LoveReading Says
As the tenth Hunger Games plays out, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes explores the life, trials and roots of eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow, President of Panem when we reach the story of the original The Hunger Games trilogy. With the formally powerful house of Snow now teetering on poverty and ruin, Coriolanus is set on mentoring the winning tribute to escape “the endless dance with hunger that had defined his life”, go to university and then “embark on some lucrative profession”. But in a devasting blow, he’s assigned the task of mentoring Lucy Gray Baird, the lowliest tribute from District 12, and “everyone knew what happened if you went to the districts. You were written off. Forgotten. In the eyes of the Capitol, you were basically dead.” But with their fates now interlocked and their survival in his hands, Coriolanus vows to do his best to take care of Lucy. What a twisted, conflicted assignment this turns out to be, and all the more engrossing for being apparently doomed.
Though more meandering and meditative than the original trilogy, fans will be fascinated to discover the complex causes of President’s Snow’s villainy, and it’s shot-through with core themes - friendship bonds, betrayal, power and oppression – that devoted readers will relish.
Joanne Owen
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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Synopsis
With beautiful artwork by Freya Betts, this paperback
edition features gorgeous sprayed edges with stencilled artwork.
This is a breathtaking collectible perfect for the long-time fan
or new Hunger Games reader.
Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Everything you would expect from Collins is here:
fraught teenage love; plenty of violence... the themes of friendship,
betrayal, authority and oppression will please and thrill" The
Guardian
"It works beautifully... please don't make us wait
another decade" The Times
Ambition will fuel him.
Competition
will drive him.
But power
has its price.
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth
annual Hunger Games.
In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing
for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty
house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the
slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit,
and outmaneuvre his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment
of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest
of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined - every
choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favour or failure, triumph
or ruin.
Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the
arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute…
and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to
survive no matter what it takes.
Three books, four films and one WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON,
The Hunger Games changed the face of global YA.
- All four Hunger Games books have been made into feature
films, the first three starring Jennifer Lawence, Liam Hemsworth,
Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks and Donald Sutherland.
- The fourth movie of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,
released November 2023 and has an all-star cast including Tom
Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage.
ABOUT THE COVERS
To celebrate the release of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
feature film, Freya Betts has taken the four iconic logos and
added a modern twist.
Freya is a UK based freelance illustrator who focuses on hyper-realistic
portraiture, mainly in the medium of digital painting.
She has worked predominantly in the film industry - her journey
beginning with an apprenticeship at age 18, art-working film campaigns
for Universal and Paramount in London.
Now she finds
herself illustrating film posters for Disney and Marvel, her work
has appeared everywhere from giant murals in New York to t-shirts
in H&M. Clients include: Disney, Netflix, Marvel, Apple TV,
Uber, Royal Mail, The LA Times
PRAISE FOR THE FIRST BOOK, THE HUNGER GAMES
"I was so obsessed with this book. . . . The Hunger Games
is amazing." Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight
saga
"I couldn't stop reading." Stephen King, Entertainment
Weekly
Praise for Catching Fire
"Collins has done that rare thing. She has written a sequel
that improves upon the first book." The New York Times
Book Review
"Whereas Katniss kills with finesse, Collins writes
with raw power." Time magazine
About This Edition
