The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins is a prequel to the award-winning series The Hunger Games. The book follows a young Coriolanus Snow who later grows to become President of Panem. At the beginning of the story, the audience discovers that the young Snow’s living situation is much less glamorous than expected. Like the majority of Panem, Snow lives in poverty, which is why he looks forward to spending time at the illustrious Academy, an embodiment of everything that he values. While at the Academy, Snow is chosen to be a mentor to one of the tributes in the 10th Hunger Games. He becomes very excited because if his tribute wins the Hunger Games, then he receives a spot at the prestigious University. He is disappointed to find out that he is assigned Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute from District 12. His doubt turns to hope when Lucy gains a lot of popularity after her performance at the reaping. Once he gets to know Lucy more, Snow finds that he is falling in love with his tribute. As the story progresses, Snow creates a strategy to help Lucy win the Hunger Games while trying to stay one step ahead of the unpredictable Dr. Gaul. When it is time for the Games, Snow gives Lucy items that help her win the Games. It seems that everything will end well for Snow until he is confronted for cheating and is forced to leave the Capital. He trains to become a Peacekeeper in District 12 and discovers a conspiracy to evacuate District 12. This conspiracy fails after Snow warns the Capital of the impending evacuation. At the end of the book, we really see Snow show glimpses of the kind of person he becomes in The Hunger Games. In order to protect his name, Snow is willing to kill someone he has grown close to: Lucy. Before Snow can catch her, Lucy escapes into the woods outside District 12 and is not seen by Snow ever again. He then returns to the Capital and is given a spot at the University for revealing the conspiracy. In my opinion, this book is full of complex plot twists which really add to the plot. Suzanne Collins does a good job of developing the character of Coriolanus Snow and connecting to the aspects of his character we see in The Hunger Games series. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed reading The Hunger Games or anyone who enjoys reading dystopian fiction. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5.