Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Changeling by Victor LaValle

20 reviews

nadiajohnsonbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

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

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

jessrad505's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

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

queersubtext's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

megj23's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Kidnapping and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Murder and Abandonment

cassandrareadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

My words could never describe the enchanting narrative that Victor LaValle has created with The Changeling. 

This story is so many things: the lengths a mother and father would go to protect their child, the secrets we keep to protect the ones we love (and ourselves), generational curses/trauma, and a critique of internet social norms/voyeurism. 

LaValle weaves Norse mythology into modern day NYC. So much so, that I’d like to drive up to Forest Hills to see what the trees are hiding. I’d like to take a boat out to the ocean just to see if I can stand where Apollo stood. 

There is a nod to Shirley Jackson’s “We Have Always Lived in The Castle,” so small that you might not even catch it. 

I’m looking forward to watching the TV show and to reading more books written by LaValle.

P.S. This is my favorite book now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Blood, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Abandonment

jialianyang's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

A beautiful tale that quickly snowballs into a haunting, mysterious, sad, and horrifying thriller. Survivors birthing and parenting survivors, a book man seeks vengeance, a mother fights to find her real child, all of these are just snapshots of the twists and turn in this gripping book. It's won many awards for good reason.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: Police brutality