And just like that, we have completed the first book selection of Shelf Explored Book Club. Now that we have finished reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and taken the time to let it all *sink in*, we’re going to share our final thoughts on the book as a whole. Our goal is not to review the book, per se, but we will be sharing what we liked and disliked.
Spoiler Free! This post is our general opinions about this book, not a professional review, and contains no spoilers for BoSS or The Hunger Games Trilogy.
Jacilyn: As readers have noticed, I obviously was not a fan of Coriolanus, our main character. I’ve read books with unlikeable protagonists before, but there’s something about this particular book that made it very difficult to continue reading sometimes. If I had to guess, the reasoning behind that is most likely the fact that I know who Snow becomes in the future, which dispels any hope I had of some sort of redemption to follow. I am a serial re-reader, and I don’t think this is a book I will re-read.
There are a lot of characters introduced in this book that I would love to learn more about through the eyes of someone besides Coriolanus. I think part of my disappointment in this book lies in the fact that I feel we were deprived of an opportunity to really get to know great characters like the Plinths, Lucy Grey, Tigris, and many others. Our exposure to these characters was limited by the shallow viewpoint of Coriolanus, so I’m hoping for more prequels in the future from other points of view.
That being said, I do think this book is an important read for fans of the original trilogy. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes provides an incredible amount of context to Katniss’ world, including the history of the rebellion, the evolution of the Capitol and the Hunger Games, and personal ties between characters. I think that sometimes, dystopian fiction can seem somewhat fantastical (making children fight to the death? How could that ever actually happen?), but I think the best kind of dystopian literature adds context that draws parallels between our world and the dystopian world portrayed. Personally, I think those parallels are great opportunities to encourage readers to think critically about what we value and the importance of fighting for what we believe in.
Michaela: As a whole, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was a very good book, however, I found it hard to keep reading, especially in the first section. Collins’ writing was brilliant as always, but Coriolanus’ character is so unlikable and such an unreliable narrator that it makes reading difficult. This book definitely had more of the political and moral story lines than the adventurous ones of The Hunger Games trilogy, even with the 10th Hunger Games happening.
As infuriating as Coriolanus is as a character, I do believe that this book is important for fans of The Hunger Games to read. However, I don’t know that it will be part of my Hunger Games re-read list. I am a big fan of re-reading books, especially The Hunger Games, but Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be one that I may not read again for quite a while. Getting to learn some history of Panem and the development of the Games was well worth the read. Being able to read about how this world worked was fascinating and quite enjoyable for me. I found that I cared much more about all the side characters than I did about Coriolanus, and with him being so unreliable we barely got to actually know about any of them.
I loved getting to read more of Suzanne Collins’ work in this book, this dystopian world she has created is unnervingly real and beautifully written. These books constantly parallel our world, so I think it will inspire readers to learn about what is happening in our world, to stand up for what they believe in, and why it is so important.
Let us know your thoughts on Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes as a whole! Was Coriolanus easy for you to read as a main character? Did you find the historical context of Panem interesting? Will this be on your re-read list? Do you even have a re-read list? Let us know in the comments below!
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