en-The ballad of songbirds and snakes - Suzanne Collins review

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.

I was a huge fan from the beginning of the release of The Hungergames trilogy. I finished that series in no time, and it was the first book series I ever loved. I couldn't be more thrilled when I heard that there was a prequel coming out. This geek was so excited when it finally arrived, that she started it right away.

I only have one word for this book ... WOW. I can't put into words how much I loved it. And everything made so much more sense with this one. All those little details that were used in the trilogy, found its origin in the prequel. It felt like the final missing piece that I didn't know I needed. It all made so much more sense after the prequel. It's so insane, I thought the series were complete after the trilogy, but after reading the prequel I now know that this was the missing piece the story needed.

The book tells the story about the younger years of President Snow. We get a closer look into his life and we get to know him better. The evil president was once a poor, broken boy who had to fight for his life for more than once. He had to fight hard to receive the role of president. He was poor at the time and sometimes didn't get enough food on his plate, but he always had to act like he was still one of the riches family's in the Capitol. I felt a certain amount of empathy towards him, while reading his story. I used to hate him so much while reading The Hungergames, but now I get where he is coming from. I envied his will to fight for what is right and wrong. There is so much more to his character than I thought at first.

I've read that a lot of readers were disappointed by the book, but I wasn't. I found it so surprisingly good. It is a 'Hungergames book', but slightly different which makes it refreshing and really special.

I really loved the book and I could read it all over again anytime! I want to reread The Hungergames all over again because of it. I had it finished in no time and I think it's a real page turner. It got me from the first page and I couldn't put it down anymore. And I really loved how the prequel is connected to the trilogy, not only because it happens before the trilogy, but mostly because of the little things like 'the hanging tree' that was introduced in the trilogy, but found its origin in the prequel. Definitely a must-read if you ask me.

• Author: Suzanne Collins
• Genre: Young Adult
• Themes: The Hungergames, history, evil and good,...
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Pages: 528
• Rating: * * * * *