The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a dystopian young adult action-adventure novel written by the American author Suzanne Collins. It is a prequel to the original The Hunger Games trilogy, set 64 years before the events of the first novel. It was released on May 19, 2020, by Scholastic, with an audiobook of the novel, read by the American actor Santino Fontana, released simultaneously. The book had a virtual launch due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A film adaptation by Lionsgate, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, was released on November 17, 2023.
Background Development Regarding the title, Scholastic publisher and editorial director David Levithan stated:
Author Suzanne Collins also stated:
Cover art The cover art for the book was designed by Tim O'Brien. It features a golden mockingjay at a new angle, entwined with a snake. Regarding the cover art, VP publisher and editorial director for Scholastic David Levithan stated:
Plot To help revive declining popular interest for the upcoming 10th Hunger Games, 24 Capitol Academy students are chosen to mentor tributes, with the mentor of the winning tribute receiving the Plinth Prize, a generous scholarship fund. Eighteen-year-old Coriolanus "Coryo" Snow, heir of a once-powerful but destitute Capitol family, hopes to win the Plinth Prize so that he may pay his way through higher education and restore the Snow family's prestige. Fellow Academy student Sejanus Plinth, heir to the ultra-rich District 2 family that funds the prize, is sympathetic to the plight of district citizens and is ostracized for his background; he considers Coriolanus his only friend, although Coriolanus acts with indifference towards him.
Coriolanus is assigned by Dean Casca Highbottom, the creator of the Hunger Games who inexplicably despises Coriolanus, to the District 12 female tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, a member of the Covey, a nomadic musical group. During the reaping, she catches the Capitol's attention by defiantly singing and by slipping a snake into the dress of Mayfair Lipp, the daughter of District 12's mayor. Although the tributes are starved, kept in a zoo pen, and treated poorly, Coriolanus treats Lucy Gray with uncommon kindness, inspiring other mentors to do the same with their tributes. He smuggles her food and, overcoming their initial mutual mistrust, begins to form a close bond with her.
As part of a class assignment, Coriolanus proposes the addition of betting and sponsored "gifts" to the games to create more interest, ideas which are implemented by sadistic head gamemaker Dr. Volumnia Gaul. As punishment for her lack of contribution to this assignment, Dr. Gaul tests highly venomous genetically modified snakes, nicknamed "snake mutts," on Coriolanus's classmate Clemensia, nearly killing her. Violence between tributes and mentors leaves several dead, and Coriolanus starts considering Lucy Gray a possible victor. He urges her to use her musical abilities in the televised tribute interview to garner Capitol viewers' favor and gifts during the Games. During a tour of the arena used for the Games, rebel bombs explode, killing several more tributes and mentors. Lucy Gray saves Coriolanus from a fallen beam while Marcus, the District 2 male tribute, escapes amid the chaos, only to be later captured, tortured, and left to die in the arena.
The night before the Games, Coriolanus gives Lucy Gray his mother's perfume compact with veiled instructions to fill it with rat poison to use in the arena, and they share their first kiss. At the start of the Games, most tributes hide in the wreckage of the bombed-out arena. Sejanus sneaks into the arena to mourn Marcus, causing Dr. Gaul to send Coriolanus in to retrieve him. Coriolanus succeeds; however, in the process, he kills the District 8 tribute Bobbin in self-defense. The Snow family's finances are further stretched when a new Capitol tax threatens their family home, increasing Coriolanus's drive to win the Games and receive the Plinth Prize. After Coriolanus cheats further by using a handkerchief with Lucy Gray's scent to save her from Dr. Gaul's snake mutts, Lucy Gray wins the Games.
Embarrassed by their failure to sufficiently control the administration of the Games, the Capitol erases all video evidence of what occurred. After the handkerchief that Coriolanus used to save Lucy Gray is discovered, Dean Highbottom realizes that Coriolanus cheated and confronts him. Threatened with his family's public disgrace, Coriolanus reluctantly signs a 20-year contract to become a Peacekeeper, but requests to be assigned to District 12, hoping to see Lucy Gray again.
In District 12, Coriolanus and Lucy Gray resume their romance. He begins to suspect that Sejanus, who has also been forced into the Peacekeepers as punishment for his actions in the arena, is working with rebels. He uses a jabberjay to secretly record part of a conversation between himself and Sejanus, who admits to his plans, and sends it to Dr. Gaul. Coriolanus and Lucy Gray discover Sejanus meeting with rebels and find Lipp eavesdropping with Lucy Gray's ex-boyfriend, Billy Taupe Clade. Coriolanus and the rebels kill the pair, with Coriolanus using a rifle to shoot a fleeing Mayfair to prevent her from revealing his activity to authorities. Coriolanus escapes but leaves the murder weapon behind, which is covered with his fingerprints and DNA. Later, due to Coriolanus's recording, Sejanus is publicly hanged, although Coriolanus's betrayal isn't revealed.
