The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes
Written by Suzanne Collins
About 517 pages
Originally published in 2020
Rate: 5/5
Coriolanus Snow is the future president of Panem. The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes is not only his origin story, but the origin story of The Mockingjay. No, I am not talking about the birds that the government created in order to spy on the district people. I am talking about The Mockingjay whom we all know and love, Katniss Everdeen. Though Katniss Everdeen's full name isn't explicitly stated, she lives in this book. Her presence is known decades before she's born. "One way or another, their fates were irrevocably linked." (p. 25)
Coriolanus, along side his classmates, are mentors for the 10th annual Hunger Games. He wants to win, to prove he is worthy, to bring pride to his family's name. However, when he gets assigned to the person voted least-likely-to-win, the girl from district 12, he feels as if he's been slapped in the face by the higher-ups. He watches as her name gets called from the reaping, Lucy Gray Baird. She takes the stage and begins to sing. The crowd loves her, but what good will that do in the games?
My thoughts on The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
I don't even know how many times I had to force myself to put this book down. After I had finished reading The Hunger Games I knew that I would want to read this book and I am glad I did. Reading this book made me loved The Hunger Games trilogy even more.This book is about an unlikable person within The Hunger Games universe. We aren't suppose to be rooting for him; we know who he becomes. However, there was still hope for him to change in these days and that's what makes it all so captivating. Things could have ended differently had he been brought up in a better environment with different teachers. Maybe then he could have truly fallen in love with the idea of freedom, love, and humanity. He wasn't fortunate enough to think for himself, he was taught only to think about what's best for the capitol.
So why rebel? Why think for yourself? Why break the system if it benefits you and the people you care about?
Movie reveal
The Spoiler Section: Questions & Connections
The hanging tree lore, the three finger salute, I think they might be connected. When Arlo is about to fall, he calls out to his lover, his sentence is four syllables long. The mockingjays pick up the noise he makes, but don't say the words, it's more like whistle notes. When people do the three finger salute they whistle four notes. When people do the three finger salute, they kiss their finger. Arlo cried out to his lover, kissing is romantic. Arlo supposedly killed three people, people hold up three fingers in the salute.
Still stuck trying to decide which one of the Covey people is related to Katniss if any at all. There so many interesting connections between Lucy Gray and Katniss, but I feel like that would too much of a coincidence. I wonder if Lucy Gray lived on or if
I also noticed an interesting amount of similarities between Taylor Swift's songs and the plot of the book. The Archer, Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince, Betty, and My Tears Ricochet just to name a few.
Quotes
"Try not to look down on people who had to choose death or disgrace." (176)
"Fueled by the terror of being prey, how quickly he himself had become a predator." (291)
"People aren't so bad, really, it's what the world does to them. Like us in the arena. We did things in there we'd never have considered if they'd just left us alone." (492)