So, this may be a long one from the many thoughts I had reading it… And there are some spoilers.
I loved The Hunger Games when I was a teenager. Granted, I left the first book on page ten for about a month before being unable to put it down but was enamored by the series. Following Katniss and her reasons for winning the games was entrancing, with Catching Fire being my favorite of the three and Mockingjay leaving me destroyed with some of the events, particularly toward the end.
However, following an 18 year-old Coriolanus Snow through the tenth Hunger Games was not as thrilling. First, and my biggest gripe with this book, is it should have been written in first person. His constant self-wallowing ideas and views on others reads like a first-person novel. It would have flowed better and could have made reading more engaging because some of Snow’s whining got irritating after a while, especially since we know everything will work out based on The Hunger Games. I wanted to learn more about some of Snow’s classmates, such as Sejanus, Clemensia, Lysistrata, and his cousin Tigris, more than hearing about Snow complain about his problems.
We follow Snow as he’s chosen, along with other classmates, to mentor a tribute this year in an attempt to make the games more engaging because who doesn’t want to watch children fight to the death. On the day of the reaping, he learns he will be saddled with the girl tribute from District 12. He almost immediately believes his chance as a mentor is short-lived and this is a personal barb from the Dean, which we learn later, is a sabotaging action. As the reaping is shown, we finally get to District 12, where they draw Snow’s tribute first.
Lucy Gray Baird is chosen, wearing what resembles a performer’s outfit, and as she walks to the makeshift stage, pulls out a snake and unleashes it on the mayor’s daughter. I’ll admit, I enjoyed the moment and made me root for Lucy Gray immediately. It was a unique entrance and showed she was not to be messed with. Upon finally reaching the stage, Lucy Gray belts out a performance, singing without anyone interfering. The boy tribute is drawn and the reaping comes to a close, with everyone chattering about Lucy Gray.
This is where the book got weird, for me at least. After the reaping, Snow talks to his Dean and finds out that there’s going to be additional taxes coming up, which will probably force him out of his home. There’s also speak of not being able to afford university, which Snow was hoping to accomplish with being a mentor. Snow becomes obsessed about winning to save his home, not because he needs a place to live, no he could have surely found another, cheaper, smaller apartment for him, Tigris, and their aging grandmother. No, Snow wants it because it’s a status symbol, and losing it will cause the other Capitol citizens to speak down on him. And if he can’t attend university, what will become of him? A proud Snow? And if it was drawn out for pages, it wouldn’t have bothered me as much. But Snow complains so much in this book. It probably could have been reduced by a third if we eliminated how much Snow complains about his situation or about how jealous he is of his other classmates.
And, if this book was supposed to follow a “villain’s path” or journey or whatever, I would have loved to learn more about Dr. Gaul, the current head Gamemaker, and the one who helped create the Hunger Games. Her twisted interactions with the students, how she spoke of the tributes, and general demeanor were a treat to read and I wanted more of her. Watching her unleash dangerous snake muttations (though referred to as “mutts”) on a young mentor was gripping. Dr. Gaul was so collected and it terrified me of what more she was capable. I gladly would read about how she worked on the games, how she views not only herself with her ideals, but personally how she views the district children she’s condemning to death. Please give me that book, in some way shape or form.
Once the tributes arrived at the Capitol, Snow’s complaining eased up as things focused more on leading up to, and eventually, the Hunger Games. Seeing how different the Games were between the early ones and Katniss’s was interesting, especially since this one set up precedents for the future, like feeding the tributes so they didn’t die before the Games started. However, several tributes and Snow’s classmates died before the Games even began. Showing the Capitol citizens that death could still come for them, from the district kids, was exciting to read as the tone shifted over the Games. Through the Games, I was more intrigued by Snow’s classmate Sejanus and wanted more from his point of view. The conflict Sejanus felt from being born in District 2 and living in the Capitol, seeing a young, childhood friend picked for the Games, who he then had to mentor would have been wonderful to explore, especially with the sacrificing nature Sejanus demonstrated early on.
And yet, the actual Games felt very… short. Once they had finished, I was surprised to see there was still a third left in the book. And, once more, Snow fills that third with a lot of whining. After the fiasco of the Games, he’s sent to be a Peacekeeper and lands in District 12, where he tries to find Lucy Gray. Through this last third, I liked learning more about the district the most, with a highlight being the origins of “The Hanging Tree.” Time is spent on Snow being jealous, which I struggled to read through because Snow was extremely possessive of Lucy Gray, always referring to her as “my girl” like he owned her left a bad taste in my mouth.
Then, while the whole book dragged on, the last 70 or so pages raced by and it was hard to keep track exactly what happened, but Snow chose his own skin and managed to get back to the Capitol. There, he was granted admission to the university, where he worked with Dr. Gaul. And, he straight-up murders the Dean, which sadly gave a taste of what this book could have been: seeing his cutthroat actions to get ahead, which are great attributes of a villain. I think starting Snow’s story here, and following his progress, as he works on the Games, as he works with Dr. Gaul, as he tries to become president, would have been a much better story to read.
And yet, that was not what we were delivered.
I’m giving this an average 3 out 5 jabberjays. There were tidbits I enjoyed, mostly background info and certain characters, but overall, underwhelming. Get the book here
As always, happy writing!
Kaylen Azalea Grimm 