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autbot02's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.75
I was a bit weary of this in the beginning but I came to love it as it went on. Beautifully written and loved the touch of folklore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Kidnapping and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Abandonment and Murder
grandpas_farts's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The storyline gives me 3 stars, the writing however makes this a four star. I would love to read a romance written by LaValle and I cannot wait to read more by him! While reading, I could easily see the portrait that LaValle was was painting through his words.
The novel is broken into eight parts. Each part building more than the last. First we are met with Apollo's parents Brian and Lillian. I enjoyed reading their love story and finding out his foundation of life through his parents' story. Later we see Apollo as a young kid where he becomes an entrepreneur. Then we get into the meat of the story.
Apollo's fatherhood is immediately broken into chaotic adventure when his child is born. Despite all of this he takes everything in stride, until he can't. That's when Apollo sets out for what he feels he needs to do.
I did not understand a few things. Then again, when I finished the book with a few unanswered questions, I needed to remember this was fantasy horror novel. When Apollo is... 13? years old, he hears knocking on the door as he is taking a shower and as soon as he opens the door, the knocking stops. How? Also, water played a huge part in Apollo's trauma. The steam when Emma has him locked up. The water when he picks up the box. The steam in his nightmares. Brian tried to drown Apollo. Apollo was locked up in Rikers Island. Selling the book on water (the boat) and traveling to the witches' hideout.
Emma's friend tells the story of the photograph Emma took of herself naked implying it was connected to the third wish. In the last wish we learn Emma wanted a life of adventure. How is taking a nude picture an adventure? I thought Emma wanted the photo to be removed from the Earth or something with how I read it.
What the hell happpened when they went back to their normal life? Was the womanhunt for Emma called off? Black children do not get the same news coverage as others, so maybe people forgot she even "killed" her child. How are they going to explain Brain's reappearance to people? I guess "and they lived happily ever after" sums up other questions.
I've never watched the Apple TV show, but I'd be curious to see what's it about.
The novel is broken into eight parts. Each part building more than the last. First we are met with Apollo's parents Brian and Lillian. I enjoyed reading their love story and finding out his foundation of life through his parents' story. Later we see Apollo as a young kid where he becomes an entrepreneur. Then we get into the meat of the story.
Apollo's fatherhood is immediately broken into chaotic adventure when his child is born. Despite all of this he takes everything in stride, until he can't. That's when Apollo sets out for what he feels he needs to do.
Emma's friend tells the story of the photograph Emma took of herself naked implying it was connected to the third wish. In the last wish we learn Emma wanted a life of adventure. How is taking a nude picture an adventure? I thought Emma wanted the photo to be removed from the Earth or something with how I read it.
What the hell happpened when they went back to their normal life? Was the womanhunt for Emma called off? Black children do not get the same news coverage as others, so maybe people forgot she even "killed" her child. How are they going to explain Brain's reappearance to people? I guess "and they lived happily ever after" sums up other questions.
I've never watched the Apple TV show, but I'd be curious to see what's it about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Child death, Blood, and Gore
Minor: Suicide
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
3.75 rounded up!
this book was very inventive and the prose was very nice, but frankly at least 50 pages could be shaved off. the pacing was strange and in general la valle shoved far too many separate stories into this book. what started as whimsical and fresh ended up feeling random and cobbled together
Apollo’s story was interesting, but the parts about his father and the truth of what happened to him felt like a completely separate book. he could easily have just been a deadbeat that never showed up, and the dreams added absolutely nothing to the story. the blurb on the back of the book makes the father dreams seem related to the plot, but they aren’t at all. going in with that expectation may be why I was so annoyed when they turned out to be entirely unmagical. the mom randomly revealing this truth after he gets home from jail made 0 sense? why not when he had his baby? why not right after baby Brian died? it felt shoehorned in. same with Emma’s crazy ass family history. Kim’s confession was so out of place.
