HUNGER GAMES

Everyone has heard of the famous “Hunger Games” saga, probably even watched the great movies, completely drawn into the story written by the great Suzane Collins. But have you ever wondered if there is something else we can know about this great saga? Have you thought about going back in time perhaps? This is exactly what this book is about. Collins takes us back in time, 65 years in the past before the main storyline to delight us with her words once again.

This book is focused on the villain of the story, the President of Panem, Coriolanus Snow. He has always been the bad guy of the story, but here, we will get to know more about his past, his struggles, and how he went from being a refugee from war, with almost nothing left to becoming the president of the nation.

It follows the story of young Coriolanus, a boy who was born into a wealthy family but has close to nothing left because of the war. His grandmother, cousin and himself live in their humble apartment. It is always a struggle for him to keep a facade on, pretending like his family was not having economic struggles.

Coriolanus, who studies at the Academy, is hated by its headmister, Dean Highbottom, creator of the Hunger Games. Due to this, he is assigned the female tribute from district 12, Lucy Gray Baird, which turned him into an embarrassment amongst his fellow classmates. She is a musical, poor and unusual young girl. Coriolanus is forced to prepare her for her time during the arena. He knew Lucy Gray had no chances of winning, leading to him using some other tactics to keep her in advantage. Snow is a very determined young man, and he constantly shows how he will get her out of the Games alive, no matter what, always knowing he would not dare to fail.

Together, they have to escape many dangers and always fight to stay alive as long as they can. They face challenges, individually and as partners. We see a tragic love story between Coriolanus and Lucy Gray, a forbidden love that might not be meant to be in the end.

This novel is an ideal prequel for the “Hunger Games” saga, showing other sides of the story we were not aware of before. Even though Snow is the main character, he is still portrayed as manipulative and clever, not leaving his original personality from the other novels. It’s very interesting to see how his pride and beliefs got him to where he is. The book is incredibly well written, always keeping you on the edge of your seat to know what will happen next.