Audience: Ages 12 and up
Review by Kristen Higgason (she/her)
MLIS Student, Kent State University iSchool
M.Ed Student, Kent State University EHHS
The prequel to the highly-acclaimed The Hunger Games trilogy gives readers a better understanding of one of the most powerful characters from the original trilogy – President Snow. Who was he before the trilogy, and what shaped him.
This book is an addicting read about authority and oppression and keeps you thinking after you have finished. I enjoyed learning about the early parts of the Hunger Games, but I found Snow’s struggle with morality, good vs. evil, and his eye-opening experiences of oppression to be the most intriguing. The addition of music in this book created a unique experience that I have not had with a novel before. This book will appeal to fans of the trilogy but is also a great first dystopian novel for those who have not read the trilogy.