Should You Read the Book Before Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes November Premiere?

Although The Hunger Games books were extremely popular when they first came out, it was no secret that Suzanne Collins's target audience was teenagers, and some adults could not read the books with a straight face, seeing how they were filled with cheesy moments and questionable character development. The Hunger Games movies, though, seemingly had a much broader appeal. Now that the franchise is returning with a prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, people can't help but wonder if the book the new movie is based on is worth reading.

Collins published the final book in the original trilogy in 2010 and spent nearly a decade pursuing other projects. Then, in 2020, she published a prequel that follows Coriolanus Snow as a young man. After such a long break, it was obvious that Collins would have perfected her writing, and the book does not disappoint.

Much Better Writing

Even if you don't really want to see the upcoming movie, you should definitely consider reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes because Collins's new foray into the world of Panem has quite a few surprises up its sleeve.

Gone are the silly teenage antics and bad writing: the new novel genuinely excels at telling the complicated story of a strange romance between an aristocrat and a poor girl, and the condemnation of all kinds of tyranny really helps the book stay relevant and compelling.

Must Read

Even though many people refuse to read the source material before seeing a movie, this is an exception: you simply must read the book. The new chapter in the story of Panem is massive, and it's very unlikely that the movie will manage to spotlight every character, as the screen time is too limited.

In the book, however, all the storylines are perfectly set up and executed, so people who read the book will have no problem understanding the deeper meanings behind what’s going on in the movie.