Reviews with content warning for Death - The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

4.5/5

Really enjoyed this one!

Rep: Black female MC, famous Black female MC, gay Haitian-American male side character, Black male side character, supporting Black characters.

CWs: Graphic: Addiction, alcohol consumption, cursing, death, drug use/drug abuse, infidelity, injury/injury detail, misogyny (mainly misogynoir), murder, racial slurs, racism, sexism. Moderate: xenophobia, violence, police brutality.

Content Warnings

seawarrior's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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emotional sad 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

So I know a lot of people compare / parallel this novel to Daisy Jones but honestly- the only similarities between the two are the interview style format and the reason why anything is getting done is because of the narrators themselves. While Daisy shows the white, privileged perspective of getting into the music business, Walton doesn't shy away from revealing (even in fiction) the harsh realities of making in the business world when you are a person of color and different in appearance (especially during the 70's.) A part of me does wish this had been a tad longer or we were given first-person perspectives from any of the main group. The side characters such as Virgil and Pearl were great in bringing that balance & family in the mix. Nev (in my opinion) didn't deserve to work with Opal.

Content Warnings