Senior Emily Steele finished “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins earlier this week.
“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a spin-off of the original Hunger Games trilogy. The book follows a young 18-year-old Corilanus Snow in the 10th annual Hunger Games.
“I enjoyed that it brought back the Hunger Games,” Steele said. “I really liked the world building and the story line. It was very intense at some points and it was a really fun page-turner.”
The book shows Corilanus Snow’s struggles of growing up rich and prosperous and then losing it all after a failed district revolution which killed his parents, forcing him to live with his cousin and his grandmother. The book demonstrates how he became villainous later in his life as well as showing a coming-of-age plot.
The author of the book, Suzanne Collins, is an American author born on August 10, 1962, in Connecticut. Collins publishes many fiction dystopian books aimed at children and young adults. Other popular books Collins has published are the original trilogy of the Hunger Games series, consisting of “The Hunger Games,” “Mocking Jay,” and “Catching Fire.” She has also written the “Gregor” series. The Hunger Games has won many awards including being a part of the Best Books of the Year in 2008 and Collins herself won the Kid’s Choice Award for the book in 2013.
“I think everybody should read the book,” Steele said. “It’s pretty good.”
“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” does an exceptional job of showing a formerly innocent child’s rise to power and privilege.