Ambition will fuel him.
Competition will drive him.
But power has its price.
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute… and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
Read: January 18, 2026 – March 16, 2026
“I think there’s a natural goodness built into human beings. You know when you’ve stepped across the line into evil, and it’s your life’s challenge to try and stay on the right side of that line.”
What a book! I watched this movie when it came out and then I saw reviews that Snow’s spiral in the cabin is absolutely worth the read so I decided to grab the book and wow. All I can say is that my expectations were surpassed.
I enjoyed this look into the inner workings of who we’ve come to know as Coriolanus Snow, President of Panem. It’s one thing to have an unlikeable character but it’s another thing to read about how they became so. As always, I enjoy Suzanne’s style of writing and I found the book intriguing enough to continue. However, to me, it dragged a bit especially at the tail end of Part 2 and at the beginning of Part 3. From mid-Part 3 to the end though I literally couldn’t put the book down.
A great addition to the Hunger Games franchise and an interesting tale on how humans act when confronted with difficult situations and seemingly “no choice”, and what follows after that.
Snow lands on top (but not for long).
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