As you probably know by now, I’m an avid reader. Dystopian series are my favorite, with the Hunger Games books high on my list. So, imagine my excitement when, during quarantine, Suzanne Collins releases an add-on to one of my favorite series! Warning: there may be some spoilers ahead so make sure to go read the book first!!!
I devoured The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes one morning, in an effort to procrastinate working on a final project. Chapter one turned into chapter five turned into me finishing the last page around 2, and let me tell you, this book is a good one. It’s set before the age of Katniss and Peeta, and it follows President Snow before he becomes the old, controlling president he was in the main series. Coriolanus Snow’s first obstacle in the book is to find a shirt that looks dignified enough for a ceremony, while being too poor to buy a new one. We follow him through the tenth Hunger Games, as he mentors a tribute, becomes a Peace Keeper, and finds his way back to the Capitol.
I admired Collins’ ability to help us understand Snow, while avoiding trying to redeem him. He is a flawed main character, and he is responsible for his own actions, biases, and issues. She does not put his love interest at fault for who he is today; rather, she acts as a catalyst to move the story along. The plot is complex and the cast large, with pompous names such as Clemensia Dovecote, Casca Highbottom (I mean, how can you not laugh at that), and Fabricia Whatnot. The twists and turns throw themselves at you unexpectedly, and more often than not I would end a chapter mouth agape and eyes wide.
My friend and I were discussion a possible cast for the upcoming movie (yay!) as well as a potential plot if she writes a sequel to the prequel. We cast Tom Felton as Coriolanus, Zendaya as Lucy Gray Baird, John Boyega as Sejanus, Hugh Bonneville as Dean Highbottom, and Helena Bonham Carter as Volumnia Gaul. She and I threw in Timothee Chalamet in the mix for good measure, figuring he could play another Capital mentor or tribute, because what movie doesn’t get better with good old Timmy T in it.
My fan theory is that Lucy Gray is Katniss’s grandmother, thus making Snow her grandfather. Lucy could potentially be pregnant as she is running away and decides to return secretly to give birth to Katniss’s father. Since Katniss learns the Hanging Tree song from her father, it would make sense that Lucy sings it to him as a child and he absorbs it from her. Katniss could remind Snow of Lucy to the point that it makes him angry, because he sees the same fire in her that he saw in Lucy.
This is just a theory, although I do hope she makes more connections if she writes another book.
Thanks for reading! See you all next time.
-Reagan
