As an English teacher, I often find myself gravitating towards reading Young Adult books. Then once I finish them, I can add them to my classroom library. I did the same thing when I was teaching history, with historical books – see my recommendations here!
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I recently read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, which is a prequel to the Hunger Game series. The prequel follows Coriolanus Snow before he became the hated President Snow that Katniss Everdeen battles outside of the arena.
It was the first book that I’ve read in a long time, and it’s pretty thick. However, it is split into 3 sections, which are three different phases of the story. We learn about how Coriolanus Snow became a mentor for the tribute from District 12 and everything that this leads to, with love, secrets, and death woven throughout. At the end, I found myself actually rooting for Coriolanus Snow and was happy when he “landed on top,” as the family saying went.
If you’re going to read this book soon, I would make sure you read The Hunger Game series right before reading, as there are so many small details with Songsbirds and Snakes that tie back to the series. A few things like how the Hunger Games are designed into a whole betting system, why Snow hates mockingjays, and how he began to rise to power are all explained in the prequel!
I always enjoy Collins’ form of writing, where each chapter ends on such a shock that you HAVE to continue reading. While it was a bigger book for me, having the three sections made you feel like you achieved something as you read it.
Overall, I give The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes a 4 out of 5, mainly because there were parts that lulled a bit for me, but overall, I feel that it is a great addition to my classroom library and definitely recommend to Hunger Games fans!
