Many of us know the Hunger Games series by now. We all know Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. But author Suzanne Collins decided that one character was under-appreciated, and her new book, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is the prequel of the Hunger Games. It focuses on eighteen year old Coriolanus Snow, or as others might know him, President Snow.
The book is set around the tenth annual Hunger Games, where Coriolanus is to be a mentor for one of the tributes. For reference, Katniss and Peeta participate in the 74th and 75th annual Hunger Games. This is Coriolanus’s chance to win glory for his family, which has lost almost everything due to the war between the districts and the capital; the war that started the Hunger Games themselves. However, Snow is assigned the female tribute from District 12, which is considered the least likely to win the games.
To gain back the wealth his family once had, Snow must lead his tribute to victory. The connections between this book and the Hunger Games books are very noticeable. You’ll see that Coriolanus’s ideas to help his tribute, Lucy Gray, can be found in the Hunger Games series. Snow knew that Lucy wouldn’t win through fighting, so instead, he formed the ideas of people betting on winners and sending them gifts in the arena, interviews so others could understand the kids’ stories, and alliances between the tributes.
After many hours of plotting, Lucy and Snow’s plans are put to the test. Because the book is set just one decade after the war between capital and districts, the capital hasn’t established the Hunger Games into the lavished event it will become in the following years. The tributes are thrown into a sports arena with a handful of weapons instead of an elaborate battlefield with a cornucopia. Whether Lucy Gray will survive the Hunger Games with Coriolanus Snow’s help, you’ll have to find out by reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
If you haven’t read the Hunger Games yet, make sure to check the series out from your local library.
Review Written By ~ Alice
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