Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

255 reviews

ladybanecourt's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

✨5/5✨

"Snow lands on top."

This was such an interesting book!! It is easy to hate Snow from reading the first Hunger Games books as it gives us the impression that he is just downright evil. But this prequel, set from Snow's life from before, gives us key points about his character, past, and motivations. Definitely a good read.

P. S. Sejanus is my favorite character fr

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Police brutality

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Torture

Minor: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

clairemitchell's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Those last 45 minutes were INTENSE. The betrayal. The cruelty. Snow slips into becoming a tyrant as easily as putting on a glove. He’s full of red flags from the start that are nurtured by circumstance and hubris. 

Oh my gosh!! The murders! He does it so casually! You know how bad Snow is from the original Hunger Games , but whoah…awful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Gore, Murder, Body horror, Classism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War

Minor: Cannibalism

catsbreadbikes's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative medium-paced

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

3.0

This book has big "you were named for the bravest man i ever knew" energy for most of the way. I liked learning the history of Panem, but thjs would have been better served as a fictional "history" text, similar to The World of Ice and Fire for the game of thrones books. Being a fictional narrative with a young president snow as the protagonist detracts from the experience of this book, and the choice to have SANTINO FONTANA narrateand NOT have him perform the songs is downright baffling 🤷 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Classism

Moderate: War, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Alcohol, Blood, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Medical content

Minor: Police brutality, Torture, Cannibalism, Child death, Bullying, and Death of parent

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

paloverdepages's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Child death, Gore, and Blood

Minor: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Vomit, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

mdwsn27's review

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: War, Slavery, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

aliengirlreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Child abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death, Police brutality, Child death, and Confinement

Moderate: Grief, Addiction, War, Medical content, Classism, Alcohol, Animal death, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Death of parent, Dementia, Vomit, and Blood

bee_n_cats's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Vomit, Death, Murder, Violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Genocide, Colonisation, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug abuse and Cannibalism

melist6's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Classism, Blood, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, and War

acadiaclar42's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

This was wonderfully done. The intrigue, the mystery, the suspense-- it was a delightful and emotional read. The plot moved swiftly and yet Snow's character development was hidden. Lucy Gray's character was especially interesting.

Her disappearance made me want to reread the whole thing and look for clues as to why and how she left.

I can't wait to watch the movie, as I've heard complimentary things about it as well.
All in all, this tied quite well into the Hunger Games Trilogy and is definitely worth the read.
 
For first time readers- If you're new to the Hunger Games franchise, I suggest you read those first, as this won't make sense/will spoil the plot of the trilogy.

/16 March 2024/ UPDATE: Holy smokes the movie was amazing. 10/10 for sure. The tension between Coryo and Lucy Gray was palpable, and the soundtrack was incredible. Even if you're not a huge HG fan or didn't care for the book, you HAVE to see the movie.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Moderate: War, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Vomit