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Dystopian/Sci-Fi

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Suzzane Collins

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Dystopian/Sci-Fi

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Suzzane Collins

This is the prequel to the Hunger Games series but you don't have to read The Hunger Games to understand this book. 

This book is set in a dystopian city called Panem. Panem is divided into 12 districts and the Capitol. In the Districts, most people struggle to get enough food and are forced to participate in the "hunger games" as a punishment for a revolution they participated in 10 years ago. The Hunger Games are a fight to the death between one female and male tribute from each district. 

This book tells the backstory of President Snow, the main antagonist in the Hunger Games trilogy. The story starts with 18 year old Snow, who is assigned as a mentor, in the 10th Hunger Games, to the female tribute from district 12, Lucy Gray. Snow is desperate to have his tribute win since if she does, it will solve the financial hardship his family is facing after the death of his parents. To do this, he resorts to cheating in the games to save Lucy's life. He also finds himself falling in love with her.

What is interesting to see is that despite what Katniss describes in her story Hunger Games, not everyone in the capital is well off, even if their conditions are exponentially better than in the districts. Suzzane Collins draws a lot of parallels between Katniss and Lucy, with how they used their advantages to win the games and how they were both underdogs who no one thought would win. Lucy was a performer and Katniss was a fighter, but to win their respective games and even stay alive after, they had to switch roles.

This book explores a side of President Snow that we do not yet know. It does not make him the hero, it just explains why he is a villain. You can read this book without having read the Hunger Games series, but I would advise reading it after as that adds a whole new perspective to the story. 

The movie of this book is coming out this year as well so this is a great time to read it.  

 

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