Hey there, people of the Internet. It’s been a while. So long, in fact, that you might not know that this kind of used to be my thing around these parts. But now, like the Hunger Games, I’m back, and I’m ready to let you in on how chaotic my brain can truly be when I read a book.
I didn’t know what to expect going into The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I’ll admit that I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the prospect of our protagonist being an angsty teen version of the man who would grow up to kill hundreds of children, thousands of innocent people, and some of my own personal favorites. Especially when the possibility of a more brutal gladiator-esque Games was possible. Surely, this was not a backstory that needed to be told?
But, because I love you, I set my assumptions and hesitations aside and dove into Snow’s story.
TL;DR: I have a lot of thoughts. Thoughts both about the intent and execution. Thoughts about Snow, but also thoughts about Sejanus, Lucy Gray, Tigris, and other characters who seemed to come and go through Snow’s story with no real weight to the influence they had. This, of course, all reflects back on Snow, our protagonist, and the way he views the people around him, but it makes for a complicated read—a detail that has some merit of its own. So, whether you loved the book or hated it, haven’t dove in yet or never will, I hope you enjoy my thoughts and the rollercoaster they take you on. It definitely made the book some more fun for me! Shall we start?
‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’
312 THOUGHTS I HAD WHILE READING
1. I don’t really know if I’m ready for this
2. I’m gonna be honest the first thing I did was search the ebook for the name Coriolanus and I cannot believe Suzanne Collins is about to make me read this ridiculous name over 1,000 times
3. And did not expect so much talk of cabbage in the first two pages I have to say
4. Snow five paragraphs into this book: “My cousin Tigris is ugly but nice”
5. You’re telling me the Capitol’s most opulent penthouse building has its windows duct taped together??? This is not the future liberals want
6. “Better off sad than dead” Mood, I guess
7. Snow growing up poor has big “Cool motive, still murder” energy
8. “The cabbage began to boil, filling the kitchen with the smell of poverty.”
9. I’m sorry Tigris just straight up stole a woman’s tesserae?!
10. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE
11. Ooooh okay so the Hunger Games used to be basic and now we’re trying to make ‘em a little more fun for the richies to enjoy… interesting
12. Imagine being like how do we get people to watch the kids do the murder and someone in the room raises their hand and is like well Linda what if some high school seniors teach them how to dress nicely first
13. Snow really just said “Love the bangs!” to someone I’m screaming
14. This book so far is like eat the rich but only some of them
15. The man who invented the Hunger Games… his last name… was Highbottom…
16. If a man named Highbottom told me to fight for my life I’d laugh in his face and then die immediately
17. Am I… am I supposed to sympathize with Snow? Someone please let me know
18. Meanwhile we have Sejanus, a former District 2 kid whose father sided with the Capitol to buy them a nice life post-war, forced to mentor a boy from the very district he still considers home
19. … Why isn’t Sejanus the protagonist lol
20. She got reaped and IMMEDIATELY DROPPED A SNAKE DOWN ANOTHER GIRL’S DRESS?
21. So Lucy is wearing a dress that may or may not be fashioned after clowns and also wearing makeup for the sake of being ironically festive and dramatic
22. And now she’s… singing
23. Oh my god they’re all singing
24. “And then she was off, sashaying around the stage, right past the Peacekeepers, some of whom were having trouble suppressing smiles.” Well I never expected this
25. “You can’t take my sass” IS THIS BOOK REAL
26. If you asked me “Is ‘You can’t take my sass’ a quote from the new Hunger Games novel or a cheerleading routine in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina?” I would not have guessed correctly
27. The fact that reapings go from east coast to west and not numerically is so chaotic
28. Oh wait
29. Was that the song and the snake
30. From… from the title
31. The Capitol citizens being cannibals is the least shocking development so far
32. Ugh Tigris is great
33. Why isn’t she the protagonist
34. This is so weird
35. What is a Hunger Games tribute going to do with a rose, Coriolanus
36. The boy from District 11: *attacks Snow*
The girl from District 11: “He killed a Peacekeeper back home”
