Songbirds and Snakes for me was a hit
I must be the only person in the world who didn’t know that a new Hunger Games novel was coming out; it was only when I accidentally stumbled across it that I found out.
I read the blurb, read some reviews and still wasn’t sure, but I ordered it anyway.
I loved the first books and I read them so quickly. I adore Suzanne Collins writing and love fast-paced books so thought, what the hell? I can’t say that I was overly delighted to read more about Snow, but hey.
When Songbirds and Snakes arrived, it was big; I’m not a fan of big books but I dove in never the less.
The writing was her typical, fast-paced style, which I loved and we quickly got into the story.
I was surprised at how fond I was of the young Snow, how much I felt for him, and how much he grew on me. I almost found myself rooting for him. The lead up to what I believe is the 10th Hunger Games was interesting and you got to learn a lot about the capital and a more in-depth understanding of the whats and wherefores.
The Hunger Games were quick and brutal but nowhere near what we read in the other books. It’s far more primitive at this early stage. It was almost over before it began, but had me hooked.
Without giving too much away this book almost feels back to front; the action at the front and the quieter, more flowing bits towards the end. The first half hooked me, the second half I did find myself lagging a bit but the ending was good, in my opinion, even though it seemed to arrive quickly and without much forethought.
The book made me pleasantly nostalgic and I enjoyed it; For me, there was one way I found it; perfect. In the first three books, I always thought President Snow was an undeveloped character; his hatred for Katniss seemed disproportional and bizarre. Yes, she started a revolution; yes, she defied him but it always seems so personal to him and I never understood why.
In Songbirds and Snakes, you get to understand why and there were times I got goose pimples when some of these things were explained. For me, that was worth it. This insight into the young Snow made everything in the next three books make more sense and there were moments where I was saying ‘genius’ to myself.
The song Katniss sings that ignites the rebels will have so much more meaning after reading this book.
For me, I think this book has become my favourite because it brings feelings and depth to the other books. It would have been so easy for her to mess this book up and ruin all our dreams and hopes, but she didn’t. She’s ignited my love again and left me wanting more.
If you thought the Hunger Games was alright this might not be the book for you, if you like the Hunger Games for just the action this might not be the book for you but if like me you love a good backstory, then you will love this book.
I think what I loved most about Songbirds and Snakes is that it wasn’t more of the same but had many more nuances, much more thoughtful, reflective moments, and had much better character development. And it will make a damn good film.
The only thing I wanted to change was the changing of the behaviour of Snow; it seemed very quick and final to me, like one moment one thing and another moment, another. I’m not sure that people shift that quickly and I would have liked to see Snow’s inner turmoil and struggle a bit more, but saying that, I still loved this book.
