The Hunger Games Prequel Stars a Young President Snow

The Hunger Games was originally a trilogy of books about the struggles of Katniss Everdeen. The Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, has a different protagonist and is set sixty-four years before the first Hunger Games book.

So who is this new protagonist? A young Coriolanus Snow.

There have been complaints online about other backstories being more important to tell. Such as Haymitch Abernathy winning the Hunger Games. Or Finnick Odair tormented with being used as a prostitute after winning the Hunger Games. Or Johanna Mason deciding to not allow the Capitol to abuse her and allowing those she loved to die.

But does the fact that there are other rich backstories to tell mean Snow's backstory is worthless? No. We can get a glimpse of the workings of the Capitol and how the Hunger Games have evolved over the years.

I honestly don't think people would have been happy if we were given a different Hunger Games prequel. Since the Hunger Games series is rich with history and Collins is just one person, there would always be stories that couldn't be written.

I've heard some people complaining that having Coriolanus Snow being the protagonist will send a bad social justice message. He is a villain and some worry that writing about him in a good light will be a problem.

However, just because someone is the focus of a story and the protagonist doesn't mean they'll be a hero. It just means readers will have to read between the lines to get the right message. In the Young Adult series Animorphs, the book Visser tells the backstory of Edriss 562. Because readers are shown her point of view it's easy to believe she's a good person deep down. But that is far from the truth.

If The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes shows the descent into villainy of Snow, which could be the case, it'll make him a more well rounded villain.

Whatever the case may be, having Coriolanus Snow as the focal point doesn't immediately mean the book will be giving a bad message.