The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (PDF) (Print)

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.

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.