In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel to The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, readers are taken back to Panem decades before Katnisss story. This book follows a young Coriolanus Snow, the future President, who is given the task of mentoring a tribute in the 10th Hunger Games. Ambitious and calculating, Coriolanus is determined to restore his familys status through his mentee, Lucy Gray Baird, the resourceful girl from District 12. As the games progress, their fates intertwine, and Coriolanus begins to confront his own morals and the grim nature of power. This captivating novel explores themes of ambition, loyalty, and the origins of tyranny.