.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is definitely a book that I will read again. I love the world of Panem and I loved being back in that world again. If you’re a lover of The Hunger Games and you’re unsure whether you should pick this one up, I highly recommend that you do. I was so surprised in the best way, by this book. It was fantastic; I highly recommend everyone to pick this one up.

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