Reviews tagging 'Death'

Changeling by Victor LaValle

44 reviews

emily_dunn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Police brutality, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Colonisation

tonyay_west's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

sunflower7skull's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this book was equal parts charming and horrifying, with tragic bits sprinkled in. highly recommended to anyone who loves folklore and a dark adventure. i think i have to look into more victor lavalle books now

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

risou91's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Kidnapping

clarkg's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

As a work of urban fantasy/horror, this book really shines. The worldbuilding is unique, the plot holds a consistent level of suspense, and I found it easy to stay invested in the characters. LaValle makes good use of the classic hero's journey arc to structure his story, which feels like an appropriate complement to the novel's fairytale motif. If you don't mind genre bending/blending, contemporary references, or a few loose ends, "The Changeling" is a gripping and rewarding read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Alcohol

notthatcosta's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

While this book wasn’t the biggest slog to read for me this year, it was a struggle to motivate myself to see it through. Ultimately I wanted to see what Victor Lavalle had in mind, which is something. Unfortunately, he had about 20 things in mind.

Unfortunately I found the plot convoluted, the tone confusing, the characters flat and the dialogue trite. The plot had so many aspects that were jarring in the moment and confounding in retrospect. This was made worse by how the tone of the book was both young adult while also being incredibly graphic and dark. This was made worse by the AWFUL pacing. And then this was made worse by the dialogue being so flat and downright cheesy at times. It was all so…American. I think the feeble attempts to commentate on technology (which amounted to about 10% of the book involving someone fumbling with an iPad or posting something on Facebook) were the most egregious part. 

Overall I liked a couple of passages (Victor’s childhood, the island), but for the most part I was rolling my eyes. I’m not a sci fi fan at the best of times and this book sums up why. It was sloppy and fantastical without really achieving any level of awe or whimsy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

bgmylc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

lakinlindsey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Gaslighting

fancyjess_party's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Blood, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Excrement, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism