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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I never knew what was going on in this book. Great writing. 10/10 would recommend
The most millennial book that ever millennialed. I don’t want to be too harsh because I wasn’t looking for a super insightful or sophisticated read when I picked it up
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A little on the nose, but with twists that kept my attention the entire time.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
The Changeling is a fairytale about fairytales. It is the kind of fairytale that you sink into slowly, lulled and calmed by the gentle cadence of its familiarity - until you aren’t. LaValle is so skilled at the subtle deception that you barely notice the slip into the uncanny. It's slow in a way that only pulls you further down, and the characters are brilliantly rendered. Apollo and Emma orbit around each other in unexpected ways, and despite the near-predicability of the book's ending, its I love this book for its balance of darkness and light, of the different kinds of love, of its fairytale tropes and new inventions. LaValle's narration of his own book is also stellar - his soft, New York accented voice is the perfect thing to carry the story.
Spoiler
sweetness is a pleasant surprise after the violence that precedes it.
So much love for this novel. This will be forever one of my favorites. I cannot recommend highly enough.