About the Book
-
Author:
- Suzanne Collins
Cover Story: Panem-tastic
BFF Charm: Nay
Swoonworthy Scale: 0
Talky Talk: HOT DAMN, SUZANNE
Bonus Factors: Prequel, Old Money A-Holes, Suzanne Collins’ Cavalcade of Notorious Names
Relationship Status: Hopelessly Devoted to You
Spoiler Alert: This is the 4th published book in the Hunger Games series, but the 1st chronologically. While you probably could read this book as your first installment into this world, (1) having the context of the main trilogy does enhance the experience, and (2) it’s highly unlikely that you have zero knowledge of this series, especially if you’re on this here blog. This review contains the mildest of spoilers, in alluding to the kind of person Coriolanus Snow turns out to be. And that Mockingjay was divisive lol.
Cover Story: Panem-tastic
WE ARE — as The Kids™ say — SO BACK.* Quite literally for cover designer Elizabeth B. Parisi and cover artist Tim O’Brien, who have worked on all the Hunger Games books so far. The spines aren’t a complete match, which makes sense since the main trilogy is Katniss’ story and this is (… sigh) Coriolanus’. I would say “accept no substitutes”, but the new deluxe editions** look SENSATIONAL. Although NEVER the movie tie-ins!
* Technically, we’ve been back for several years, but some of us are practitioners of the fine art that is PROCRASTINATION.
** You better believe that’s an affiliate link! (And here’s another.)
The Deal
It’s been 10 years since the districts’ failed rebellion was crushed, and the 10th Hunger Games commemorating the Capitol’s victory is about to take place. With the public’s appetite for the child-on-child-murdering spectacle diminishing, this year’s tributes will be assigned mentors from the graduating class of the Academy. (What Academy? Just THE Academy.)
For Coriolanus Snow, the stakes for this graduation project couldn’t be higher. If his tribute succeeds, he could restore his family to their former and rightful glory. Just one problem, though — Coriolanus has been tasked with mentoring a girl from poor and weak District 12: Lucy Gray Baird. The odds are SO NOT in his favour.
BFF Charm: Nay
Y’all — I truly tried to keep an open mind, which is why this is not a more emphatic nay. But learning Snow’s backstory only made him more despicable. With his family’s dire financial struggles, you’d think he’d be more sympathetic to the plight of the less-fortunate districts. There were so many opportunities for him to make better choices! But time and time again, Coriolanus’ allegiance is with power over people.
Swoonworthy Scale: 0
One thing about me: I’m usually so susceptible to shipping. If the characters are into it, THEN SO AM I. But this was extremely not the case with Coriolanus and Lucy Gray. Just by the nature of their, uh, meet cute, Coriolanus catches feelings over one-sided interactions with his Manic Panem Dream Girl. He all but says that she’s Not Like The Other District Girls! And just thinking about Future Snow: it’s actually so typical for a man to make his teenage infatuation everyone else’s problem. (The vibes are honestly rancid and more than a little incel-y.)
Talky Talk: HOT DAMN, SUZANNE
When this book was first announced in 2019, I was skeptical about Young Hot Snow, especially with how villain origin stories have been known to soften heinous characters. But I should have heeded the very important lesson from the polarizing Mockingjay: Suzanne Collins doesn’t care about happy endings. Coriolanus Snow is not a misunderstood anti-hero; he’s a cautionary tale of how people succumb and submit to fascism.
Bonus Factor: Prequel
I went into this novel not having reread or rewatched the Katniss instalments, which was enough familiarity to understand the evolution of the Hunger Games. (I probably missed plenty of Easter eggs though, based on how often I’d come across a name or word that I felt like I should know but have long forgotten lol.)
By Katniss’ time, the Games are a glossy and polished production, but the 10th Games were much more primitive. The pathetic delivery drones crash so often that you’d think they were bankrolled by an apartheid billionaire. And there’s definitely no red carpet treatment for the tributes; restraints are still needed to keep them in line — which makes how normalized the Games will become even more chilling.
Bonus Factor: Old Money A-holes
A once great and powerful house, the Snow family fortune basically ended with the war. But Coriolanus and Grandma’am*** aren’t about to let reality ruin their self-perception; they’re the quintessential temporarily embarrassed millionaires! (At the very least, they’ll always be better than new money riff-raff!) Wealth might be fleeting, but entitlement is forever.
*** An amazing nickname for a raging bigot.
Bonus Factor: Suzanne Collins’ Cavalcade of Notorious Names
Sejanus****, Lysistrata, Clemensia, Pliny, Lepidus, and — of course — CORIOLANUS. Imitators, there have been many, but no one does it like Suzanne!!! It’s the whole reason why we created a Hunger Games name generator (…. a whole 15 years ago omg).
**** I lowkey love Sejanus though! (To clarify: as a character, not a name.)
Relationship Status: Hopelessly Devoted to You
OK, yes — I completely whiffed on our date despite being extremely hyped for it. (A whole adaptation has even come and gone!) But in my defense, MAY 2020 WAS A WILD TIME. Now that the series is coming around again, I finally got my shizz together to catch up with it. Going back to Panem — especially the bleak early days — is obviously no rollicking romp, but there’s still so much left to explore and A LOT on Suzanne’s mind. Rest assured, I won’t be as tardy for our next date! (Probably. Within the calendar year FOR SURE.)
Literary Matchmaking
An oldie but a goodie: Marie Lu’s Legend series is another dystopia near and dear to my heart with another installment after the trilogy concluded that I still haven’t gotten around to reading.
Another dystopian rec but make it Greco-Roman-ish: Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes series.
Suzanne’s written other books! Including Gregor the Overlander, which seems VERY DIFFERENT so maybe it’s not entirely depressing!!!
FTC Full Disclosure: I received my free review copy from my local library; libraries are great! I received neither money nor gelato for writing this review (dammit!). The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is available now.
I was literally looking to see if you had reviewed this a couple of hours ago! And now here it is. I haven’t read it yet either, because of the aforementioned softening of the villains problem, so I’m glad to hear that Snow is still evil.