Me: I don’t know if this is racist… but it don’t feel right
37. I’m crying they just dropped him in a zoo cage
38. No one stopped to think this through?!
39. Snow: *noticing the cameras around the animal cage*
The Capitol citizens realizing one of their own is somewhere amongst the poors:
40. “Who were all these people hanging around on a weekday at the zoo? Didn’t they have jobs? Shouldn’t the children be in school? No wonder the country was such a mess.” LMAOOAOFOSDKGMDSG
41. HE’S NOT WRONG, I GUESS
42. Why isn’t Lucy Gray the protagonist Suzanne Collins I have so many questions
43. If this entire book’s purpose is to fridge Lucy Gray for the sake of Snow’s descent into dictatorial madness I’m going to scream
44. I’m screaming Snow went through school trying to be nice to the nerds so they’d like him
45. Aw the Head Gamemaker is a woman I love feminism
46. THE SWAN FLU
47. Lucy Gray: “I could be killed”
Coriolanus: “Or worse, expelled”
48. He needs to sort out his priorities
49. Sometimes when I’m reading and the name Lucy Gray pops up my mind goes to “Lady Grey” and then I think of My Lady Jane but then other times my mind goes “Lady Gaga!” and I have to reflect on the sad fact that Bad Romance never went #1
50. Is this movie going to be a musical
51. The Coveys straight up both sides’d the rebellion
52. “Like we had all the time in the world” Ugh this is going to hurt isn’t it
53. Oh my god
54. All this talk of fabricating a life and spinning a story but she slit her throat right there I—
55. We have to laugh!
56. Oh my goddd
57. ARACHNE
58. THIS ESCALATED SO QUICKLY
59. Whew now we’re talking
60. I feel like I need to write down this tribute and mentor list
61. Anything could happen! There’s a WORLD of possibilities!
62. Hahahaha wait
63. This is DERANGED
64. I kind of love it
65. Me: “This book is just ok”
Someone: *gets bitten by a horde of genetically modified vipers and begins to bleed neon colors*
Me:
66. Snow: “I’m so sorry I’m complacent in this rotten system”
Lucy Gray: “Don’t be—it’s not your fault”
Snow, who literally spent the night revamping the Games for public consumption when they were on the verge of being shut down:
67. I love that Snow is like yeah she’s pretty but she might be a cannibal but also that might not have been her choice but she still ate a leg one time
68. Snow agreeing to sing only to immediately remember that he can’t sing who IS this boy
69. He’s reading this girl for filth at her own funeral!!!
70. “High in the air, the bullet-ridden body of the District 10 girl, Brandy, dangled from its hook. Shackled to the truck bed, looking utterly filthy and defeated, were the remaining twenty-three tributes.” Jesus
71. He literally starts feeling empathy and immediately snaps himself out of it I really could not care less about what happens to this little fascist
72. Where is Sejanus give me more of him
73. If I was a character in this novel I would simply start a petition to put the mentors in the Hunger Games instead
74. Dean Highbottom: “I hear we’re having pie.”
My stupid brain, unable to stop itself:
75. “It did nothing to calm a jittery mentor on a questionable field trip.” Me when I had to go canoeing and my teacher’s only advice for the tunnel filled with spiders was to duck
76. Oh my god Lucy Gray just let him burn
77. Ohhhh my god
78. They’re just going to help him and threaten her?! No ma’am
79. Aw the twins
80. Why do I always get so invested in twins
81. Omg Marcus got away hahahah
82. “It’s just the kind of story that catches fire.” Womp there it is
“Three mentors dead, three hospitalized — really, four if you counted Clemensia. Six tributes dead, one escaped, several wounded. If Dr. Gaul wanted a makeover for the Hunger Games, she’d gotten it.”
83. Clemensia!!! She’s alive!
84. Ohhhhh no Clemensia oh no
85. This is HORRIFYING I did NOT sign up for some twisted sci-fi human experimentation
86. “You could start by thinking I can actually win.” YES B#&CH HERE WE GO
87. “If you can keep me alive a few more days, I might just win by default.” LMAO
88. Ugh I don’t want to like her because I feel like this can’t end well but I can’t help it
89. She’s just so FRIGGIN’ LIKEABLE
90. Uh Snow just described a guitar with the thought “the body was shaped like a woman’s” I’m calling the police
91. More unrealistic body standards
92. Omg hahaha Snow’s dad and Highbottom were lowkey party monsters
93. I love that the Flickerman family tradition of entertainment started with a single weatherman
94. He’s doing magic tricks I—
95. “The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings” 🥺
96. “Where I’m from, we call it a ballad. That’s a song that tells a story. And I guess this is mine.” Wow when did I get so emotionally invested I’m not crying there’s just a branch in my eye
97. Ok I’m uncomfy now
98. “If that wasn’t ownership, what was?” ARREST THIS MAN!