Due to his stellar performance on a qualification exam, Coriolanus is nominated for a prestigious officer position, which could provide a path back to power and prestige in the Capitol. However, he fears that the as-yet unfound rifle could implicate him in Lipp and Clade's murders. Feeling he has no other choice, Coriolanus agrees to run away with Lucy Gray. However, while escaping District 12, he accidentally reveals to Lucy Gray that he was responsible for Sejanus's death. Coriolanus finds the rifle hidden in a rebel cabin in the woods, and both he and Lucy Gray simultaneously realize that, after disposing of the weapon, she will be the only remaining link to his crimes. Lucy Gray pretends to step outside to gather food but flees, as Coriolanus, desperate to save his future, turns on her. While searching for her in the woods, Coriolanus is bitten by a snake, which he believes was a booby trap set by Lucy Gray. An enraged and delirious Coriolanus chases after and shoots at her with the rifle. Coriolanus hears her sing the last stanza of "The Hanging Tree," and mockingjays echo the melody as Coriolanus fires wildly into the trees, unsure if he hit her. Coriolanus disposes of the murder weapon and returns to District 12, leaving Lucy Gray's ultimate fate unclear.
Coriolanus reports for officer training but is taken to the Capitol, where he meets Dr. Gaul. She arranges a pardon for him and gives him a place in the Capitol university, revealing that she took advantage of Coriolanus's tenure as a Peacekeeper to persuade him into accepting her cynical and cruel views on humanity and governance. Sejanus's parents make him the heir to their family fortune, unaware that he betrayed their son. Coriolanus visits Dean Highbottom, who reveals that his hatred for the Snow family comes from his crushing guilt regarding the Hunger Games' creation. The Games were a drunken idea of his that Coriolanus's father, Crassus, took seriously and proposed to Dr. Gaul against Highbottom's wishes. Highbottom dies after drinking a vial of morphling, unaware that Coriolanus had poisoned it. Becoming a Gamemaker, Coriolanus introduces new reforms such as the Victor's Village and rewards winning districts each year with money and food. This ultimately increases investment and interest in the Games for both the districts and the Capitol, thus beginning his rise to power.
Characters
Coriolanus "Coryo" Snow – The protagonist of the novel. His family faced financial difficulties following the war, and he makes great efforts to hide this and maintain his social status. He is arrogant, cunning and ruthless, taking whatever actions are necessary to improve his situation. Lucy Gray Baird – The female tribute from District 12 for the tenth Hunger Games. Lucy Gray is a member of the Covey, a nomadic musical group forced to settle in District 12 after the war. A smart and calculating free spirit, she develops a romantic connection with Coriolanus. Tigris Snow – Coriolanus's cousin. She is the breadwinner of the family, leaving school and working for a fashion designer in order to support herself and her family. It is also implied she is forced to sell her body in order to keep food on the table. Sejanus Plinth – Coriolanus's classmate and fellow mentor in the Games. From District 2, Sejanus now lives in the Capitol because of his father's connections and business during the war. He is rebellious and idealistic, and strongly opposes the Capitol's treatment of the Districts and the existence of the Games. Dr. Volumnia Gaul – Head Gamemaker and the overseer of every Hunger Games since their inception. She has a twisted view of human nature and believes in an authoritarian government and the need for punishment and control over the Districts. Casca Highbottom – Dean of the academy. He is credited as the intellectual author of the Games and holds great disdain towards Coriolanus and the whole Snow family. He is addicted to morphling, a drug similar to morphine. Due to this, Coriolanus and his classmates call him, mockingly, “High-as-a-Kite Bottom”. Grandma'am – Coriolanus's and Tigris' paternal grandmother. Her granddaughter gave her the nickname "Grandma'am" since she believed she deserved something that sounded imperial. During the war, she took care of her grandchildren, and ensured their survival. Mayfair Lipp – She is the daughter of District 12's mayor. Jealous of Lucy Gray and her relationship with Billy Taupe, she arranges for Lucy Gray to be reaped. Mayfair eventually becomes a spy for the Capitol in its efforts to suppress future rebellions and is murdered by Coriolanus and the rebels. Billy Taupe – Lucy Gray's ex-boyfriend and Mayfair's current boyfriend. He and Mayfair are shot after being caught spying on District 12's rebels. Strabo Plinth – Sejanus's father. He is the head of a munitions empire in District 2 that sided with the Capitol during the war, thus allowing him to buy his family's way into a new life in the Capitol. At the end of the novel, he sponsors Coriolanus and names him his heir. Jessup Diggs - The male tribute from District 12 for the tenth Hunger Games. He is protective and altruistic, making an alliance with Lucy Gray. He contracts rabies from a Capitol raccoon and is indirectly killed by Coriolanus and Lysistrata in order to protect Lucy Gray.
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