This month, I read the prequel to the dystopian series The Hunger Games titled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. I have not yet finished this novel; I’m on page 212. This novel is about eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow and his experiences as a mentor for the tenth annual Hunger Games. Coriolanus was hoping to get a tribute from one of the career districts (one, two, and four); when it came time for the tribute assignments, he was given the embarrassing assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, (Lucy Gray) the worst of the worst. Disappointed, Coriolanus tries to make the best out of his unlikely situation.
My favorite character (so far) is Lucy Gray. She’s my favorite because she is grateful. On page 121, when Coriolanus gives Lucy Gray some crackers, she “…immediately ripped open a packet and stuffed one of the two crackers into her mouth, chewing and swallowing the dry thing with difficulty. She pressed a hand against her stomach, sighed, and ate the second more slowly. The food seemed to focus her, and her voice sounded calmer. ‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘That’s better.’” Based on this information, one can infer that even though Lucy Gray may not have thought they were enough, she didn’t show it because she was so grateful.
My favorite line can be found on page 99, at the end of chapter six, “In one movement, the tribute yanked Arachne forward and slit her throat.” Suzanne may have put this shocking and unexpected line at the end of the chapter to create suspense and make the reader read on to see what will happen later.
