For some reason the last 20 min will not play so I have no clue what the ending is.

Excellent prequel! Suzanne Collins is a talented author with this novel that can be listened before or after the original Hunger Games trilogy. It is a great stand alone story if you have not read or listened to the trilogy, and if you have, she seamlessly works in details that help explain the events leading up to trilogy... The narrator is good for about 90% of the audiobook with the dialogue, but there are many songs that he does not even attempt to sing and that was the only disappointing part of audiobook. They should have had a second female narrator, or at the very least, a second narrator to simply sing the songs.

I really enjoyed getting to learn of young Snow. I hope they make a movie!!

book was good, the narrator's reading was clear but bland and the narrator's female voices and singing was brutal tho, maybe recommend him actually singing it or getting a female to narrate those parts, or female narrator altogether.

Huge fan of all the Hunger games books and movies. A prequel to the hunger games, it’s a real love hate with the main character, I couldn’t stop listening. This was a great book and the narration was very good. Excited to see the movie.

Great book, fun and interesting prequel to the first 3 Hunger Games. Struggled with the narrator throughout. Thought I'd get used to his voice but found his female voices and particularly his 'older' female voice incredibly irritating. I feel like it's a hard sell when there's so so many songs and lyrics in the book which he has to talk, but either way, quite annoying.

great book and back history of Snow and how it all started!!!

very enjoyable book

I felt like this book was a little hard to get in to. it was only a little over half the book where I felt like I wanted to listen to it more. I personally didn't love the way the narrator made Lucy grey sound. but overall an amazing story and well written.

Honestly, this had me hooked. I was listening in the car, walking to work, on lunch, in bed. This was a BRILLIANT book, the author is able to create the whole story in your head effortlessly. I was hooked. Narrator sensation also, brilliantly read and a lovely voice. Even voiced different characters perfectly.

It was a really good prequel to the others. Adds a lot of details to the vague history.

Recommend to any fan of the Hunger Games series or anyone tbh. I read the original trilogy back when I was little and they had just come out, and this was a great throwback to how it felt reading those. Snow always lands on top.

loved it! super good book.

it is a very good book

The book is good. Not as great as the original, but a good read. I wanted to be prepared for the upcoming movie.

Boring prequel compared to the hunger games trilogy. Also I wish there was a more detailed epilogue.

This was pretty good book! I loved the original Hunger Games books, so I was excited to read this one. I didn't really like the ending though, it kind of felt like the author was running out of pages and needed to end it, so they just came up with something simple. The beginning was a little slow, but overall good. The narrator was a little dry and I didn't really like the voice he did for the female characters. But he still did pretty good.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS

The young Snow and his dichotomous nature is captured perfectly. Very enjoyable read

This was an amazing addition to the Hunger Games series! Definitely needed it!

The book was good overall and set some nice groundwork for the rest the other books. I had an issue with the last chapter and how quickly Snow’s feeling changed with what I felt like was minimal explanation. The narrator’s female voices and singing was hard to get through.

While author is a great storyteller I felt that the changes in main character at the end were too quick considering all the detail and depth of the beginning 85%.

I love the book. I wish they had picked a narrator that was able to do a better range of female voices. It also would have been awesome if they could somewhat sing instead of just speak the ballads in the book.

Loved the story, hated the singing parts; the narrator was the issue there great at reading though

Great book. Really shows the other side of snow and “evil” leaders in general. There is always another side to the story.

Wow, it's great to see how it starts.

The book was good, and the narrator did a good job for the most part, but I wish they'd had a female narrator for the female voices. His airy attempt was fitting for the "Capital" characters, but just didn't feel right for Lucy Grey.

This was a very interesting character study on an 18 year old version of the dictator we have all grown to despise. But that is not all this book is, it also answers so many questions that existed as to the creation and evolution of the Hunger Games. Being only the 10th Hunger Games, and thus the war still fresh in all of out characters' minds, also lends itself fresh perspectives for us as an audience to explore in both the capital and elsewhere. Snow was an especially interesting character to explore, at times I almost forgot that I despised him. Very solid prequel story, I give it 4 stars as it feels like a one-off, but it serves as a solid prequel story for fans of the original series!

I never even heard of this book but i loved it. It was nice to have some new info on the Hunger Games universe and how it began

fantastic story really enjoyed it

so good!! makes me want to continue with The Hunger Games again

This is a great prequel to the Hunger Games. Such great characters and descy

They really needed to get a narrator that could sing the songs. This dude just speaks the lyrics in the most jarring way possible with no attempt at melody. Pretty major issue considering how many songs are in here

Was swiftly involved in the characters. Different twist and growth of a psychopath in my opinion. Keeps moving with plots that I never knew where the story would end

I love the hunger games series and loved this book as well. Gives great insight and back story to snow.

Well done. Very interesting to consider how The Hunger Games that we know from the movies were in the early days. A very enjoyable read.

Excellent book! Can’t wait to see it become a film.

Wonderful! I don’t typically enjoy prequels but this book really captivated me.

Absolutely loved it

Was interesting; didant expect it

The book was so amazing and I am so glad they are making a movie!

for some reason, the recording ended before the end of the book

fantastic book, fits in nicely with the series

good book can Wait to see the movies

Disappointing prequel with none of the urgency of the trilogy. I listened to the entire book, but only because I thought it was going to get better. Did not like the narrator at all. Carolyn McCormick read the three original books much better, in my opinion. I would not recommend this listen.

awesome narrator. I enjoy it very much.

WOW! just wow. this book took me through so many emotions, confusion, happiness, pain, anger and just astonishment. truly worth the listen

Good book - the ending felt a bit rushed to me, but really nice overall

Great book

Good prequel!

the evolution of Snow was a great story. I'd love a sequel

Great prequel and audiobook read!

Wonderfully written, I'm not sure what I was expecting at the end when I first started listening but it was not that!

Book was ok, slow at times, but the narrator, super bad! You could tell where he stopped/started recording based on his fresh deep voice starting at all sorts of random times. His impression of the female voices was frustrating.

It is one of the best books

I was hooked the whole way through. I loved how they went so deep into how Snow thinks and why he is the way he is.

The narrator did every song in the same cadence and it was a hard listen. The book is great though.

Interesting pre-story with a few "Easter eggs". Narration is great

I really enjoyed the storyline and am rereading again after watching the film. The narrator is pretty good but the singing bits leave a fair amount to be desired. I probably won't have enjoyed it more if I hadn't seen a spoiler first.

great story! made me want to revisit the Hunger Games series. Narrator could have been a little more enthusiastic with the songs.

Very interesting to know Snow’s backstory

Possibly better than the original entry to the series, just as heartbreaking. I wish Tatiana had read this one as well.

Very good Book 10 out of ten five stars

I am a big fan of The Hunger Games trilogy, so I was excited to dive back into that world with this book. I enjoyed it, but it is definitely darker than the other books/storylines. Push through the drawn out scenes– you’ll want to find out what happens in the end. It is a good read if you are interested in more background on President Snow and the districts before Katniss Everdeen.

really interesting, i did not expect the ending