Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Changeling by Victor LaValle

24 reviews

cosmicreader90's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Murder, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, and Child death

ksuazo94's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Death, Abandonment, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Pregnancy

badmom's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

A fascinating look at contemporary society through the lens of a Black father in Manhattan. The narration moves from relatively benign storyteling - observations of people’s lives, how they connect to others - into a dark, chaotic exploration of gender roles, societal expectations, & postpartum depression. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Violence, Blood, Child death, Pregnancy, Gore, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Grief, Gaslighting, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Self harm

flyintothestorm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

It was weird, but the right kind of weird. I didn't know nor expect anything when I started reading and that may have been the best thing for me. That being said, it's really dark, look out for the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Medical content

jbeoin's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

SUCH a good book! Victor LaValle has an amazing way of building and exploring character relationships, and he grounds the fantasy elements in such a vivid and real way. He also is one of the best audiobook narrators I've listened to! Great voice, both literary and physical.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, Grief, Blood, Body horror, and Racism

Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Suicide attempt

bookish_bry's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

This was a bit of a slow start and it was a bit hard to get into. I did end up liking it a lot in the end, though it wasn't perfect. Sometimes I was frustrated by the characters not really communicating well, but overall it was okay.

It was an interesting look at all of the pitfalls of parenthood. We saw the consequences of parents who didn't pay enough attention and ones who paid too much. We saw parents who "loved" their children enough to kill them and ones that harmed them just by not knowing what they were doing.

The troll in the end was just a stand in for parents who mess up. It was basically a physical representation of Apollo's issues with his own father that he had to both learn to see for what they really were and eventually overcome with his wife in order to save his son.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, Gore, Racism, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Classism, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Death, Medical content, and Suicidal thoughts

kingsteph's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy and Violence

Minor: Murder, Pregnancy, and Suicide attempt

mandkips's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Racism

hannet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Started out pretty relaxed and then got very dark. Not really into knives in throats and abducted babies and clubbing people to death. I liked the "we are black and can't be found lurking in a white neighborhood" reminders, I liked some of the friendship and banter in this. I didn't enjoy the length, the violence, the at-times confusing plot. Also, why is Patrice afraid of basements? Gonna read up on whether I missed that this story was actually a parable on modern parenting and how men and women treat each other or whatever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death of parent

griffinthief's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit