Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is centered around an unlikely protagonist: President Snow. In the original Hunger Games trilogy, President Snow is the leader of the an oppressive Dystopian region that draws children's name from a lottery and forces them to compete in a tournament in which only one victorious contender makes it out alive. He is particularly ruthless in designing these tournaments to make them as perilous as possible guaranteeing the children's deaths. Author Suzanne Collins has taken on a remarkable challenge in making President Snow a hero in this prequel.
The first Hunger Games novel was published in 2008. The Hunger Games followed impoverished Katniss Everdeen bravely stepping up to take her sister's spot in the brutal survival competition called the Hunger Games. After the novel's immediate success, Collins released two more Hunger Games novels (Catching Fire just one year later in 2009 and Mockingjay the year after) following Katniss as she enters the Hunger Games a second time and attempts to overthrow the oppressive Capitol rule. Due to the trilogy's overwhelmingly positive response, The Hunger Games movie came out in 2012 starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. The Catching Fire movie came out soon after in 2013, then Mockingjoy Parts 1 and 2 in the following consecutive years. Katniss served as a strong role model for young women growing up during the late 2000s and early 2010s and was one of the first trilogies with a female protagonist to attain such success.
After a 10 year hiatus, Collins is finally releasing another book in the Hunger Games series and dedicated fans of the Hunger Games novels have another good read to look forward. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will come out in May 2020. EW has obtained an never before seen excerpt from the upcoming prequel. 64 years prior to the Hunger Games trilogy, Coriolanus Snow is an ambitious high school senior who is determined to raise the money to attend university. He is one of the 24 first ever Hunger Games mentors to be selected. Those selected are a prestigious group of seniors who are tasked with grooming and preparing contestants for interviews prior to the games as a solution for the lack of viewership and to help the games "evolve into a more meaningful experience." The excerpt ends with Snow disappointingly learning he's been given a participant from the most impoverished region: District 12.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes excerpt reveals some key components of the book. There was a Hunger Games that existed without all of the glitz, glam and celebrity status. Prior to the addition of mentors, the Hunger Games likely felt more like a gladiator battle opposed to the obscene reality TV competition that it is in the trilogy. Snow was also once a seemingly normal, hardworking and even friendly teenage boy. The prequel may expose how becoming a mentor immersed in the Hunger Games desensitized him and fed his need to ruthlessly climb to the top. Additionally, he will be mentoring a young girl from District 12. Considering that Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss' mentor, was the only known victor prior to Katniss aside from one unnamed victor, mentoring the Hunger Games may not be a positive experience for Snow.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has the potential to be a great insight into the descent of Coriolanus Snow. Many novels from the perspective of well known villains like Wicked on the Wicked Witch of the West and Alias Hook on Captain Hook, have been wildly successful. Readers love an underdog story and usually villains are surprisingly the ultimate underdogs. However, validating President Snow is a tremendous task. Fans can find out of Collins lives up to the challenge when The Hunger Games prequel book is released this May.
Source: EW