The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0) by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 out of 5
Being from the foothills of Appalachia, having supported my family at a tender young (although I was in my twenties when The Hunger Games was first published), and coming off the recent recession, as a reader I quickly connected to the characters and the dystopian world of The Hunger Games series. When the final movie wrapped in theaters, I had no clue what fandom or series could replace its spot in my bookish heart.
When a new book was announced, I automatically, wrongly, assumed that the next installment would jump to the future and possibly feature President Snow's granddaughter, whom Katniss doomed to be in the next Hunger Games post-downfall-of-the-Capitol. I speculated that Katniss' children might somehow cross this Snow granddaughter's path. Perhaps they would have to work to right the wrong of their mother's decision; that no Hunger Game is a right way to govern. Anyways, yes, I was wrong, and I was surprised and apprehensive about reading a novel about a young President Snow.
Prior to giving the story a chance, my head canon more or less decided that President Snow had an upbringing similar to the Harry Potter character Draco Malfoy; possibly rich, spoiled, well-connected, and able to rely on his powerful daddy. Thankfully, I was wrong again, and President Snow's background is actually more complicated and interesting.
I NEVER ever thought I'd actually like President Snow or feel sympathy for his plight in his younger days. Collins succeed in making me care about this villain. She succeed in making the District 12 connections in the story feel natural, and in my opinion, not pure fan-service (although for a moment I was getting worried that Snow was going to Katniss' grandpappy...).
But that ending...like so many others have said before now: So.Super.Rushed.. Snow goes from being madly in love to suddenly-rethinking-everything-cause-he-doesn't-like-walking-in-the-woods-for-very-long. I could re-read it all day and still not decide if the girl got away. It's vagueness makes it interesting and memorable, although it's still a pity Snow's change-of-heart wasn't more well developed.
I have no doubt it'll eventually be an original mini-series on one of the streaming companies. In fact, I'll be disappointed if it isn't. But I still want my Hunger Games sequel featuring Snow's granddaughter and the Everdeen-Mellark children. Tweet
