The Ballads Of Songbirds And Snakes(The Hunger Games,#0)

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                                              CONTAINS SPOILERS

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, eighteen-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 outcharm, 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. 

 

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 Captivating. 

I have been curious about THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES since it came out. It was a story I been wondering about even before it was published. Hunger Games is one of my favorite series; I re-read the series before picking this one up. I hated President Snow in the books, and I am sure that I wasn't the only one. When I heard THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES was going be about younger President Snow and told from his point of view, I couldn't help but be curious. I wondered how different or similar he is when he was younger. Even though I hated him in the books, I couldn't help and wonder how he got to be that way and if there was a reason behind it. I was excited to start the book and to find out. What I discovered about Snow is not what I expected, which had me wondering how in the world, he turned into someone that everyone hated. I loved reading the story from his point of view, and it gave a whole different feeling of hunger games. I liked that he was a mentor in the games; I had always wondered what they were thinking. 

Lucy. When she was introduced in the book, I wasn't sure what to think of her. The way that she acted when her name was called for the games, I did not know what to think. It never occurred to me that it was for the show. It did not take me long to like her. I don't believe that either of them wanted to admit it at first, but there was a connection between them from the start. It made me wonder if the two of them would end up together at some point. I never thought that Lucy might win the games. At first, I knew that Snow wanted her to wind because he cared about her, but as time passed, I felt that he wanted to win because he wanted to win the scholarship. I did wonder what would happen between the two of them once she won and went back to District 12. I hoped that maybe Snow would follow her there, and the two would find a way to be together. 

As the book progressed, I noticed that Snow started to change, not in a good way. He changed to the point that it made sense to who he had become. The snow was not the person that he was at the beginning of the book. Most of the book had me on the edge of the seat. However, I felt that the ending was a bit rushed, or at least I felt rushed. I loved this book. I loved how different it was from the rest Hunger Games book, and it was as if I was reading a completely different story. Even if you dislike President Snow, THE BALLADS OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES is a book that any Hunger Games should check out. It's a story that you won't forget.