The technological aspect of this book felt so stilted next to the island, the trolls, etc. there were just way too many strands to follow and far too neat of a wrap up when so much happened in this book. an entire island of witches and a monster and then a … 4chan guy? and said 4chan guy is descended from Norwegian guy who fed his baby to a troll? and now the troll lives in Queens? And the 4chan guy charges people to watch the troll eat kids????? it started to feel like the author got the sub-plots from an online random prompt generator
instead of the parts above, I would’ve liked more time in Emma’s head. how did she feel being called crazy for something she knew was happening? how did she become “a witch”? how did she survive in the woods with the troll there? why did she attack Apollo to kill the changeling instead of just knocking him out to do it? what was she planning to do with the troll if Apollo hadn’t come? how did the island start? some things felt unexplored, while others (like Apollos dad) were overexplained.
that being said, i can’t say I didn’t enjoy this read! the first 200 pages were a treat, and even when things took a turn for the absurd, i still liked reading it despite the confusion. la valle’s prose and narrative voice are lovely, I think the plotting and pacing was just a huge bust for me. I’d like to try more of his work, because there was some real shine here amongst the confusion
this book was very inventive and the prose was very nice, but frankly at least 50 pages could be shaved off. the pacing was strange and in general la valle shoved far too many separate stories into this book. what started as whimsical and fresh ended up feeling random and cobbled together
Apollo’s story was interesting, but the parts about his father and the truth of what happened to him felt like a completely separate book. he could easily have just been a deadbeat that never showed up, and the dreams added absolutely nothing to the story. the blurb on the back of the book makes the father dreams seem related to the plot, but they aren’t at all. going in with that expectation may be why I was so annoyed when they turned out to be entirely unmagical. the mom randomly revealing this truth after he gets home from jail made 0 sense? why not when he had his baby? why not right after baby Brian died? it felt shoehorned in. same with Emma’s crazy ass family history. Kim’s confession was so out of place.
The technological aspect of this book felt so stilted next to the island, the trolls, etc. there were just way too many strands to follow and far too neat of a wrap up when so much happened in this book. an entire island of witches and a monster and then a … 4chan guy? and said 4chan guy is descended from Norwegian guy who fed his baby to a troll? and now the troll lives in Queens? And the 4chan guy charges people to watch the troll eat kids????? it started to feel like the author got the sub-plots from an online random prompt generator
instead of the parts above, I would’ve liked more time in Emma’s head. how did she feel being called crazy for something she knew was happening? how did she become “a witch”? how did she survive in the woods with the troll there? why did she attack Apollo to kill the changeling instead of just knocking him out to do it? what was she planning to do with the troll if Apollo hadn’t come? how did the island start? some things felt unexplored, while others (like Apollos dad) were overexplained.
that being said, i can’t say I didn’t enjoy this read! the first 200 pages were a treat, and even when things took a turn for the absurd, i still liked reading it despite the confusion. la valle’s prose and narrative voice are lovely, I think the plotting and pacing was just a huge bust for me. I’d like to try more of his work, because there was some real shine here amongst the confusion
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Vomit, and Blood
Moderate: Colonisation, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Child death, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
cassandrareadsbooks's review
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Gaslighting, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Abandonment and Fire/Fire injury
jennshelfishlife's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, and Child death
Moderate: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, and Domestic abuse
jaqxun's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Child death, Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Cursing, Blood, Death, Torture, Gun violence, and Murder
stephanielee's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
When I read this book, I thought it was going to be about a father looking for his son in the woods. It is that but it is so much more. There are a lot of content warnings but they are not always as they seem. This is the story of Apollo and his wife Emma. They are in love and living in NYC and start a family. Things seem perfect until one day everything seems to change. Then there are some really awful and freaky things that happen. Now Apollo is searching for Emma and trying to understand what happened. He uncovers some strange things that seem too fantastical to be real but what if it were? I feel like this is a blend of real life and some mystical/magical stuff that doesn't start to make a ton of sense until you are almost to the end. It is worth the wait as you find some of the horrors you thought to be true are actually quite different.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Animal death
jialianyang's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Gore, Blood, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death, Grief, Gaslighting, Murder, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, and Body horror
Minor: Police brutality
jsteighn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Murder, Grief, Violence, Mental illness, and Stalking
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Blood