A review by maxenporter
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

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

4.0

Spoiler warning for the whole book
I want to start of with, parts of this book really drew me in, other parts were really difficult to get through. The last third felt rushed, and if I had to spend one more page in Heavensbee Hall, I was going to need some morphling. However, what I did find striking about this novel was that Suzanne Collins managed to  capture something not many authors can. This story gives us a close-up look the mentality of narcissistic, abusive men. Coriolanus’ need to justify his every action, constantly basking in his own righteous, or if he felt was wrong, then he was the victim of the situation. The book illustrates how abusive men in power will use power imbalances to get and control women. The whole book, I saw the trauma bond forming between Coriolanus and Lucy Grey. By the end of the story, my creeping suspicion had been confirmed: Coriolanus didn’t love Lucy Grey, he was using her, and then accused her of manipulation to rid himself of blame. Collins must have read extensively about narcissistic abuse, because this is a shocking acurate portrayal of trauma bonding and abuse cycles. Overall, while the book had some problems with pacing, the cliffhangers were JAWDROPPING, the narrative was interesting, and I was satisfied with how the story ended. Good on you, Suzanne Collins. Keep doing what you’re doing.
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