By Susan Collins

 Now, we return to the world of the Hunger Games, 64 years before the first book. This is a book that I am reading for the first time for this review, it wasn’t on my radar so we are going through this together.

“Ambition will fuel him. Competition will drive him. But power has its price.

Coriolanus Snow has one shot at glory as a mentor in the tenth annual Hunger Games. He plans to outcharm, outwit, and outmanoeuvre his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him: he has been given the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low.

Their fates are now intertwined- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to Favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death.  Outside the arena, Coriolanus will do anything it takes to survive.”

If you enjoyed the world of the Hunger Games, then you will enjoy this book. For a given factor of the phrase enjoy. This book will take you into the mind of a psychopath. If this isn’t what you are looking for, don’t push yourself to read it just to complete the series.

But if you plan to walk this path, you should remember one fact and take one piece of advice. The advice is this: there is a lot of singing in this book, but I have it on good authority that the person who officially does the audiobook does not sing those parts. So, even if you normally listen to audiobooks, read the book. There is nothing like someone saying la la la with no attempt to give a tune to take you out of a book.

The one fact to remember is who Snow will become and what he will do. Don’t let yourself root for him.

Happy reading.

Three things to talk about: firstly, the world. We see Panem around 10 years after the war, and we see what the Hunger Games looked like in the early days. Instead of elaborate arenas with deadly traps, it’s an old sports arena that the tributes are dumped in, starving, with a bunch of weapons and they are expected to kill each other. This leads to even those of the Capitol who view the districts as barbarians getting disturbed by the games. Through the book, we see the seeds of the games we see later.

Secondly, I want to talk about Coriolanus Snow. Snow’s father invested all his money into munitions in District 13. When District 13 was “destroyed”, the Snows lost all their money. Side note: what do you think Coriolanus thought when he discovered that District 13 was still out there? Anyway, when we meet Snow, he is almost starving but desperately tries to hide the fact of his poverty. Status is important above all; this is seen by the fact that, unlike his cousin, he stayed at school instead of getting a job.

However, if he had gotten a job, things would have been different. Throughout the book, there is the repeated refrain of “Snow lands on top” This idea of certainty seems to push him through.

Thirdly, we need to talk about Sejanus Plinth. He is the exact opposite of Snow. Sejanus is a sweet boy from District 2 whose father was so rich that they moved to the Capital.

Snow has always hated Sejanus. He views Sejanus as having everything that Snow should have. After all, his father has made his money from munitions in District 2. He is also very naive and believes that he can change the capital. But because he was the only child to not bully Sejanus, they are seen by most people, including Sejanus, are friends.

Fourthly, Lucy Grey Bard is the District 12 female tribute. As member of the Covey, they never were part of the rebellion, but after the war, they were rounded up and added to District 12. Meaning they are both from and not from the District. It is creepy how we can see Snow’s attraction to her change from “This is my ticket to university” into” I need to hold on to her”. After all, if she is not district, then he believes that he can make her capital. He never even considers to think about what she wants.

But that is my review so,

Happy reading to all, and to all a good night.