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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Ok. Wow. I have never read anything quite like this.
I didn’t vibe with all of Lavalle’s prose and there are some unanswered plot holes BUT. What a smooth twist! I thought I was reading a book about the mental health of these new parents (Apollo and Emma), and instead you get doused with full on magical realism. It’s lovely and scary and intense.
I didn’t vibe with all of Lavalle’s prose and there are some unanswered plot holes BUT. What a smooth twist! I thought I was reading a book about the mental health of these new parents (Apollo and Emma), and instead you get doused with full on magical realism. It’s lovely and scary and intense.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If this book focused more on the fairly tale side of the story or delved more into lore behind the creature I think it would been better.
The book was fun, but there were parts that were choppy, and made little sense in the big picture of the story. Particularly the middle after The reader is left wondering what possessed her to do that. Her paranoia had been built up, and she ultimately breaks.
Next we're with Apollo in is search for Emma, only to discover that she was seen on an island in the East River. We're briefly introduced to a group of women and children on the island, but their part in the story is ultimately unclear, other than to give help tell the story of the book collector that Apollo sells a book to.
Finally, we have a disjointed timeline as Apollo learns the truth. I won't spoil the end here, but there are quite weird time jumps. It is meant to be a continuous timeline with Apollo arriving at night an moving through days or nights to the completion, but it seems to jump around a bit, it was a bit distracting, but the end was satisfying.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was a fast read that kept me interested even if I wondered where the story was going at times. If you aren't worried about minor time inconsistencies, and enjoy fantasy and lore then you will enjoy this book as well.
The book was fun, but there were parts that were choppy, and made little sense in the big picture of the story. Particularly the middle after
Spoiler
Emma kills her child and nearly kills Apollo and runs off in the middle of the night.Next we're with Apollo in is search for Emma, only to discover that she was seen on an island in the East River. We're briefly introduced to a group of women and children on the island, but their part in the story is ultimately unclear, other than to give help tell the story of the book collector that Apollo sells a book to.
Finally, we have a disjointed timeline as Apollo learns the truth. I won't spoil the end here, but there are quite weird time jumps. It is meant to be a continuous timeline with Apollo arriving at night an moving through days or nights to the completion, but it seems to jump around a bit, it was a bit distracting, but the end was satisfying.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was a fast read that kept me interested even if I wondered where the story was going at times. If you aren't worried about minor time inconsistencies, and enjoy fantasy and lore then you will enjoy this book as well.
adventurous
emotional
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder
Minor: Stalking
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
It's only now looking back that I can really acknowledge how horrifying this book was. LaValle grounds the book in so many mundane details, that the fairytale/horror parts seem like the narrative undergoes a psychotic break. That's not necessarily a bad thing. There are events/ordeals that take over your life and make the time before feel like someone else's life. The Changeling describes just such events. Race maps onto the fairy tale aspects of this story in a very smart way, although I found this story so difficult to think about, that I can't properly frame it here. For that reason, I would definitely read more of LaValle's work, or even give this one a reread, if I can bring myself to. Not a comfortable read, but an interesting one.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes