Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Twitter
  3. Follow us on Instagram
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • About CBR
    • Getting Started
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
  • Our Team
    • Leaderboard
    • The CBR Team
    • Recent Comments
    • CBR Interviews
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • How You Can Donate
    • Book Sale
    • CBR Merchandise
    • Supporters and Friends of CBR
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Follow Us
> FAQ Home
> Genre: Fiction > Stop trying to make known villains into troubled protagonists

Stop trying to make known villains into troubled protagonists

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

January 27, 2021 by Caitlin_D 1 Comment

I don’t know why I read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes other than the fact I am a completionist and it is officially part of The Hunger Games trilogy because it is a pet peeve of mine when authors play revisionist history within their canon.

Our protagonist is Coriolanus Snow, a Capital resident who is finishing up high school and tapped to mentor in the 10th annual Hunger Games. On the line as a mentor is the opportunity to attend the University on a scholarship and while Snow is from a prominent family they lost most of their money during the preceding war and this is a big deal. He ends up getting matched with Lucy Gray, a girl for District 12, who charms the Capital with her ability to sing. There are a lot of differences between these Games and the ones we see in The Hunger Games, namely how the Tributes are treated leading up to the Arena. We are supposed to feel for Corio because he thinks the Games are bad and that the District kids are people too but he also writes a paper that helps shape the Games we see later on.

“What young brains lack in experience they sometimes make up for in idealism. Nothing seems impossible to them.”

I think if Collins wanted this to be a more believable transformation from Corio the student to President Snow we needed a slower, possibly multibook transition. The way this is mapped out is just not believable storytelling.

 

2 Stars

 

 

Spoilers and a question/ quibble:

Am I crazy that Haymitch was the only winner to ever come from District 12? Is this some technicality I forgot over the years from the book that he is the only living victor which is why he was the only mentor possible? Because I just rewatched the movie over the summer and I do not remember that particular call out.

But! Even then- why is it not mentioned at all that it is not totally impossible to expect Katniss, a girl from District 12, to win because it had happened before but just a really long time ago (with someone much less prepared than she appears to be since no one knew Corio was helping Lucy Gray)? Even a through away line about how there were two winners but one never got to enjoy her victory because she disappeared.

Anyway, I could not get over this and it ruined an already mediocre story. Make her a District 11 girl and don’t make me feel the need to reread the original.

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Suzanne Collins, the ballad of songbirds and snakes, The Hunger Games

Caitlin_D's CBR13 Review No:3 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Suzanne Collins, the ballad of songbirds and snakes, The Hunger Games ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

About Caitlin_D

CBR13 participantCBR11 participantCBR10 participantCBR  9CBR 8CBR 7CBR 6CBR 2

I skipped CBR for 2020 because I was expecting my first child and knew time would be finite. Then the world imploded and I missed the crap out of y'all. Plus I read so much less without y'all's recommendations! View Caitlin_D's reviews»

Comments

  1. andtheIToldYouSos says

    January 27, 2021 at 3:54 pm

    I want your title on a T-Shirt!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Recent Comments

  • Emmalita on Quick Questions with a Cannonballer: dsbs42I was looking at the website for Pizza Piccomilano and they are either charmingly earnest or hilariously dry. "Potato dishes are potatoes that are baked...
  • Emmalita on A beautiful portrait of a white outsider in 1930s Great Depression KentuckyMy landlady read and loved this book a few months ago. She loved it and talked about it for a good two weeks.
  • Emmalita on CBR Diversions – It’s Never too Late to Have a Happy ChildhoodI’m almost there with you on Are You There God. It had been out for a few years when I read it, but I recall...
  • esme on CBR Diversions – It’s Never too Late to Have a Happy ChildhoodWhat a treat! /s It is a fabulous book and movie, but good god, is it good for kids to experience that depth of grief...
  • jomidi on CBR Diversions – It’s Never too Late to Have a Happy ChildhoodI know I was a voracious reader, but I don't remember books from when I was very little. I do remember reading stuff like The...
See More Recent Comments »

Want to Help Out?

CBR has a great crew of volunteers, and we're always looking for more people to help out. If you have a specialty or are willing to learn, drop MsWas a line.

  • How You Can Donate
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo
  3. Google Pay
© 2021 Cannonball Read | Log in