The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Set in the early days of the Hunger Games, this prequel follows eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow as he tries to secure his future through a mentor assignment tied to the tenth Games. He comes from a fallen Capitol family, is under pressure to restore its standing, and is paired with a District 12 tribute, forcing him into a relationship built on strategy, advantage, and survival.

As the Games approach and unfold, Snow moves through Capitol school politics, mentorship duties, and the worsening realities of a society still shaped by war. The story shows the Games in an earlier, less polished form and traces how the competition, the Capitol, and Snow’s own ambitions shape one another.

Snow’s connection with his tribute becomes central, alongside his shifting loyalties to family, status, and the system that rewards cruelty. As the story progresses, the book tracks his increasing compromise and the gradual hardening of his worldview, ending by setting up the future path readers already know he will take.