Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

4 reviews

bethyj's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Cursing, Racism, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Hate crime, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Police brutality

Minor: Sexism and Self harm

prettycloud's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

This book is so compelling. So concise and yet with such gorgeous visuals and descriptions of music, so focused and yet so devoted to the nuances of the story and the supporting cast. It reads like a book written by a journalist, asking important questions and pushing the reader to think critically, but never dragging the way more self-indulgent literary books do. It focuses on racism, sexism, misogynoir, and the far-reaching effects of structural inequality and subcultural resistance, and yet it comes off emotionally real rather than preachy. If you liked "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo," you're likely to get a lot out of this one too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, Sexism, Violence, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Blood, Cursing, and Addiction

Minor: Abortion, Car accident, Medical content, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

This book is ultimately more adventurous than dark in tone, so though it shows racist violence and bigoted attitudes, it lingers more on subcultural connection, healing, and inspiration. The book centers around the death of the narrator's Black father during the riot that launched the eponymous band to stardom, and the narrator's ongoing quest to learn more about that night and its key players. One of the key players is at the time of narration dying of cancer. There is a twist related to that night, but no surprise violence or illness or anything.

amandas_bookshelf's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, Death of parent, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Addiction

Moderate: Homophobia

seawarrior's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a brilliant book from beginning to end. The characters and the influences they created in their world read so realistically that at times I had to remind myself that this wasn't a biography. This is a book about music and journalism, and the combination of the two, but primarily this is a story about Opal. Each of the characters presented have their own complexities, but Opal seems most lovingly depicted. She's both courageous and terrified, heroic and disappointing, wise and ignorant. It felt impossible to not love her right back, to understand her and root for her, and wish for her a more loving world.

So many lines in this story really resonated with me, but my favorite had to be Opal's statement, "He saw me as I was, and still he seemed to be choosing me. It's a basic thing, but I had never in my life been chosen before. You understand what that means? I'm saying here was this stranger, clearly as crazy as I was, this person who dropped into my life out of nowhere, and he was reaching out his hand. What could I do but take it? What could I do but choose him back?". These few lines were so affective, and pulled me into Opal's view even deeper. When they were echoed near the end I nearly held my breath, all while reading towards the fate of Opal & Nev's final revival.

I would recommend this book to other readers. I found the interview format it was written in really interesting, as it provided space to hear many different characters' voices and perspectives on some of the same events. I also recommend going through the content warnings first though. Scenes of the racist violence Opal, Jimmy and Sunny were made to endure were devastating to read, especially since these characters felt so real. There's definitely much more that can be said about this story and how well it's told, and I'm sure it will stick in my memory for a long time

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Cancer, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Moderate: Police brutality and Self harm