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Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
3 reviews
bree_of_the_woods's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I loved this book… and then the last 40 pages happened. It’s a struggle. The writing style is poetic, enchanting, magical.
The magical realism aspect of beautifully done, and the many minor stories woven into the plot, depicting magic in every day occurrences and the way it impacts the lives of everyone was delicious. It reminded me very much of Alice Hoffman’s writing.
A tale of generational struggles, love lost and the tragedies that follow four generations of the Roux-Lavender family. It’s sad, but captivating, and you hope for more for the FMC and her twin. The magical realism portions are never explained, which is fine, but I do find the violence that occurs in the last quarter of the book to be very strong and relatively undealt with by the end. I’m not sure it served a purpose, or was properly resolved. We experience the fallout from the secondary characters, a minor chapter from the FMC, and then it’s all wrapped up quite abruptly from there. Which is what causes me to give the book a lower rating. It had great potential but I’m not sure the ending was the right one.
The magical realism aspect of beautifully done, and the many minor stories woven into the plot, depicting magic in every day occurrences and the way it impacts the lives of everyone was delicious. It reminded me very much of Alice Hoffman’s writing.
A tale of generational struggles, love lost and the tragedies that follow four generations of the Roux-Lavender family. It’s sad, but captivating, and you hope for more for the FMC and her twin. The magical realism portions are never explained, which is fine, but I do find the violence that occurs in the last quarter of the book to be very strong and relatively undealt with by the end. I’m not sure it served a purpose, or was properly resolved. We experience the fallout from the secondary characters, a minor chapter from the FMC, and then it’s all wrapped up quite abruptly from there. Which is what causes me to give the book a lower rating. It had great potential but I’m not sure the ending was the right one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Child death
debz57a52's review against another edition
4.5
This book fell on my radar almost a decade ago because of the Goodreads nomination, so I'm glad I finally got around to it. The story of Ava Lavender is quite a tale, mesmerizing and sad but joyful and lovely too. What really makes this book, though, is the story of the women (and some men) who came before her; knowing their stories and how they feed into Ava's experiences is what gives this story the depth that enchants readers like me. The magical realism is pretty special, too, though. There were a few slow-ish parts, which I mostly skimmed through, but this is such an enjoyable book that I never once thought the skimming was good. I was just an impatient reader.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Animal death, Sexual violence, Gun violence, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Mental illness, Homophobia, Death of parent, Violence, Confinement, Infidelity, and Stalking
basket_of_fruit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Pedophilia
Minor: Stalking and Injury/Injury detail
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