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msennflinn's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Death
Minor: Drug abuse
andreia's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
4.5
this book is PHENOMENAL and i'm sure it'll go on my list of 2021 favorites! special shoutout to the audiobook though because it's a full cast and the voice actors add so much to this story
i almost feel guilty comparing it to daisy jones & the six because 1) that's what pretty much everyone says and 2) this book is so much more than daisy jones. well, at first glance, the easiest way to get you to pick this up really is letting you know that this is written in the same style as daisy jones (the whole book is basically an interview) and it also focuses on a musical group that had its rock n roll moment in the 70s and is now having a book written about them. but that's really where the comparisons end because opal & nev elevates this idea to an incredible story about race, inequality, greed, resentment, mourning, revolution, the things white men can get away with and the things black women can't.
i thought i knew where this book was going in the first 1/3 of it because i thought it would basically just be about the rise and fall of a 70s rock duo who maybe had some romance mess things up for them. i was soooo wrong. the sudden turn this takes about halfway through honestly broke my heart and it was so well done and beautifully set up that i'm still shook.
ALL MEN DO IS LIE. i don't know how or why i still manage to be shocked by this (especially when it involves white men), but i did think nev was a decent guy and i sympathized with him throughout the first part until that revelation. i'm sure that was the author's intention because i imagine she wanted the reader to feel as betrayed as sunny, and later opal, did. well it worked, dawnie walton, you got me and i finished this wanting to punch nev in the face.
every single character feels so real, which sometimes makes you feel sad because of their actions. this whole book, in fact, feels so realistic that you could easily forget these artists don't actually exist.
i really hope people don't shy away from this thinking it's just going to be like daisy jones & the six. whether you liked that book or not, please give this one a try because i really think it'll be worth it!
i almost feel guilty comparing it to daisy jones & the six because 1) that's what pretty much everyone says and 2) this book is so much more than daisy jones. well, at first glance, the easiest way to get you to pick this up really is letting you know that this is written in the same style as daisy jones (the whole book is basically an interview) and it also focuses on a musical group that had its rock n roll moment in the 70s and is now having a book written about them. but that's really where the comparisons end because opal & nev elevates this idea to an incredible story about race, inequality, greed, resentment, mourning, revolution, the things white men can get away with and the things black women can't.
i thought i knew where this book was going in the first 1/3 of it because i thought it would basically just be about the rise and fall of a 70s rock duo who maybe had some romance mess things up for them. i was soooo wrong. the sudden turn this takes about halfway through honestly broke my heart and it was so well done and beautifully set up that i'm still shook.
every single character feels so real, which sometimes makes you feel sad because of their actions. this whole book, in fact, feels so realistic that you could easily forget these artists don't actually exist.
i really hope people don't shy away from this thinking it's just going to be like daisy jones & the six. whether you liked that book or not, please give this one a try because i really think it'll be worth it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Hate crime
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Addiction
irisheyz77's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence
davidrb's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
slow-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
Fabulous debut.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
internationalreads's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence
gittejump's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Final Revival of Opal And Nev is a fictional oral history of the musical duo Opal and Nev. Similar to Daisy Jones and the Six, the author chose an interview format to move the story along.
Set in 1970, we follow the rise and then separation of Opal and Neville. The duo had all the makings of being a good musical act but had not yet made their big break. Until a racially triggered fight broke out leading to a bandmembers death, and the duo becoming household names.
Now it is 2016, in the time of Trump getting elected for president and the Black Live Matter movement increasing. The origin story of Opal and Nev is all that much more relevant to the political climate.
Sunny Shelton is the daughter of the killed band member and works as an editor for Aural magazine. She is tasked to write the story of how this unlikely pairing came to be, in time for the Opal and Nev reunion concert. Neville is an awkward dedicated English musician and Opal is a blunt and theatrical Black woman from Detroit. Somehow this combination worked for the music scene of the 1970s and there are still fans in 2016 hoping to see it again.
However, in getting to know these people from her father’s life, Sunny struggles to remain unbiased in everything she hears.
This story elegantly weaved racial dynamics into the setting. I loved how the second part of the book really opened up the story. It completely changed how I had built up Nev’s persona in my mind. Turning someone who seemed to fight for people’s rights, into something a lot more questionable.