99. Wait… are you telling me… this ISN’T a redemption tour for Snow?! Wow maybe I am into this
100. And Lucy Gray has SOME UNRESOLVED STORYLINES BACK HOME
101. Damn I didn’t want to like this but it’s getting good
102. Also where are all the Tigris stans at when are we meeting to discuss our new fave
103. “I’m just hoping she lasts until the final twelve…” Bruh there are only like 15 left and the Games haven’t even started LMAO
104. Oh s#&t I didn’t even realize it was the day before I’M SO EXCITED omg
105. So many toxic dudes are going to stan Snow after this
106. “Like last night Reaper apologized to each of us personally for having to kill us,” she explained. “He says he’ll make it up to us when he wins. He’s going to take revenge on the Capitol, although that part wasn’t as clear as the killing us part.”
107. Can you imagine if, after this dramatic final meeting, Lucy Gray died like, first
108. “It’s more than possible. It’s probable. It’s inevitable.”
109. SIR YOU ARE PLAYING YOURSELF
110. Ohhhh shoot no he’s not!! He’s planning something!
111. This little psycho has a PLAN!!!!
112. “The only boy my heart has a sweet spot for now is you.” Lucy Gray… you in danger girl
113. Wait doesn’t rat poison not work on humans because the whole things is like, rats don’t have any kind of gag reflex so they can’t throw it up? So it doesn’t work on humans because we can? I don’t know I learned that from Scream Queens
114. “I think she’s fallen in love with me.”
115. Jesus this boy’s mind is a digusting place
116. Forget eating the rich let’s eat the privileged with superiority complexes
117. *DJ Khaled voice* Anotha one
118. Highbottom lowkey a savage… am I going to have to stan? Please don’t make me
119. Also is Clemensia like… alive? Lol
120. Ooooh she SURE IS here we go folks
121. Ugh I’m worried for Sejanus why did Highbottom give us that vague warning
122. I don’t trust a fever not in the world of the Hunger Games and certainly not in the era of global pandemics
123. Ohhhhhhhhh my god
124. Oh my god Marcus
125. Snow straight up not remembering the district anyone else is in charge of mentoring has such big Lucille Bluth energy
126. Aw is she going to mercy kill him
127. Lamina: *gets the first sponsor gift*
The first sponsor gift:
128. Wait it seems messy to leave tech like drones just in the arena like that
129. Aw yeah here come the techies
130. When our own dystopian society inevitably starts releasing annual miniseries or films in the vein of Hunger Games without real murder I would like to put myself forward for any writers rooms
131. Aw Dill and Reaper
132. What is it with District 11 girls having weird little memorials
133. And Treech just STOLE THE WATER lmao
134. Too bad Reaper didn’t stick around for 30 more seconds
135. Oh no what did they do to Sejanus now
136. Oh they didn’t do anything to Sejanus but BOY I bet they wish they had
137. Oooohh oh oh oh
138. I want to PUNCH SNOW IN THE FACE and then SLAP HIM and maybe KICK HIM IN THE THROAT
139. Oh my goddd he’s the worst
140. “Mrs. Plinth clutched her handbag and stared out the window at the deserted city. ‘First time I saw the Capitol, it was night, like this.’
‘Oh, yes?’ said Coriolanus, only to be polite. Honestly, who cared?”
I’m HOWLING
141. Oh my god I realized who President Snow reminds me of… he’s Panem’s version of the little fascist nephew from Knives Out
142. Lmao GOOD send him into the arena
143. Highbottom’s “it takes a lot to kill a Snow” seems… pointed
144. WHAT DOES HE KNOW
145. Why does every character know more than me 🥺
146. Ugh Sejanus deserves so much better than Snow I’m so mad
147. ATTTAAAAAAAACK
148. “KILL HIM BOBBIN!” I say, knowing there are still almost 300 pages left in the book and that Bobbin cannot, in fact, kill him
149. I’m typing this while upstate with my family in the mountains sans service or Internet but if you asked me, if anyone could ask me, where I thought this book was going… I would not have a single guess to venture!
