Coriolanus Snow has been given the honor of mentoring a tribute for the 10th annual Hunger Games. The Snow family has been struggling to keep their wealthy status ever since the war of the rebellion in Panem a decade ago, and winning the games would help him greatly.

However, the odds are not in his favor. After being assigned the female tribute from District 12, he decides he doesn’t stand much of a chance. As he and his tribute work together to create a good image, he starts to worry for what will happen to her in the arena, when her and the 23 other tributes are forced to fight to the death. The question is; what lengths will he go to in order to win this competition, and keep his reputation alive?

Who else has been eagerly awaiting the release of this book?

Ever since I had first heard that Suzanne Collins was writing an extra addition to the well-loved Hunger Games trilogy, I was bursting with excitement.

However, when it was revealed that the main character in this story would be none other than one of the Hunger Games’ biggest antagonists, President Snow, I was questioning whether this book would be worth my time. What makes this character important, and why would I care to read about him?

I was also worrying about how this story might ruin the original books for me. We always have that thought in the back of our minds when there’s a new book in a franchise that’s going to be released. Will this be worth reading, or will I regret ever opening it?

But I knew that this book was being written for a reason, and eventually decided that I would give it a try.

Now that I’ve finished it, I can safety say that I was not disappointed.

Not only did this book reveal some history behind the Hunger Games, but it also made me look at Coriolanus Snow in a new way.

Right after flipping the first page, I was immediately transported back to when I first read the trilogy. It gave me a wistful feeling of nostalgia, and I couldn’t put this new book down.

Reading this reminded me that characters are much more than what they appear to be on the surface. Also, looking from different characters’ points of view can really effect your perception on the story. I found myself sympathizing with Coriolanus more than I expected to, and he’s now surprisingly one of my favourite characters.

There’s a lot more about the Hunger Games that is explained in the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. You’ll understand more about how the games have been shaped over time, how the districts are perceived from the Capitol’s point of view, and most importantly how Snow had something to do with it all.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the Hunger Games books (or movies), and it’s definitely worth the read!

Featured Image: Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash