Untitled Panem Novel

Just loved it

Suzanne Collins, the diva that you are!

The print is good and it was not damaged during packing.

There are no spoilers in this review, so it's quite safe to read :) The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was not at all like what I thought it would be, and I loved it. It's like the Hunger Games books in many ways - answering many questions and yet leaving many unanswered. It is the thrill of recognizing certain aspects of the trilogy in this novel that made it so interesting; that, and the endless action. Each chapter contains so many surprises, and the plot twists and turns in such a way that I can never predict what's going to happen next. This is a must-read for all returning Hunger Games readers and dystopian fiction lovers. Can't wait for the movie!

Suzanne Collins please take a bow! TBOSAS engulfed me just like The Hunger Games had! She's not a romance writer but she writes love stories so well in harrowing dystopia. I remember feeling kinda disappointed when I heard that this book would be about Coriolanus Snow. But man oh man oh man... the last few pages reminded me once again how much I hated Snow. To see his cold, devious and tyrant self emerge slowly from all the circumstances was nothing but scary. (spoiler) PS, Lucy Gray was the og rebel. To think Katniss unknowingly rubbed Snow off by singing the love song written for Snow gave me such satisfaction. Lucy Gray, you deserved better. 😔✊

Same day delivery with very good quality of book at an affordable price!!

Recommended age group: 11+ "Snow lands on top." (Oh Gosh where to start with this...) The book is beautifully articulated with brilliant foreshadowing and references to the future. The original symbols and motifs that have been part of the trilogy , had a major roles and thus one gets to know of their deeper history, how the mockingjay ,being a symbol of rebellion manages to get on Coriolanus Snow's nerves. Since it took place around the tenth hunger games, the reader manages to gain an all-round perspective about the rebellion and the establishment of the games. Usually I find prequels that are realised after the series end to be lethargic , however this one stood apart and defied the odds. Suzanne Collins did a fantastic job on this one. And lastly, the show is not over until the mockingjay sings.

The storyline is excellent as expected in the prequel to the series, but my ten-year old, who is crazy for Hunger Games, often finds it difficult to comprehend The Ballad. When I checked the text, I realised the boy could not figure out things because the 'pronoun back-reference' is often not clear. Check chapter four of the book. One has to track back to know 'she' refers to the grandmother or the girl whom Coriolanus is going to receive at the railway station. (Sorry, I am not clear about the names as I have not read any of the books.) I had to help out my son with the noun mentioned on the previous page (three paragraphs behind), even when the noun 'grandmother' had already occurred in between, which referred to the pronoun 'she'. Then, my son could make sense of the prose on the pages. My son said, 'But the paragraph has changed, right? Why hasn't she repeated the name?' Poor boy! Well, not Suzanne Collins' error. But, yeah, one should shoot the editor with a paper bullet made out of a style guide's page, as a punishment for confusing children.

Bough this book just out of curiosity with no expectation - well, I literally couldn’t stop reading it! The writing is simply amazing, sending the reader into the story. 100% recommended!!! Book quality is ok and delivery was on time, as expected.

Ótimo

Inga skav eller liknande när boken kom hem. Är så taggad på att läsa den, Hunger Games fick mig att komma in i läsandet så ska bli spännande! Jag såg filmen förra året så har höga förväntningar på boken nu🫣

A gripping book, with details about the early stages of the hunger games, written from the eyes of 18 year old Snow. You will ask your self a lot of questions, and often be caught in moral dilemmas. Trust me, once you finish this book, you will be thinking about it for days or even weeks after, going over every detail of how things lead up to what happened, and who’s fault it was and how it could have been stopped. It is a very clean book, with no swearing or sex, but I think to fully appreciate or understand the book, 12 and up would be best. This book is very different to other dystopians out there, and has an extensive amount of deeper meanings and references to the outer world. I would totally recommend this to anyone who can deal with being so close to a ‘happy ending’, only for everything to change in the last chapter, leaving you in shock.

I adored the Hunger Games series. Dystopian YA is not a normal genre for me, but this series is awesome and this prequel? A fantastic villain origin story. Coriolanus Snow is an ambitious 18-year-old student whose wealthy family barely survived the war. He is all about image and pretense, which often vie against his normal, human feelings. His parents are dead and he lives in a rundown apartment with his grandmother and cousin Tigris. But, the 10th Hunger Games is to be the first one with mentors and Coriolanus has been chosen to mentor the female tribute from District 12. While at first humiliated at not being given a more highly rated district, he quickly realizes that Lucy Gray is someone who could win and it's up to him to figure out how to help her do that. Along the way, Coriolanus learns about love and the dangers it can bring. As he works his way through the Games, he also discovers who wields the power in the Capitol, who controls the games and what he needs to do to rise up above the masses. The student mentors also have a say in how the games are run, and in a somewhat twisted sort of way, their professor gives assignments and in Coriolanus' essays, we see how future Games come about and evolve. As the mentors talk about the games and what is happening, we also see how they are not all unfeeling or unkind. They view their tributes as people and they can see how unfair the Games really are. At the same time we see that those in the Capitol are only concerned about their well being and that their losses are because of the rebels. The Hunger Games series is vibrant and colorful in its imagery. This book, however, was almost more black and gray in its imagery, what with the rubble of the arena and the Capitol still trying to rebuild from the war. That made the contrast of Lucy Gray's colorful skirt and the snakes all the more striking. As with the rest of the series, we see the government oppression, we see the results of war and rebellion. We see society broken, but fighting and we see that even with survival, life isn't grand and colorful. But we also see that the human spirit is strong. No one likes who President Snow becomes and I think writing about his story so that he gains the reader's sympathy is brilliant. The story isn't fast-paced, but it drew me in and kept me enthralled.