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reading_rainbow_with_chris's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
“The Changeling” by Victor LaVelle
A young bookseller and his wife give birth to a baby boy, a start to their happy family. However, when the mother sees a monster instead of her child, her desperate attempts to find her true baby unlock an ancient story that the bookseller has to see to the end. For me personally, it was also an ancient journey that took a little too long for my liking. LaVelle’s concept was very strong and I appreciated many elements of the writing style. However, at times it felt like scenes were dragging and didn’t have the payoff they needed to. Chapters seemed to end on odd phrasing. I also felt like there were too many varied themes going on; it didn’t feel cohesive and I struggled to see how some of the parts fit together in ways which were organic. Ultimately it was still a fine listen and I was motivated enough to hear how the story ended, but for me “The Changeling” suffered from a few small, consistent flaws that added up to an experience that didn’t resonate with me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Pregnancy, Grief, Mental illness, Blood, Abandonment, and Violence
mandkips's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Racism
rosie_reader's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The first half of this book held such promise. Then, the metaphors became so heavy-handed that they stopped being metaphors and just got spelled out, and it seemed like the author couldn't quite decide on a point to make. Quite a few unanswered questions. Nice prose, disappointing story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Child death, Child abuse, Violence, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
griffinthief's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit
disasterwife's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Gaslighting, and Murder
malloryfitz's review against another edition
dark
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Violence, Pregnancy, Grief, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Abandonment, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Racism, Mental illness, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Excrement, Fatphobia, Police brutality, and Vomit
bardic_llama's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Man was this book was hella slow but if definitely the best imagery for vomit being 'the color of crème brûlée.' But it picks up pace as it got closer to the end which I suppose is what gives it thriller vibes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Murder, Mental illness, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Racism and Stalking
mattisonsbooknook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
katiehicks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
I have sort of mixed feelings about this book, and by the end I felt myself kind of slogging through the audio book- though I'm not sure how much of this had to do with being in a reading slump at the time.
For the first quarter, I was REALLY enjoying the audio book. Its read by the author, and LaValle gives the whole book a quiet, dark, yet still beautiful tone which makes it feel truly like a bed-time story or fairy tale. I also appreciated the slower pace in this section, as it added to this tone and let us get to know the characters.
However, from the time the "inciting event" (I think its pretty clear from the synopsis what this is) to the end, I kept thinking that the pacing was off, and that it might have been better if it had been narrated by Emma instead of Apollo. I thought this for a couple reasons, all of which are spoiler-y:
1. Because we did not see the night Emma killed the Changeling from Emma's perspective, it made her very difficult to sympathize with, even by the end. Obviously, she did not actually hurt Brian, but she did actually hurt Apollo. She tied him up, essentially tortured him, and then hit him over the head so hard that he was in the hospital for weeks undergoing multiple surgeries and almost lost his eye. On top of that, it seems like her plan was to get Brian back from the troll and then just leave, without ever telling Apollo that his son was still alive. She spent months letting him believe that this horrible thing happened, even after he threatened her coworkers with a gun and went to jail.
And yet, when they are reunited, it is only Apollo who apologizes, as if he somehow deserved this abuse because he said some hurtful things and was not understanding of her mental health issues. I just think I may have been able to sympathize with Emma a bit more if I had seen what led her to that moment, and known if she felt even a little remorse for the physical and emotional pain she caused Apollo.
2. Because Apollo does not know about the Changelings for most of the book, when he meets the other women who have lost children to Changelings, he sees them as evil and murderous. Most of these women had also been victims of domestic abuse (like Greta) so framing this community of women and children as the "bad guys", even for a little while, made me pretty uneasy. Again, if this had been narrated by Emma, then we, the readers, would have already known about the Changelings by the time we meet Cal and her community, and they would have been framed as survivors from the start.
3. Again, because Apollo does not know about the Changelings for most of the book, it means that he learns about all of it in a series of kitchen table info-dumps right when the story is reaching its climax. It threw the pacing way off that he had to sit down and have everything explained to him right before running off to face a troll Again, I think this could have been fixed by having the story narrated by Emma, who would have been learning about all of this gradually from the beginning.
All that being said, I love a good re-imagined fairy tale which actually respects the original folklore, but adapts it for a modern audience. Discussing Norse troll mythology in the context of modern technology with the added layer of race and racism in America was incredibly smart and unique. The audio book was great and truly felt like a new classic fairy tale.
For the first quarter, I was REALLY enjoying the audio book. Its read by the author, and LaValle gives the whole book a quiet, dark, yet still beautiful tone which makes it feel truly like a bed-time story or fairy tale. I also appreciated the slower pace in this section, as it added to this tone and let us get to know the characters.
However, from the time the "inciting event" (I think its pretty clear from the synopsis what this is) to the end, I kept thinking that the pacing was off, and that it might have been better if it had been narrated by Emma instead of Apollo. I thought this for a couple reasons, all of which are spoiler-y:
1. Because we did not see the night Emma killed the Changeling from Emma's perspective, it made her very difficult to sympathize with, even by the end. Obviously, she did not actually hurt Brian, but she did actually hurt Apollo. She tied him up, essentially tortured him, and then hit him over the head so hard that he was in the hospital for weeks undergoing multiple surgeries and almost lost his eye. On top of that, it seems like her plan was to get Brian back from the troll and then just leave, without ever telling Apollo that his son was still alive. She spent months letting him believe that this horrible thing happened, even after he threatened her coworkers with a gun and went to jail.
And yet, when they are reunited, it is only Apollo who apologizes, as if he somehow deserved this abuse because he said some hurtful things and was not understanding of her mental health issues. I just think I may have been able to sympathize with Emma a bit more if I had seen what led her to that moment, and known if she felt even a little remorse for the physical and emotional pain she caused Apollo.
2. Because Apollo does not know about the Changelings for most of the book, when he meets the other women who have lost children to Changelings, he sees them as evil and murderous. Most of these women had also been victims of domestic abuse (like Greta) so framing this community of women and children as the "bad guys", even for a little while, made me pretty uneasy. Again, if this had been narrated by Emma, then we, the readers, would have already known about the Changelings by the time we meet Cal and her community, and they would have been framed as survivors from the start.
3. Again, because Apollo does not know about the Changelings for most of the book, it means that he learns about all of it in a series of kitchen table info-dumps right when the story is reaching its climax. It threw the pacing way off that he had to sit down and have everything explained to him right before running off to face a troll Again, I think this could have been fixed by having the story narrated by Emma, who would have been learning about all of this gradually from the beginning.
All that being said, I love a good re-imagined fairy tale which actually respects the original folklore, but adapts it for a modern audience. Discussing Norse troll mythology in the context of modern technology with the added layer of race and racism in America was incredibly smart and unique. The audio book was great and truly felt like a new classic fairy tale.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Mental illness
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
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