The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Suzanne Collins
The first question you may ask about this book is does it need to exist? The honest answer to that question is frankly: no. The Hunger Games exists perfectly fine without this prelude. Now, am I happy it exists? Absolutely. Collins takes you right back into Panem and all the chaos of the Capitol in a book that is captivating in the same way the original books were. In fact, Ballad is full of nods to the original series which felt like fan-service in the most satisfying way.
My favorite parts of this book all have to do with the newest introduction to this world: The Covey. I won't give any plot spoilers (because, not cool) but the idea of adding a nomadic-folky group was so clever. You can see the impact of this group in the music featured in the original trilogy in a way that seems so natural. I was always eagerly anticipating what the next song choice (and the lyrical tweaks to fit the story) would be. Maybe I'm just a sucker for books with lyrics/poetry...
There is also the rising conflict of building up Snow as the protagonist, which is very well done. As the all-knowing reader, you never fully get behind him as a 'good person', which almost makes you feel like you are getting tricked into occasionally rooting for him. You get to witness his character dissolving into who we know as President Snow. Despite the growing unease and conflict, about 3/4 through the book the pace slams on the breaks and then meanders for a while until the very end, where it picks up full-fledged and is a true page-turner.
All-in-all, this is a fun exploration of an extremely pivotal character, a worthy prequel, and a welcome addition to the Hunger Games stories.
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng
I am not the slightest bit ashamed to say that I picked this book to read because the Hulu series kept popping up in my suggested watches and I was curious what it was all about. Similar to the next book on the list, I will first state that this book is not for everyone. Celeste Ng weaves a slow-paced but delicious, character-driven story about suburban politics and family dynamics, while exploring the concepts of rights, wrongs, and rules.
Despite being a slow-paced book, I could not put it down, and finished it in about a week, which is the quickest I have finished a novel in maybe a few years (I'm so tired and distracted all the time, sigh). The characters are so well written, I felt personally involved. I wanted to know what would happen next.
One of the marvelous things about this book is that it brings the idea of personal morality to the forefront. Unfortunately, the book suffers from a few nail on the head of the theme of the book that detracts from this main theme. This is the kind of story that the reader should need to digest after reading. To sit and think, reflect on their own lives and frameworks of right and wrong. For the most part, it does that.. well, at least it did for me.
Bringing Down the Duke
Evie Dunmore
This is a romance novel through and through. It is, however, a slow-burning and fun romance novel with a historically setting (Women's Suffrage Movement in England)-- so I wholly enjoyed it. If you are looking for an example of out-of-this world plot development, this is not your book (we spend the majority being told that something is quite impossible, when in fact it's resolved in the last 5% of the book quite easily). If you are looking for a slightly cliched banter between traditional, powerful, stubborn, serious but emotionally repressed man and equally stubborn, progressive, independent, outspoken, peasant-class woman, go pick up this book right now. It was written for you. The character and their banter is fun, and it leads to some steamy moments. It is what it is, and you can't fault it for that.
"Have you by chance missed that class at finishing school where they teach you to feign delightful ignorance in the presence of a man?"
"I'm afraid so"
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