150. Like imagine telling me even 25 pages ago that Snow would be getting attacked by tributes in the arena? Unbelievable
151. “Sanding several layers of skin off his chin” What a disgusting way to phrase this, Suzanne Collins
152. Oh my god he literally killed one of the tributes
153. This game is MES 👏🏼 SY 👏🏼
154. “Did you tell your best friend his crush was a cannibal? Never a rule book when you needed one.” Why is this book lowkey funny
155. “Like musical chairs.” “But with people dying.”
156. “Her name was Sol, or maybe Sal. She had a funny accent. Not much more to tell.” I’m screaming
157. He’s RABID?!?!?!?!
158. There is so much happening in this book that I can’t decide if it all needed to actually be in this book but no wonder it is approximately one thousand pages long
159. Wait are people with rabies really afraid of water
160. I thought that was just a joke from The Office omg
161. The 10th Annual Hunger Games, a summary:
162. I’m so sad for Lysistrata I’m so sad for them all
163. Oh my god “You go on, it’s my turn to stand guard” I’m crying in the club
164. “How are you going to dream if you don’t go to sleep?” 😭😭😭
165. LYSISTRATA AND JESSUP DESERVED BETTER SQUAD WE ASSEMBLE AT DAWN
166. Ooooh here we go
167. The janky little career pack is ON THE MOVE
168. Coral is terrifying
169. But a good ally at least? Weird
170. LOL JUST KIDDING
171. I love a little light betrayal in the early afternoon
172. Betrayal: It’s what makes the golden hour golden
173. Reaper is just out here running around the arena in a cape and I for one respect it
174. “He couldn’t think clearly but had the dreadful feeling that he’d crossed some line that could not be uncrossed.” He literally sent his tribute into the arena with rat poison
175. “If he didn’t have honor, he had nothing.” Okay calm down, Prince Zuko
176. Sejanus’s mother is a national treasure and I WILL protect her with my entire life
177. Me: Well another Hunger Games could be fun
Baby Snow: This is my manifesto on the power of social contracts
178. Wovey! It’s Wovey! Wow I can’t believe she really is alive
179. I… spoke too soon
180. Has Treech even done anything who on Earth thinks he deserves it over Coral
181. Treech when he saw the District 3 kids out in the open:
Treech when he saw the snakes:
182. OH NO
183. OH NO CORAL
184. SHE WAS GOING TO TAKE IT ALL
185. She is just INVITING THE SNAKES ONTO HER DRESS?!
186. VIA SONG?!?!
187. Is this book even real
188. “Perhaps she’d befriended several snakes back in District 12”
189. This song is going to get a dance remix and go #1 isn’t it
190. “Cannibals over cuthroats” I—
191. Wow I can’t believe there are only five tributes left I have to admit I miss the breakneck pace of the original games but what are you gonna do
192. Can’t ignore a B-plot where rich people learn about taxes
193. Aw good here is the Clemensia redemption
194. Snake queen! Taylor Swift found shaking
195. Or I guess Lucy Gray is the snake queen and Clemensia is just like, a suffering peasant
196. Omg ironic
197. Is no one going to acknowledge that the tribute organizing the corpses into a makeshift morgue is literally named Reaper
198. I do kind of like the idea that we don’t know who’s going to win the Games
199. Do you know how fast I would read an anthology series of third-person POV Hunger Games novels where we follow multiple tributes and therefore get a range of backstories and the possibility of anyone winning??? SO FAST
200. Oh my god she hacked the drone
201. Is District 4 about to be wiped out of the Games?!
202. OOOOOOF ouch
203. Omg wait but Treeeeeech
204. Omg omg omg
205. When Taylor Swift said “baby let the games begin” she was RIGHT
206. “I will admit this was not the final three that I expected!” I say, hiding my TEAM CORAL pennant
207. Lol I didn’t even realize that the tributes wouldn’t know
208. Pre-cannon fire, pre-pictures in the sky… this is so chaotic
209. Oh my god??? Oh my god
210. That happened so quickly I—
211. WHY IS THERE STILL SO MUCH LEFT IN THIS BOOK
212. Is she going to win these Games just for Coriolanus to kill her in some weird obsession-motivated rage
213. Omg Lucy Gray
214. Omg is she really going to do it
215. Ooooh did Lucy poison the water when she swished it around her bottle
216. She’s a clever one, that girl
217. Please don’t let Snow kill her 😭
218. Wow are they actually punishing him for cheating? That took a turn
219. Kind of afraid to find out if they punish Lucy Gray for that but something tells me the thought will not cross Snow’s mind until it doubles back to him!
