The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

By James Martin

“May the odds be ever in your favor!” If you have ever read or watched the Hunger Games trilogy then you of course know the context of those words. Words that some find exciting and even hopeful, while others find it taunting them as they try to sleep before they watch a loved one or someone they know entered the games, or even themselves.

The Hunger Games is set in a fictional world of Panem where there are 12 districts all separated by class and work such as District 12 Mining and District 7 Lumber. The districts were created to group people in different “cities” in the State or Panem. All seems normal, however, they have a weird way of keeping order.

Every year the names of people from each district ages 12-18 are put into a jar. Two names are drawn from each district, one boy and one girl, who will be chosen to fight to the death. The winner will then be crowned champion and enjoy the lavish capital lifestyle.

After nearly four years since the last movie, Suzanne Collins is set to release a fourth book and will be a prequel to the Hunger Games Era. The book, titled “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, is set in the “Dark Days” of Panem and the struggling times where a civil war and a once District 13 separated from the rest battling to what everyone thought was the end of the district. It is predicted to then explain the reasoning for the creation of the Hunger Games and even focus on a young President Snow as he grows into the leader he is.

The book is to be released on May 19, 2020, however it is unclear if the Coronavirus has had any effect on this release date.