The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

A Hunger Games Novel

By: Suzanne Collins

Narrated by: Santino Fontana

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the 10th annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to out charm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined - every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute...and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

©2020 Suzanne Collins (P)2020 Scholastic Inc.

I wish he had sung during the songs

I wish he had sung during the songs instead of just reading the lyrics in a monotone voice

Should probably get re-done

Storyline is good. Great having back stories on Snow and the songs. The narration was hard to stand. Especially after finishing The Hunger Games. The songs were the worst. You kind of clench your teeth and wait for it to end. I like the book but the narrator was not a good match.

Just OK

Well, I did read it all the way until the end because I really wanted to know about Snow's backstory. The Hunger Games were really fast paced and taut, but this one kinda lagged.

Others mentioned that the narrator bothered them, but I didn't think he was that bad. I always turn the pace up to between 1.2 and 1.3, so that might be the difference, who knows?

All in all, it really was just OK.

Just as good as the trilogy!

Loved the twists and turns of this book, definitely left me wanting for more, I hope the author continues to write more hunger games books!

Really good prequel

Not gonna lie it's a hard read if your familiar with the series. The subject matter and language used makes one very uncomfortable. But it's a great addition to the series. Nice to see the origin of alot of things.