220. I can’t believe this book is still so far from over
221. “He’d been on the train for twenty-four hours without a moment of privacy. Forward motion was often interrupted by long, unexplained waits.” Literally me taking the Long Island Railroad
222. Ha she did poison Reaper good for her
223. Is this entire third part really just about Snow
224. Uuuuuugh
225. “Back when this had been North America, not Panem.” What is this timeline??? What is going on around the world
226. I’m screaming they nicknamed the kid Beanpole
227. That’s almost as bad as BUG
228. Literally the Peacekeeper kids trying to give each other nicknames:
229. Snow has just been whining for *checks watch* eight pages
230. Well at least Sejanus is here now thank god
231. Sejanus 🥺
232. Snow on his way to District 12’s public hanging:
233. “Coriolanus looked for the nearest exit in anticipation of the inevitable fire.” Welp
234. Wow do I want to rewatch the Hunger Games movies now
235. I understand that this book is trying to be a meditation on socioeconomic privilege and the dangers of self-victimization but the worldbuilding and developments are so painfully anchored by Snow that man do I miss Finnick’s entire vibe
236. They… they didn’t punish her? Ok
237. I wonder who’s going to play Lucy Gray in the adaptation
238. I wonder if it’ll be Hailee Steinfeld
239. Pitch Perfect 4: Things Took a Turn
240. I can’t believe this book is now… following the drama of Lucy Gray’s love life in District 12
241. What is even happening
242. Remember back before the Games started and we were all really invested in Lucy Gray’s survival and how Snow’s twisted perspective would come back to bite them and mutts for the sake of entertainment were just the brainchild of a madwoman whose creative brutality had my jaw on the floor? How did we get here
243. Literally why isn’t Sejanus the POV he’s already the MVP
244. “Maybe he was not cut out to be a lover. Maybe he was more of a loner at heart. Coriolanus Snow, more loner than lover.” I hate this
245. Are you telling me this entire book was an origin story FOR THE HANGING TREE SONG
246. You know, I don’t think I like that Snow is directly related to *checks notes* everything
247. “You’re mine and I’m yours. It’s written in the stars.”
248. Did she just… bite him
249. If people in the Capitol are poor and everyone in the districts are poor who ISN’T poor
250. This is the most I’ve used my economics degree in four years
251. “No district, really. Up where the Capitol didn’t care about.” Is she… is she talking about Canada? What’s happening in Canada
252. “Coriolanus felt embarrassed for them. No such place existed. At least not anymore. The Capitol controlled the known world. For a moment, he imagined a group of people in wild animal furs scraping out an existence in a cave somewhere. He supposed such a thing could happen, but that life would be a big step down from even the districts. Barely human.” Ok Suzanne I know Snow is a privileged American but this is almost too on the nose
253. *elsewhere, at the Cannes Film Festival*
“Any entries from the United States this year?”
“No… they’re calling themselves… Panem now. The children are doing murder.”
