For the Students

I want to preface this by saying as a Hunger Games fan I had very high expectations for this prequel; The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes; by Suzanne Collins not only met but exceeded these expectations. It is thoroughly fascinating, beautifully detailed, and painfully twisted; everything a reader could want. The Ballad of Songbirds and Sakes chronicles the early teenage years of Coriolanus Snow; one of the last living members of the noble Snow family and future president of Panem. You are transported to the capitol just 10 years after the war that cost Coriolanus his father and family fortune; all he has left are his cousin Tigris, his grandmother, and the weight of the Snow name. His only shot at attending the university and getting a well-paying job of substance is winning the academy’s cash prize rewarded upon a single Graduate per year. Coriolanus has exceptional grades and a sparkling social reputation however he needs an opportunity to overshadow his competition. With the approach of the 10th annual Hunger Games, Coriolanus’s opportunity presents itself. The Hunger Games are in a preliminary stage, with the war having just ended they are new and underdeveloped. In a desperate attempt to gain viewers the capitol throws together the mentor program. A program in which each of the twenty-four Hunger Games tributes will be assigned a capital mentor, an Acadamy student of capitol aristocracy tasked with introducing them to the public and lending them council. If Coriolanus can successfully engage viewers and possibly even win the games he would be a frontrunner for the prize his future so depends on. As the story unfolds you can see how everything comes to be, how the Hunger Games become the grand spectacle they are in the 74th annual Hunger Games, how the capitol morphs into its state of extreme and unconventional luxury, and how Coriolanus gradually turns malevolent and cold. Every page of this book is enthralling, every detail is significant, and every character is intricate. I would even go as far as to say it elevated the original story by adding a new layer of complexity to the plot. In addition to that, the book was surprisingly unpredictable. There were multiple captivating plot twists and shocking revelations. The thing about this book that I find most shocking is its ability to make the reader hope it will have a happy ending. You know that Snow is ultimately going to end up as a villain and yet the book is so engaging that you can't help but to hope it will work out anyway. It is utterly fascinating, heart-wrenching, and brilliant. The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes is truly fantastic and a worthy read for anyone who enjoys science fiction, romance, or adventure.