Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Changeling

This book was difficult to put down! Something always caught my interest and made me want to move on to the next chapter.

I didn't really care for the characters. Apollo and Emma both got on my nerves and I didn't find either of them to be very likeable. Patrice was cool though. He's a solid bro. The parts with him were easily some of my favorite moments.

I found this book to be very creepy. There were moments were I actually cringed away from the book because I was so freaked out. I still have a bunch of questions, and there are moments where I am not entirely sure what happened.

That being said, I enjoyed the book! It wasn't what I was expecting but I wasn't disappointed. I hear this author has other books and I plan on checking them out!

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wyabook234's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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kylieqrada's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

I was pretty scared to pick this one up because, while I loved the first Victor Lavalle I read, this one centers around postpartum depression which I am currently experiencing. However, I can’t imagine giving this less than 5 stars. Parts of it were triggering, but following Emma and Apollo’s journey was well worth it.

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littlemissanalog's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

A very wild ride. Slow opening and busy for first half but then cracks open and takes off

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jaqxun's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

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alienexpert's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.0

Overall this book is well written and has an original story line. I did feel that the ending I had built up in my mind was greater than the one given, but maybe it’s a nod to ‘happily ever after’ not being reality. I also felt that Apollos father was very one dimensional despite knowing his backstory.

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saltedsnail's review

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

This novel absolutely blew me away. I’d been meaning to pick it up ever since I’d read Ballad Of Black Tom some years back but kept managing to put it off. There was a moment, about half way through, where I sat back and went “damn, this is going to be my favorite book this year and we’re not even a month in yet.” LaValle’s prose is just so utterly captivating and beautiful - he truly is capable of writing a contemporary fairy tale. He took his sweet time through the start of the novel and yet not a moment felt wasted - the patience only serves to devastate you.

The Changeling manages to do so many things at once - it’s a thriller, it’s a masterful piece of magical realism, it’s a modern fairytale, it’s a who-dun-it, it’s the hero’s journey, it’s the most beautiful love story ever told.

The only fault I could find is that I wish it were even longer. The patience LaValle committed to getting to the “plot” of the book felt so earned. The last half felt somewhat rushed in comparison, especially the climactic ending. I really appreciated the commitment to not explaining away things - fairytales do not have to explain themselves - so I don’t wish LaValle had spent more time flushing out the lore of north brother island or kinder garten or anything like that, but rather that we’d spent as much time with the emotional realities of Apollo and Emma in the last few chapters as we had the first. Regardless, I’ll be thinking about this story and the way that it was told for a very long time.

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jess4276's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

This book was incredibly slow and there was so much that wasn't resolved or explained. I couldn't wait for it to end.

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