The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

I was in a reading slump when I read this book, and it jump-started my love of reading again. I was genuinely impressed by the cleverly woven descent of Coriolanus Snow’s mind into the evil President Snow we witness in the Hunger Games trilogy (plus all the easter eggs along the way). This book was so good I read it twice back-to-back.

Since I was young, I have been fascinated by morally questionable characters framed as the hero. In this book, Suzanne Collins captures this interest perfectly. With her careful description of a flawed, scarred character forced into darkness by the cruel world he lives in, Collins shows that none of us are truly safe from evil.

In addition, telling the story from this character’s perspective really drives home the idea for me that everyone is the hero of their own story. Authors can attempt to mold readers’ opinions one way or the other, but there is often more happening under the… show more.

I’m a big fan of the Hunger Games trilogy, from its gripping concept and what the history of its world says about humanity, to the violent challenges Katniss must face if she’s to protect the ones she loves.

I adore writing strong female leads in violently challenging worlds too! So I wasn’t sure how engaged I would be reading from the perspective of the struggling-with-appearances Coriolanus Snow. I was so glad I gave it a go! Some stories need you to trust them with a couple of chapters of reading, but then they capture you, just like this one did!

I hated that I came to an understanding with the younger version of President Coriolanus Snow—the villain of the Hunger Games novels.

Despite living in the capital, his family is starving. Coriolanus buries the secret of his family's relative poverty, hiding it from the world by overcompensating in school and social achievements. Having been raised in the inner city, by parents who worked minimum wage retail jobs, I truly, truly felt this one.

Having to pretend you don’t need food is something I deeply understood. But Corio—as his little sister calls him—slowly descends further and further into ruthlessness, as he… show more.