Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

58 reviews

naturally's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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

4.75

all of the characters (bar sunny) are so fleshed out and rich in detail that i felt as though i was reading a non-fiction piece in a magazine publication or a documentary transcript. opal, pearl, rosemary and virgil were standout voices to me. i adored opal's POV in particular, her story feels like an ode to all the black musical legends who have been used and thrown aside by the music industry and whom haven't been given the opportunity to tell their own stories.

typically, i find song lyrics in books cringey, but nev's knack for songwriting and lyricism come across well on the page, and further illustrate his quirks. 

the commentary on race, gender, politics and the music industry are real and raw without coming across as preachy. 

my only criticisms are that i would have liked to have read more about how nev handled the fallout of his and opal's reunion concert. i also felt that, despite having such a personal stake in the story, sunny's editor notes felt very distant and impersonal? as a character, her personality just felt a lot flatter than everyone else's...

overall, this is an amazing debut by dawnie walton - i'll definitely be reading another book by her! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Death, and Violence

Minor: Sexual content, Drug abuse, and Drug use

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This book was amazing!  I loved it.   Please listen to it.  I'm sure it's good in print, but the full-cast audio makes this a performance.   The book is in a similar documentary style as Daisy Jones & The Six, but it's also different in so many ways.  I loved this one a little more.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Violence, Death, Drug use, Medical content, Cursing, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Addiction, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Grief, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Medical trauma, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

laurataylor's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, and Sexism

breeinreadingland's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Grief, Racism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Sexual harassment

readbycarina's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Hate crime, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, and Sexism

Minor: Body shaming, Blood, Misogyny, and Medical content

sarah984's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-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

5.0

This was such a good read for me. The themes are handled really deftly and the characters and situations feel true to life. The characters and their moment in time are integrated into the real historical context in a way that feels organic. I'd wondered how interesting the book would be to read when it's leading up to an event you already know will happen but it really works. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, Addiction, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Grief, Terminal illness, Violence, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Police brutality

Minor: Body shaming, Homophobia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Slavery, and War

cgp1234's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

This has rightfully been compared to Daisy Jones and the Six, which is why I couldn't give this one 5 stars. I liked that Dawnie Newton tackled the Misogynoir rampant in the 70's (and unfortunately still prevelant today), but the story is told in such a lacksidaisical way, despite the plot itself being intruiging/exciting. I wanted a greater sense of urgency while reading this, but overall I thought the potential was greater than the execution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Addiction, and Drug abuse

lanacrow's review against another edition

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

I really enjoyed this book!!! I think the characters were all really well fleshed out and all seemed so real, they all had flaws and would act in ways that made you think “well of course they’d think that!”. The places, studios, venues, etc. I thought were all described well enough that I felt I could picture them quite well which is rare for me!

I hate Nev!!! As soon as everything came out about him (which I didn’t expect!) I automatically believed it and just didn’t like him at all and it was sad that Opal couldn’t believe it until she saw it with her own eyes but how could he just keep playing like that!!! Anyway!

I think this book was really interesting and felt real and I just enjoyed it :) I liked Bob Hize as well, he seemed like one of the only genuinely nice ones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Addiction and Drug abuse

Minor: Death of parent and Death

khakipantsofsex's review against another edition

emotional inspiring slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Death

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Addiction, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Racism, Sexism, Drug abuse, and Hate crime

Moderate: Homophobia and Pregnancy