Royal Reads 6.9.21--The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Last night, The Hunger Games Mockingjay 1 and 2 were on tv.  Brian and I stayed up too late watching the whole thing.  BTW--I cry EVERY time at the end when Buttercup appears and when Katniss talks to her baby and tells her she still has bad dreams.  Every.  Stinkin.  Time.

Needless to say, I love the Hunger Game series.  It's one of those that I like to read at least once a year and I can watch it over and over when it's on tv.

So, when I heard there was a prequel coming out, I could hardly contain my excitement.  I was also a bit fearful.  I mean, could it really be as good as the others?  Was I going to wish I had not read it? Would it be like those lame reunion tv shows that just don't connect with the original?

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins did not disappoint! The premise is that the 10th Hunger Games are about to begin (remember, Katniss fought in the 74th and 75th).  It follows the life of Corilolanus Snow as he becomes a mentor.  It addresses details from the future books and gives a solid history and foundation.  It also makes it clear that President Snow had more reasons to dislike Katniss than  the fact that she was a brave girl.  

There was a lot more depth in this book than I thought there would be.  There were times I even found myself rooting for Snow (GASP!) and would have to remind myself how evil he was toward Katniss.

After watching Mockingjay last night, I think I'm gonna have to go back and re-read Songbirds!  If you were a Hunger Games fan and understood how much more it was about than teenagers killing each other, you need to grab this book.  I don't usually buy fiction books--I check out the digital copies from the library or kindle unlimited, but this was one I was glad I bought.  

Let me know what you think if you read it!