Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

26 reviews

genevieve_eggleston's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I’m usually a big believer in reading the book before watching the movie adaptation, but this was a rare exception. I finally gave in and watched the movie on a long flight, but I actually ended up being grateful that I’d watched the movie first. After watching the film adaptation and then reading the book only a couple of weeks later, there were many moments when I realized that certain elements of the original book had been altered or even completely omitted from the movie version. Had I read the book when it first came out and then watched the movie later, I doubt I would have recognized as many of the differences. I personally enjoyed comparing the similarities and differences between the original source material and the film adaptation, which also kept me actively engaged in the storyline and provided a sense of urgency to discover what might happen next every time I had to set the book aside. Certain elements of the book were definitely relatively dark and violently gruesome, which explains why some events were modified or removed in the film version, but this intense backstory helps to provide context for the seemingly heartless President Snow that later appears in The Hunger Games. I found the storyline to be extremely intriguing and enjoyed the dynamics between the various characters. I would highly recommend this book, especially to people who grew up loving the original Hunger Games series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Murder, Genocide, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Classism, Cursing, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Animal death, Addiction, Medical content, Bullying, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Vomit, and War

whitne_ey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Blood, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Gun violence, Genocide, Toxic relationship, War, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, Confinement, Vomit, Addiction, Drug use, and Alcohol

emma_lynn_writes's review against another edition

4.0

This is a "villain origin story" done right. It fosters understanding of our common humanity, but not excuses. What you believe about the world will determine how you act, and I appreciated how the author engaged in centuries-long philosophical debates in a way that I think will be accessible to a younger audience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death

Moderate: War and Torture

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

paigeinabook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I never thought Suzanne Collins could get any Suzanne Collins, but she did! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Vomit, Drug use, Sexual content, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Ableism, Child death, Gaslighting, Stalking, Cannibalism, Classism, Death, Toxic relationship, Genocide, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Torture, and War

emilywemily6's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was a reread for me because of the movie that just came out. I absolutely loved this book and enjoyed reading the entire thing. It is so fascinating to see Panem before the Hunger Games trilogy and see glimpses at both the world before and the trajectory set in motion because of Snow’s involvement in the games. The last 50 or so pages took quite the turn, and while I like the ambiguous ending, I feel like Snow and Lucy Gray’s feelings took a really quick nosedive that wasn’t quite as developed. I wish Lucy Gray had a little bit more depth, and I think that depth would have helped me understand her choices at the very end a little better since it seemed like Corio’s perception of her was distorted in the woods. Overall, this books makes me want so much more in this world!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Gore, Gaslighting, Animal death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Blood, Child abuse, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Murder, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Body horror

Moderate: Medical content, War, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Eating disorder and Cursing

lyramadeline's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, Gore, Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Cannibalism, Alcohol, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Minor: Cursing

adrienanthony's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality

aely's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was awful and disturbing and terrifying and oh my god—

SEJANUS DESERVED BETTER

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, War, Child death, Death, Classism, Murder, Animal cruelty, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Blood, Medical content, and Confinement

Minor: Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Cannibalism, Vomit, Drug use, Animal death, and Drug abuse

callie_castle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Abandonment, Blood, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Body horror, Drug abuse, Violence, Drug use, Child death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, War, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Classism, and Death of parent

metelfordwrites's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Cannibalism, Blood, Torture, Mental illness, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Grief, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Child death, Gore, Addiction, War, Violence, Death, Cursing, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping