The Plot is in the Poem

Let’s talk about Lucy.

I have a lot to say about this book, so there will be more than one post. While everyone else is discussing our boy Coriolanus Snow in their reviews, I want to write about Suzanne Collins’s character, Lucy Gray Baird.

I got the book, the Kindle version, and audible.

The old cliché “the cat’s in the bag” applies to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

I knew The Hunger Games’ prequel would cover new ground to answer some of our questions, including: Who was the other tribute who won from District 12 that Katniss never mentioned in the first Hunger Games?

Readers can find a hint about Lucy in the original book when Katniss says, “In our world, I rank music somewhere between hair ribbons and rainbows in terms of usefulness.”

Thanks to my love of the poem Lucy Gray by William Wordsworth, I knew three things right away:

1. Readers will never truly know Lucy Gray.

2. The entire plot is in Wordsworth’s poem.

3. The name does not ring out like Katniss.

If you are familiar with classic British literature, Collins pulls from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy for The Hunger Games.

Only with Lucy Gray, you have a poem that lays out the plot and not another novel.

The book tells the story of Coriolanus Snow at 18 when his family is struggling in the Capitol during the Dark Days, and he and other students are mentors to the tributes in the 10th Annual Hunger Games. He gets the girl from District 12.

Lucy Gray Baird was not the name I had hoped for our missing District 12 Victor. But again the poem tells you the plot and that you will never know her.

“No mate, no comrade Lucy knew …”

Lucy had me from the moment she dropped a snake down the mean mayor’s daughter’s dress when her name was purposefully called in the reaping.

The book is told in past tense and third person limited. This works for the book because it puts distance between you and the villain, Snow. It also keeps a mystery around Lucy.

I have mixed feelings about the entire book. I rate it a 3 out of 5 stars because the first two parts of the book held my attention. The third part had me question: “Where are we going with this, Collins?”

I also think a lot of opportunities were dropped with Lucy Gray. From the moment her name was introduced, I knew there wasn’t any chance for a third person limited story that went back and forth between Lucy and Snow. If you don’t know what I mean, read the poem.

I really, really, really wanted to read some story told from her point of view. I know Collins was going for the Lucy Gray and The Lady, or the Tiger? effect.

But, Collins is a wizard amongst authors. There is a reason I have read the Hunger Games series more than three times in my reading life. She is an all-star, four ring Superbowl quarterback of an author while others still pick at the benches in the little leagues. She has the talent to show Lucy’s point of view and keep some mystery to her.

Some of the best crafted characters betray their readers, or show readers the part of them they want to see. There are also some missing pieces like how she explains her parents’ death. That could’ve been described a little better.

Lucy possesses such compelling characteristics that it makes me want an Off Panem (Off Broadway) novel of what happens to her.

The book has a lot of moments when it shines, and those where the Snow really does not land on top.