The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Book

November was a great month for new movie releases, such as Wish, The Marvels, Napoleon, and many more. But one book-to-movie adaptation was particularly well-received: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.  This adaptation was released to theaters on November 17th, and it was adapted from a book with the same name. The book was written by Suzanne Collins, an award-winning author who has published over ten books.

Not a sequel but a prequel to the very well-known series The Hunger Games, the novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows a young Coriolanus Snow (who Hunger Games fans might know as President Snow) as well as Lucy Gray Baird before, during, and after the 10th annual Hunger Games. The book expands on Panem, the dystopian world that is the setting of The Hunger Games, and focuses more on the Capitol, where Panem’s most affluent and privileged live. Coriolanus Snow comes from a family that was once as well off as the other families in the Capitol, but due to the Dark Days during his childhood, they lost their fortune. Lucy Gray Baird is the female tribute from District 12, the same district that is the home of Katniss Everdeen from the original Hunger Games series. Lucy Gray is a performer at heart who uses her musical talent to her advantage during her time as a tribute, charming the people of the Capitol, including Coriolanus. Coriolanus gets assigned to mentor Lucy Gray in the days leading up to the games, and they quickly become very close.

Suzanne Collins has a beautifully intricate writing style that makes the 500-page book go by rapidly. Her use of metaphors and callbacks to the original Hunger Games trilogy make the entire book feel like a puzzle you solve as you read it. The book is told from Coriolanus’ point of view, and he’s a less-than-reliable narrator. As the reader, we get to experience Coriolanus’ mental spiral during and after the games, which Collins writes expertly. Each character in the book- every mentor, tribute, and family member- feels very complex and real. Don't let the page count scare you away, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is more than a worthwhile read.