By Caitlin Hofen, Feature Editor
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 10th annual Hunger Games.”
“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy, set 64 years before Katniss and Peeta.
It follows an 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow before he is president of Panem. Snow is a mentor in the 10th Hunger Games as they try to monetize the event to get more citizens to watch.
Readers see inside the polished life of Snow after he lost both parents and endured starvation during the war.
He lives with his grandmother and cousin, Tigris, the family apartment that signifies the last of the family’s wealth and status.
His last chance to bring honor back to the Snow name and be set up for success is if his tribute does well in the Games.
Snow’s tribute from District 12, Lucy Gray Baird, sparks attention during her reaping by shoving a snake down the dress of the mayor’s daughter. Her singing captivates the Capital even more as underdog to win the games.
When Lucy Gray and the other tributes get to the Capital, Snow gives readers an inside look at the beginning of the Hunger Games and the steps the government took to create the bloodbath shown in the original trilogy.
Even after the Games, readers follow Snow and the choices he makes that eventually lead him to be president of Panem.
The relationship between Lucy Gray and Snow surprises both characters and readers, and leads him on a path I didn’t expect from the villianous tryrant Snow seems in the trilogy. If anything, it makes me dislike the older character more as I witnessed his origin story.
Snow endures the loss of status, love and life as he knew it throughout the novel.
I never thought I’d come to tolerate, let alone love the villain who continued the voilent Hunger Games.
Told from his point of view, Snow gives readers a first-hand look at the infancy of the Games and his struggle to understand why the Games are important to continue after the war with the districts.
I loved all the subtle references to pieces of the trilogy like certain songs, last names and events.
Readers learn the origin of many key elements of the original storyline and lead readers to question if certain characters are the relatives of trilogy characters.
While I was familiar with the world of the Hunger Games, it took a little bit for me to become comfortable with the world of Coriolanus Snow.
The Capital was described more in detail than in the first books and offered a different view to the games.
With the movie set to come out in November, I wanted to read the book beforehand, and I’m so glad I did.
It takes readers further into Snow’s life than one might expect.
However, I’m eager to see how the ending of the movie goes.
I can’t say I was happy with the book ending, but it led nicely into the original trilogy.
This book isn’t for everyone. There is some graphic material and descriptions that may turn others away.
I recommend re-familiarizing yourself with the trilogy first before reading as I forgot about some details.
In my opinion, this is exactly how a prequel should be written. It should give more background to the story but leave readers wanting more.