The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

From Goodreads, 

"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 Capital, 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."

Goodreads - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

I jumped into this book right after finishing the original trilogy.  I had heard multiple reports that this book was absolutely fantastic, so I was very excited to read it.  Now that I have finished it, I can say that I disagree with those reports and have VERY mixed feelings about this book. 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes goes back to the 10th Hunger Games.  Coriolanus Snow is a mentor to a tribute in the games.  Being from a wealthy family he expects to get a good district to mentor, but instead, he is assigned the girl from District 12.  Coriolanus is disappointed, but soon realizes that his tribute Luzy Gray is a pistol and he is determined to play the Capital's game to ensure that she is a victor and that he has a future ahead of him. 

I came into this book right off the cuff of reading the original trilogy.  I didn't know what to expect and knew very little about the book except that it was about a teenage President Snow.  Multiple people I know bragged on the book and went on about how amazing it was.  I can honestly say this book bored me to death.  The plot in this book was absolutely atrocious.  When things should have been heightened or exciting I felt no emotion to what was happening.  There were very brief moments while the games were happening that I got into the book, but things were always shown from Coriolanus's perspective and he was never excited about anything.  The story lacked any kind of excitement and pizazz and as the book progressed I got more and more tired of reading it.  To the point that I would actually fall asleep while reading it.  I don't know what amazing things that people saw in this book, but it just wasn't there for me. 

I will say that I liked the small connections back to the trilogy.  One of my favorites was the song about the hanging tree.  It was really interesting to know the events behind the song and to actually see who wrote it and why.  It was also interesting to see how the games were then and how they have progressed to the grand spectacle they are in the trilogy. 

I really disliked this book and honestly wish that Suzanne Collins would have left the series alone.  This book was uncalled for and was terribly boring.  I give it 2 stars.  If you've read the trilogy you might enjoy this, but it honestly depends on how much of a fan you are of the trilogy.