quotes from the ballad of songbirds and snakes part 1

The endless dance with hunger had defined [Coriolanus's] life. Not the very early years, before the war, but every day since had been a battle, a negotiation, a game. How was it best to stave off hunger? Eat all the food at one meal? Spread it through the day in dribs and drabs? Wolf it down or chew every morsel to liquid? It was all just a mind game to distract himself from the fact that it was never enough. No one would ever let him have enough. - pg 29

People were easy to manipulate when it came to their children. So pleased to see them pleased. Instinctively, Lucy Gray seemed to know this, ignoring the adults as she moved along. - pg 46

Dr. Volumnia Gaul, the Head Gamemaker and mastermind behind the Capitol's experimental weapons division, had unnerved Coriolanus since childhood. - pg 51

[Sejanus's] distress made Coriolanus uncomfortable, especially when he valued his own chance to participate so highly. - pg 67

"To feed her is one thing," [Grandma'am] said. "To dine with [Lucy Gray] suggests that you consider her your equal. But she isn't. There's always been something barbaric about the districts. Your own father used to say those people only drank water because it didn't rain blood. You ignore that at your own peril, Coriolanus.” … “Lucy Gray is different," he argued. "She took my side in the truck when the others wanted to attack me. And she had my back in the monkey house, too." The Grandma'am held her ground. "Would she have bothered if you weren't her mentor? Of course not. She's a wily little thing who began to manipulate you the minute you met." - pg 67

"Just like your father's," the Grandma'am frequently reminded him. He wished he had his mother's eyes instead, but never said so. Maybe it was best to take after his father. His mother had not really been tough enough for this world. - pg 68 

Professor Crispus Demigloss, history professor at the Academy: If history teaches you anything, it's how to make the unwilling comply.- pg 69

"The real problem is, it's sickening to watch," said Clemensia. "So people avoid it." Sejanus jumped in. "Of course they do! Who wants to watch a group of children kill each other? Only a vicious, twisted person. Human beings may not be perfect, but we're better than that." "How do you know?" said Livia snippishly. "And how does someone from the districts have any idea what we want to watch in the Capitol? You weren't even here during the war." … "Most of us don't want to watch other people suffer." [said Lysistrata]. "We watched worse things during the war. And after," Coriolanus reminded her... "But we had a real stake in that, Coryo!" said Arachne Crane... "We were watching our enemies die!" - pgs 70-71

What young brains lack in experience they sometimes make up for in idealism. - Dr. Gaul, pg 80

The audience rewarded those who would perform with applause and more food. - pg 82

Coriolanus’s initial reaction was to recoil like the others, to grab hold of the monkey house bars for support, but Lucy Gray hissed, “Help her!” He remembered the cameras streaming live to the Capitol audience. He had no idea what to do for Arachne, but he did not want to be seen cringing and clinging. His terror was a private thing, not meant for public display. - pg 85

The wash of blood, the whiz of bullets, the screams in the crowd all caused flashbacks to the worst moments of his childhood. - pg 86

As part of the wealthy old guard of the Capitol, [Arachne] was family. And you didn’t have to like your family. The bond was a given. - pg 87

For about a minute, a painful sobbing made his chest ache, but then it passed. - pg 88

Coriolanus, along with several people around him, automatically crossed off the name of the girl from District 10. But then what? It would make sense to cross off Arachne's name as well, but that felt different. His pen hovered over her name and then left it alone for the moment. It seemed pretty cold to scratch her off the list like that. - pg 92

Obviously, he was dealing with a lunatic who should be handled with extreme care. "Good. The truth, finally. I've no use for liars. What are lies but attempts to conceal some sort of weakness? - Dr. Gaul, pg 96

It was like the Hunger Games. Only they weren't district kids. The Capitol was supposed to protect them... He buried his head in his hands, confused, angry, and most of all afraid. Afraid of Dr. Gaul. Afraid of the Capitol. Afraid of everything. If the people who were supposed to protect you played so fast and loose with your life... then how did you survive? Not by trusting them, that was for sure. And if you couldn't trust them, who could you trust? All bets were off. - pgs 97-98

Humans, particularly dead ones, had become [the rats'] daily fare. During the worst of it, of course, humans had eaten humans as well. There was no point in feeling superior to the rats. - pg 99

Looking sharp, with a belly full of oatmeal and a rib cage dotted with bruises reminding him to inhale, he set off for the Academy. - pg 107