254. Snow after digging around in Sejanus’s things:
255. The more I learn about jabberjays the more I’m convinced they’re not real bir—
256. Oh my GOD
257. ALL THE BIRDS DIED IN 1986 ??? DUE TO REAGAN THE CAPITOL KILLING THEM AND REPLACING THEM WITH SPIES THAT ARE NOW WATCHING US
258. THE BIRDS WORK FOR THE BOURGEOISIE
259. This book is turning into anti-bird propaganda
260. Anti-bird propaganda, relationship drama, and folk songs
261. Lucy Gray lowkey realizing she’s dating a fascist
262. Girl I tried to warn you
263. Oooh that’s why Lucy Gray’s reaping was so suspicious… honestly, I have to admit that it’s been so long I forgot that was even a loose end
264. “It consumed his attention greedily, demanding to be listened to and making it hard to think.” Me about Rain On Me when my brain tells me to mute a work meeting to stream it out loud for the 600th time this week
265. Ugh Sejanus is a goner isn’t he
266. Snow, before learning that Sejanus has a stockpile of guns: “I probably shouldn’t confront him now”
Snow, after learning that Sejanus has a stockpile of guns: “Time to confront Sejanus”
267. I—
268. They just sho—
269. You know what? Okay
270. Why shouldn’t this turn into an elaborate back alley murder cover-up
271. Spruce just—died?! Are you kidding me
272. And now Sejanus is just??? Getting arrested? I’m gonna scream
273. Welp
274. Me reading the entire third act of this book:
275. Am I supposed to feel bad for Snow I feel like we lost the whole “self-victimization is a toxic and dangerous trait” thead
276. This movie is literally going to be a musical
277. No one:
Suzanne Collins: “But what if the next one is a Broadway play”
278. Remember when Clemensia was being experimented on and turned into a snake but then all of a sudden wasn’t anymore and just got mad that Snow never visited her in the hospital
279. Honey you were an Animorph
280. Suzanne Collins trying to connect every single detail in The Hunger Games trilogy to Coriolanus Snow:
281. Meanwhile Snow is still blaming Sejanus for everything? Okay
282. Oh th—they’re really doing it, huh
283. They’re really gonna try to run away
284. Sure wish I didn’t know that he inevitably becomes the fascist dictator of Panem and therefore that this entire turn of events is a pointless detour but hey
285. Guess we’ll see what happens to Lucy Gray
286. Aw she’s leaving her mom’s dresses behind
287. Wow this has been one bleak story
288. “We’ll get new dreams out there,” Coriolanus promised.
289. Snow is literally doing that thing where the person who commits a crime admits some random detail about the crime that they couldn’t have known if they didn’t commit the crime
290. “He knew this would be easier if he wasn’t such an exceptional person.” Really I gtg
291. Omg Snow is literally using her killing in the arena against her? I’m gonna lose my mind
292. “No, Lucy Gray was no lamb. She was not made of sugar. She was a victor.” Oh my god this is verging on intolerable who decided to let this man be a protagonist
293. I will stan villains until the day I die and proudly defend Evangeline Samos and Furyborn’s Corien until my last breath but Snow is just not it
294. Going to start saying “You’re no jabberjay” to people
295. Wait are they actually going to fight in the rain I kind of love this
296. I will admit it’s VERY cinematic
297. Wait what
298. We don’t even get a final confrontation???
299. THE SNAKE WASN’T EVEN VENOMOUS?!
300. I’m so tired
301. “Good-bye, Lucy Gray, we hardly knew you.” I—
302. Summer vacation are you kidding me this was all a weird setup
303. Snow came up with this, Snow came up with that, and, oh, did you know? Snow basically invented that other thing!
304. Th—THAT is what Highbottom and Snow’s blood feud is over?!
305. I mean “not wanting to invent the Hunger Games” is a good hill to die on I guess but I thought they were spurned lovers with a Shakespearean twist or something
306. On one hand I love that Lucy Gray became a ghost of Snow’s past but on the other… what
“She could fly around District 12 all she liked, but she and her mockingjays could never harm him again.”
307. If you asked me what Snow’s character arc was over the course of this book I would just tell you it went from bad to worse with a random flair of paranoia
308. I should have known that even something like a sweet memory in honor of Sejanus’s birthday was done with ill intent
309. It’s just so hard to be impressed by or root for this little fascist
310. Like??? Okay yes cool and subtle and sly but this implies that he’s just been nibbling on rat poison for 60+ years and I’m losing my mind because this was neither a story of survival nor anyone’s dark ascent
311. This was just “Cool motive, still murder” drawn out over 500 pages
312. Snow might land on top, but man, do I miss Katniss Everdeen, Girl on Fire
Remember when I said I had a lot of thoughts? I tried to warn you! Thanks for sticking with me through my little “let me talk to myself and see if I can figure out how I feel about this book” opinion piece. Let me know what you thought in the comments or on Twitter!
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