• Home
  • Style Guides
  • Blog
  • Author Index
    • A - H Index
    • I - P Index
    • Q - Z Index
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Subscribe
READING STYLE GUIDE

Return to Panem

6/11/2020

0 Comments

 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

The needle of his moral compass had swung madly without direction
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, prequel to The Hunger Games, chronicles the rise of Coriolanus Snow. His gradual descent into moral bankruptcy makes compelling, thought-provoking drama. The tale is everything readers have come to expect from master storyteller Suzanne Collins: violent often gristly scenes, compelling plot twists, and fascinating world building.
The narrative opens about sixty years before the time of Katniss Everdeen. Young Coriolanus of the Snow family aristocracy has completed his studies and hopes to build a future for himself at the Capitol. The once proud and influential family consists of only three: Coriolanus, his cousin and their grandmother. Impoverished, they reside in the family’s palatial home but subsist on cabbage soup and Lima beans. Without a scholarship, university studies are out of the question. Coriolanus is determined to vaunt himself into prominence within the Capitol hierarchy.
Picture
He loves his grandmother and cousin. He is kind to classmate Sejanus Plinth. But it’s Lucy Gray Baird, the tribute from District 12, who captivates him. He is intrigued by her unassuming nature, individualistic style, fearlessness and mesmerizing singing. An outlier who eschews identification with traditional District classification, she is unlike anyone Coriolanus has ever known. His interest blossoms into affection. The two share tender moments and stolen kisses.
He wrestles with his conscience as he weighs his choices and the possible results of his decisions. There is a lot of interior dialog. How far is he willing to go to protect Lucy Gray? Will his relationship with Plinth hurt or help his chances for advancement? He is an expert at rationalizing his motives and finds an uncanny way to work every situation to his advantage. Rarely does his conscience win in his ruminations.
The names! Where did Collins come up with such unique character name? Hilarius Heavensbee, Vipsania Sickle, Dean Highbottom, Volumina Gaul. The author embeds clever double entendre and onomatopoeia into each moniker.
There are striking parallels with the current political culture. Children in cages. Young tributes who arrive at the Capitol are placed in zoo cages and attended to by a vet. Media manipulation of public perception. Increasing viewership of the broadcast games is the objective. It’s all about ratings. The maxim: when hit, hit back harder echoes a tactic espoused by some individuals.
This richly textured tale of the road to hell, i.e. all-consuming greed and power serves as a chilling reminder of the consequences of authority gone awry.
Collins brings the story to a satisfying conclusion. However, she leaves some important plot threads dangling. This reader will wait for hours in an interminably long line for a follow up to Songbirds and Snakes. Please don't make me wait too long, Ms. Collins.
Electronic copy provided by publisher
​Pub date: May 19, 2020  Publisher:  Scholastic Press  ISBN: 978-1338635171
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author/Illustrator Index
    Get the latest updates delivered directly to you inbox:

    powered by TinyLetter

    Category

    All
    Activity Books
    Adventure
    Africa
    Alphabet Books
    Animals
    Anthology
    Art
    Asian
    Audiobook
    Author-interview
    Author-profile
    Awards
    Bilingual
    Biography
    Black Lives
    Board Books
    Book Awards
    Book-club
    Book Stores
    Book Trailers
    Classroom Connections
    Comics
    Coming Of Age
    Cosplay
    Creativity
    Diversity
    Early Readers
    Fairy Tale
    Family
    Fantasy
    Food
    Friendship
    Girls
    Grahic-novel
    Grief
    Halloween
    Historical Fiction
    Horror
    Humor
    Immigration
    Informational-books
    Latinx
    Lgbtq
    Library-activities
    Literacy
    Magical-realism
    Maker
    Math
    Memoir
    Middle Grade
    Music
    Mystery
    Mythology
    Native American
    Nonfiction
    Own Voices
    Picture Book
    Poetry
    Prose-and-comic
    Read Aloud
    Reading
    Reading Writing Connection
    Realistic Fiction
    Romance
    Self Acceptance
    Series
    Social Issues
    Sports
    STEM
    Storytelling
    Texas Connection
    The-margin-project
    Translation
    Wordless
    Ya Lit

    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    Barbara Moon

    I like talking about books and  interesting ideas. I like thinking about how books affect my life. Not particularly interested in giving out stars or in rating books. 

    Audio Publishers Association
    2013, - present  Audies judge 
    American Library Association Book Awards and Lists 
    ​2017 YALSA Award Nominating Committee
    2016 Excellence in Nonfiction 
    2014 Margaret Edwards Award
    2012 Odyssey Awards.  
    2009, 2010, 2011 Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

    Professional Reader
    Picture
    Frequently Auto-Approved

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.