The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

How are you liking the book so far? Have you read the original The Hunger Games trilogy before? If so, are you enjoying learning more about Coriolanus Snow? I read the original trilogy, but it had been a really long time since I read them. So, I had to do a little bit of research to reacquaint with some of the characters. It's so interesting to see the Hunger Games and the reaping ceremony in this book. They are both so simple and dingy compared to both as they are described in the original trilogy. It's so crazy to see how far they evolved over the years. 

 What are your first impressions of our main characters, Lucy Gray and Coriolanus? We knew that Lucy Gray was going to be something special from the moment she was chosen in the reaping ceremony. Check out the video clip below to see the snake down the back scene played in the movie. 

On the surface, Lucy seems like she wouldn't be able to win the Hunger Games. She's not very big, and I don't think she has any background in fighting or hunting. But, she is so alluring and interesting. I can't imagine that people won't continue to want to see her succeed. If she were a contestant in the modern Hunger Games, she would have been so easy to feature. Coriolanus is really having to work hard to make sure people see her and want to know more about her. What do you think of Coriolanus? It's surprising that he is so powerless and has so many doubts. I just imagined that he would be as powerful as he was in the original trilogy. It was sad how his family lost everything and lived with so little. It was surprising to me that there were people in The Capitol that lived with so little. I can't imagine how hard it was for him to keep up appearances. 

I was really surprised at the conditions the tributes lived in after they made it to The Capitol. It's wild that they were put in cages like zoo animals. At first I thought it was so unnecessary that the tributes were locked up, but then, that girl from District 10 grabbed her mentor, Arachne, and slit her throat. I guess it was good that there were some precautions in place. It was so unbelievable how human life was treated so casually throughout this section. The Peacekeepers didn't hesitate at all to kill the girl from District 10. And, then, at Arachne's funeral, they paraded the girl through the streets. Near the end of the section, when they visit the arena, there is an explosion, and one of the tributes escapes. What do you think will happen to him if they find him? I can't imagine they will have any mercy on him. I was just so surprised by how many tributes died before the games even started. 

Wasn't it so scary when Clemensia was attacked by those vipers? That was so scary! Dr. Gaul is such a crazy teacher. I can't believe she would pull that kind of stunt and endanger one of her students in that way. Do you think Clemensia is going to be ok? It seems like she is really injured!

This section ends with Lucy Gray urging Coriolanus to believe that she can win the games. They seem to be growing closer and closer. What do you think will happen to them in the next section? Do you think Lucy can actually win? Do you think the games will actually happen, or will all of the tributes die before it actually begins? 

Thanks for following along this week! I can't wait to hear what you thought of this section. Make sure to leave a comment to let me know what you think will happen in the next few chapters. Enjoy reading the next 10 chapters before checking next week's blog post!