I also loved how powerful Opal’s character is. She was so unashamedly herself and how she managed the trajectory of her career. I liked how her character brought in so many feminist themes. She was not a damsel in distress, she had agency and power in how she chose to live her life.
“How in the world did a woman so black and so ugly manage to believe she could be somebody?” - Opal Jewel
Her friend, Virgil LaFleur was my favourite character. He is the friend that any person needs in their life with his loyalty and ability to think outside the box. How else would they manage to dress Opal so fabulously with such a small budget?
Adding in real-world events perfectly set the tone and feel for the book’s setting. Knowing which hit songs had been released at each stage of the book were really fun tidbits and showed what music was like at the time of Opal and Nev’s debut.
I do wish that there was a bit of a stronger ending. After the high impact of the second part, the ending felt lacklustre in comparison, even if I did enjoy the cyclical nature of it. The pacing of the book felt unbalanced, but the characters made it worth it.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a chance to read this book.
Set in 1970, we follow the rise and then separation of Opal and Neville. The duo had all the makings of being a good musical act but had not yet made their big break. Until a racially triggered fight broke out leading to a bandmembers death, and the duo becoming household names.
Now it is 2016, in the time of Trump getting elected for president and the Black Live Matter movement increasing. The origin story of Opal and Nev is all that much more relevant to the political climate.
Sunny Shelton is the daughter of the killed band member and works as an editor for Aural magazine. She is tasked to write the story of how this unlikely pairing came to be, in time for the Opal and Nev reunion concert. Neville is an awkward dedicated English musician and Opal is a blunt and theatrical Black woman from Detroit. Somehow this combination worked for the music scene of the 1970s and there are still fans in 2016 hoping to see it again.
However, in getting to know these people from her father’s life, Sunny struggles to remain unbiased in everything she hears.
This story elegantly weaved racial dynamics into the setting. I loved how the second part of the book really opened up the story. It completely changed how I had built up Nev’s persona in my mind. Turning someone who seemed to fight for people’s rights, into something a lot more questionable.
I also loved how powerful Opal’s character is. She was so unashamedly herself and how she managed the trajectory of her career. I liked how her character brought in so many feminist themes. She was not a damsel in distress, she had agency and power in how she chose to live her life.
“How in the world did a woman so black and so ugly manage to believe she could be somebody?” - Opal Jewel
Her friend, Virgil LaFleur was my favourite character. He is the friend that any person needs in their life with his loyalty and ability to think outside the box. How else would they manage to dress Opal so fabulously with such a small budget?
Adding in real-world events perfectly set the tone and feel for the book’s setting. Knowing which hit songs had been released at each stage of the book were really fun tidbits and showed what music was like at the time of Opal and Nev’s debut.
I do wish that there was a bit of a stronger ending. After the high impact of the second part, the ending felt lacklustre in comparison, even if I did enjoy the cyclical nature of it. The pacing of the book felt unbalanced, but the characters made it worth it.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a chance to read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Police brutality
readgramrepeat's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.75
Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada/37 INK and NetGalley for this gifted ebook.
I’m a sucker for journalistic writing styles and I thought I enjoyed Daisy Jones & the Six until reading The Final Revival of Opal & Nev. They’re both written in an oral history format about fictional musicians so everyone will be comparing them and this book is SO GOOD that it actually ruined Daisy Jones for me.
This story is fiction but with its focus on race, it feels so real and important. It’s written with such clarity that I could picture Opal’s elaborate costumes and feel the tension building at concerts. I could totally see this getting turned into a TV series.
Part One was a little slow for me, but I could hardly put down the rest of the book.
I’m a sucker for journalistic writing styles and I thought I enjoyed Daisy Jones & the Six until reading The Final Revival of Opal & Nev. They’re both written in an oral history format about fictional musicians so everyone will be comparing them and this book is SO GOOD that it actually ruined Daisy Jones for me.
This story is fiction but with its focus on race, it feels so real and important. It’s written with such clarity that I could picture Opal’s elaborate costumes and feel the tension building at concerts. I could totally see this getting turned into a TV series.
Part One was a little slow for me, but I could hardly put down the rest of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity and Racial slurs
Minor: Addiction and Sexual assault
catladyreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Violence, Infidelity, and Death
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