A new tribute enters the arena in the 4th and latest addition to Suzanne Collins' world-renowned saga, The Hunger Games.
Collins released The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in May of 2020. This is a prequel to The Hunger Games, taking place several years before, when Coriolanus Snow was in his late teens.
Snow is a senior at the Academy, and is one of the lucky 24 who were able to get a coveted spot mentoring the tributes in the 10th Hunger Games. This will be the first year of mentoring tributes before they are tasked with slaughtering one another.
This story takes place only a decade after The Capitol won the rebellion, the Hunger Games being a result of that victory.
The games do not yet hold the same grandeur as when Katniss Everdeen is tribute for District 12. No, the tributes are chosen and shipped to the Capitol and "dumped into the Capitol Arena, a now-dilapidated amphitheater ... along with some weapons to murder one another." (Collins, p.14)
No custom arenas, or news coverage. No Dressing the tributes up or sponsorships. Just a bunch of kids trapped in an arena that was destroyed by war bombings, and left in there until a reluctant murderer emerges victorious.
This is because the Capitol hasn't yet recovered from the war damage. Several buildings lie as rubble, poverty is rampant, even snow himself lives off rations. Although, he spends a lot of time hiding how hard hit his family was, and instead adopts an air of indifference as if his family's financial recovery was instantaneous.
Very few people watch the games, and the Capitol is looking for fresh ideas on how to make this yearly reminder of the atrocities of war, into an event worth celebrating.
I won't spoil the plot, as all this info is found on the back cover and in the first two chapters.
To a degree, we all know what happens. Readers who loved The Hunger Games know how publicized and posh the games become, and how the Capitol ends up flourishing with wealth - under the leadership of President Snow.
So how does a 17 year old boy succeed in all these endeavors, including becoming president? You'll have to read to find out.
However, should this book be turned into a movie? Would it hold a candle to the original trilogy that has already been committed to film, or fall on it's face in an age-old money-grab cycle? Who should play the lead roles?
Only time will tell. But if you have any ideas, let me know!