Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Changeling by Victor LaValle

30 reviews

iirreeaadd's review

dark mysterious 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

4.0

Quite the book. I was engaged throughout but it kinda lost me in the end when it went full fantasy. I didn't dislike it but I found the characters and their actions a little harder to believe at that point. It was really well written though and an excellent journey to go on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Torture, Blood, Medical content, and Pregnancy

oodles17's review

dark slow-paced

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

3.75

Whooo boy this was an incredibly hard read as a mother

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

bookish_bry's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

This was a bit of a slow start and it was a bit hard to get into. I did end up liking it a lot in the end, though it wasn't perfect. Sometimes I was frustrated by the characters not really communicating well, but overall it was okay.

It was an interesting look at all of the pitfalls of parenthood. We saw the consequences of parents who didn't pay enough attention and ones who paid too much. We saw parents who "loved" their children enough to kill them and ones that harmed them just by not knowing what they were doing.

The troll in the end was just a stand in for parents who mess up. It was basically a physical representation of Apollo's issues with his own father that he had to both learn to see for what they really were and eventually overcome with his wife in order to save his son.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Racism, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Classism

kingsteph's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Violence and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

halbo's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, Blood, and Pregnancy

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. 

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Violence, Pregnancy, 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

astrawitch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Pregnancy

malloryfitz's review against another edition

dark

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Confinement, Fatphobia, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, and Alcohol