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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
medium-paced
I LOVED this book. It just had it all...literally. It evoked all the emotions inside me. I laughed. I cried. I screamed in anger and cringed in fear. No, really, I did.
I didn't want to put this down. And, as sad as I was that this book ended, I was completely satisfied with the ending. If you love a good story, you are not going to be disappointed.
I didn't want to put this down. And, as sad as I was that this book ended, I was completely satisfied with the ending. If you love a good story, you are not going to be disappointed.
I’m not sure what I just read, but I suppose it could be considered a fantasy drama thriller. The main discussion of the novel is this idea that fairy tales are not stories for children, but rather cautionary tales for adults. The book started as a normal story and has taken a fantastical turn into the unbelievable featuring mysterious disappearances, witches, baby hunters, and Norwegian trolls. The characters are literally caught between two worlds and are constantly being forced to take on other worldly, superhuman powers to protect their loved ones. There was a whole lot of action and even more questions, some of which were never answered. I wanted to read this book before I stared watching the show, and now I’m very curious to see how they are going to make sense of this odyssey-like tale, and hopefully make the connections the book forgot.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Kidnapping
More like a 3.5 star. This book reminded me of Starling house in the aspect that both books are based off a child story and unfolds in real life in a much darker version. Although in the Changeling, the children’s story is a real one. I really enjoy reading this type of story that folds in classic fairytales. However the fact that Apollo being fatherless plot line felt quite forced to me. Most adults don’t know what they are doing when they enter parenthood regardless if you had a parent yourself. This bit of plot line just felt very forced to me.
I wasn’t in love with the pacing. I felt nothing much was happening in the first half and then all of a sudden the second half is packed with action. There was so much about his parents and their lives but I didn’t feel they contributed to the story or the ending all that. You could’ve cut out the whole part about Apollo’s parents and story would’ve felt the same. I would’ve loved it more if it had just gotten to the point earlier.
I wasn’t in love with the pacing. I felt nothing much was happening in the first half and then all of a sudden the second half is packed with action. There was so much about his parents and their lives but I didn’t feel they contributed to the story or the ending all that. You could’ve cut out the whole part about Apollo’s parents and story would’ve felt the same. I would’ve loved it more if it had just gotten to the point earlier.
[4.5 stars]
5 stars for the first half of the book and 4 stars for the latter. Lost a bit of its momentum to me, but the first half of this book had me staying up way past my bedtime to finish it. Made me feel like a little kid again, reading an adventure story. Highly recommend.
5 stars for the first half of the book and 4 stars for the latter. Lost a bit of its momentum to me, but the first half of this book had me staying up way past my bedtime to finish it. Made me feel like a little kid again, reading an adventure story. Highly recommend.
*SPOILER'S BELOW*
Describing this book is akin to describing a fever dream. You're like, "There was a happy young couple who had a baby on the subway, but the baby actually turned out to be a decoy baby made out of twigs, and then there's an island of witches who also had twig babies, and there's a villain named Kinder Garten who looks like a man but is actually a troll (in both the figurative and literal sense), and then there's this conspiracy where trolls exist in New York and must eat babies to survive?"
Very little of this book worked for me. The first third was fine, but once the magical realism (abruptly) came in, the book fell apart. It felt like three chaotic and unrelated stories that lacked any kind of cohesion. Up until the ending I found myself wondering, "What in the world is this book really about?
LaValle is a good writer, and there's some promising themes and commentary hidden amidst the shambles that is this novel. Unfortunately though, it completely missed the mark.
Describing this book is akin to describing a fever dream. You're like, "There was a happy young couple who had a baby on the subway, but the baby actually turned out to be a decoy baby made out of twigs, and then there's an island of witches who also had twig babies, and there's a villain named Kinder Garten who looks like a man but is actually a troll (in both the figurative and literal sense), and then there's this conspiracy where trolls exist in New York and must eat babies to survive?"
Very little of this book worked for me. The first third was fine, but once the magical realism (abruptly) came in, the book fell apart. It felt like three chaotic and unrelated stories that lacked any kind of cohesion. Up until the ending I found myself wondering, "What in the world is this book really about?
LaValle is a good writer, and there's some promising themes and commentary hidden amidst the shambles that is this novel. Unfortunately though, it completely missed the mark.