[Image]The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games #0) by Suzanne Collins 
Publication date: May 19, 2020
Pages: 439 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ☆☆☆☆
Strengths: Plot
Weaknesses: Probably missed some inside jokes
I was looking for something different to read, and this one was available for my kindle through the library - yay! I had waited for it back when it first published, but then didn't have time to read it. I'm so glad I finally did read it.A lot of reviews commented on the references made to the other books. I'm sure there were, but it's been a long time since I read the other books, and that was okay. I don't think many of the characters carried across all the books either, but I could totally be wrong. Snow was obviously the boy who later is a major player in the rest of the series, but I never really noticed his friends before, so I'm not sure who else may have been in this prequel and the later books.I loved reading about Snow struggling for his family's successful name, but also still wanting to morally do the 'right' thing. The Game maker in this book sounded like a positively beastly woman, but I loved how she embraced it and had the Academy students write some really grisly papers examining human nature. Overall, I don't think I have strong memories of the rest of the series, and this book was still quite enjoyable. If I had more time, I'd like to read them in order to follow more of the details. I'd give this book 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it to those who enjoyed the rest of the series, or are into speculative fiction or dystopian stories.