Reviews with content warning for Addiction - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

261 reviews

martysaurus27's review against another edition

adventurous dark

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I had such high hopes, but this turned into a hate-read almost instantly. This was a premise that asked so many good questions about the world of the Hunger Games and how they came to be in the aftermath of The War, and instead it seems the only questions the author asked were, "Damnit, my draft is due WHEN?" and "This is going to be made into a movie regardless, right?"

I remember the original trilogy fondly - granted, I was a kid with low literary expectations - but the writing in TBoSaS was just too sloppy to get past. Endless lazy exposition ("He buttoned his shirt - and it reminded him of [paragraphs of lore]"), an eye-rolling circus of one-dimensional characters (including the insufferably goofy Not Like Other Girls™️ female protagonist who is essentially a poor, Appalachian Jessica Day with snakes her pockets), an implausible romance ramrodded into the plot seemingly against its will, and a plot that consistently did just about the least interesting thing possible with every opportunity... Snow might land on top, but this book sure doesn't.

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genevieve_eggleston's review against another edition

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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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hannahbenje's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark 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

5.0

I thought this book was incredible! I know many people didn't like the slightly more philosophical nature of it, but it really helped build up Coriolanus's character well. This is the perfect setup prequel for the Hunger Games.

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nia_readsalot's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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alexasolis98's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective 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

4.25

Reading about the early Hunger Games and how future systems were developed and why was interesting to say the least. Some arguments that were made in this book are the same arguments that are made today which was a bit unsettling. How Snow and the Capitol justified their cruel actions was disgusting. Suzanne Collins did a good job in giving us Snow's backstory. Loved Tigris, she constantly tries to see the best in Snow and tries to keep him on the right path. The few issues I had were that the story dragged at times, Sejanus was an idiot and there was to many names to keep up with in the first half of the book. Thank goodness list of mentors and tributes was included.

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