Why Not? Because I Said So Book Reviews and Author Interviews. : The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: A Hunger Games Novel By Suzanne Collins-YA Dystopian Book Review

Sunday, December 31, 2023

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: A Hunger Games Novel By Suzanne Collins-YA Dystopian Book Review

Book Summary

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

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.

Book Details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic Press; Reprint edition (August 1, 2023)
Genre: YA Fantasy/Dystopian
Series: Hunger Games
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 528 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1339016575
****I bought my own Hardcover copy to complete my Hunger Games Series Set.****

My Review

The Hunger Games has always been one of my favorite series so of course I had to buy this new installment. Right off, anyone reading this book already knows who Coriolanus Snow grows up to be: a ruthless, cold-hearted killer and leader. This book is fascinating in that you get to see who he was as a teenager growing up in the aftermath of the big war. You realize what was going on in his life and how things changed him. At one point I was very sympathetic to Coriolanus but that disappeared quite soon. This is not to say it justifies what he did as "President Snow" but it sure explains more to readers.

So I started the book, did not finish it, and then went to see the movie. Then I came back and finished reading the book. This is entirely NOT the way I usually do things. The good thing was that the movie did an excellent job of sticking close to the book.

I really liked this novel. The prequel is interesting to fans of the Hunger Games Series. The insight you gain on the history of the games and Snow and its so worth the read. There are many characters that I liked and some I loathed and this is a factor in a really good book. The likable character of Lucy Gray is very different from Katniss. Lucy was a great tool to show readers Snow's character development from being a somewhat sympathetic personality to a selfish psychopath.

Should you read this novel? If you read the other Hunger Games books then I'd say that's a definitive yes. Even though The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a prequel, I suggest you read the original trilogy first if you haven't read any of the Hunger Games series.

****Meet Author Suzanne Collins****

In 1991, Suzanne Collins began her professional career writing for children's television. She worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! with her friend, Peter Bakalian, which was nominated for a WGA Award in Animation. Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment's Clifford's Puppy Days,and a freelancer on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children's author and illustrator James Proimos, who talked her into giving children's books a try.

Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you're much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you're not going to find a tea party. What you might find...? Well, that's the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part fantasy/war series, The Underland Chronicles,which became a New York Times bestseller. It has been sold into 21 foreign territories.

Her next series, The Hunger Games Trilogy, is an international bestseller. The Hunger Games has spent over six years to date on The New York Times bestseller list since publication in September 2008, and has also appeared consistently on USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. It has been sold into 54 territories in 52 languages. In 2010 Suzanne was named to the TIME 100 list as well as the Entertainment Weekly Entertainers of the Year list. In 2016, she was presented the 2016 Authors Guild Award for Distinguished Service to the Literary Community for exemplifying the unique power of young people's literature to change lives and create lifelong book lovers. It was the first time the Guild presented the award to a YA author.

Lionsgate released a film adaptation of THE HUNGER GAMES on March 23, 2012, directed by Gary Ross who also shared screenplay credit with Suzanne and Billy Ray. It broke multiple box office records and went on to become the 14th highest-grossing North American release of all time on its way to generating nearly $700 million at the worldwide box office. Lionsgate released the second installment THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE worldwide on November 22, 2013, directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Simon Beaufoy and Michael DeBruyn and bringing back stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Willow Shields, Paula Malcomson, Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci and Lenny Kravitz along with new cast members Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone and Jeffrey Wright. It was the highest-grossing domestic box office release of 2013 and the 10th highest-grossing domestic release of all time. Lionsgate released THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 on November 21, 2014 and THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 2 on November 20, 2015, also directed by Lawrence and welcoming Julianne Moore, Mahershala Ali, Natalie Dormer, and Patina Miller to the cast. Both screenplays were by Peter Craig and Danny Strong from an adaptation by Suzanne Collins. All four films were produced by Nina Jacobson of Color Force and Jon Kilik. The worldwide box for the entire franchise was nearly 3 billion.

In September 2013, Suzanne released a critically acclaimed autobiographical picture book, YEAR OF THE JUNGLE, illustrated by James Proimos. It deals with the year she was six and her father was deployed to Viet Nam. It has been sold into 12 territories in 11 languages. Her first picture book, WHEN CHARLIE MCBUTTON LOST POWER, about a boy obsessed with computer games, was illustrated by Mike Lester and came out in 2005. It has been sold into 4 foreign territories.

Her books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide.

Learn more about Suzanne and her books HERE:https://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/