Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

82 reviews

thehmkane's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.75

It's unfortunate that this book won't be able to avoid comparison to Daisy Jones, because this, to me, is a much more solid journey into that space. Timely, but nostalgic; classic, but modern. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Addiction, Medical content, Drug abuse, Misogyny, and Drug use

spookyaz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-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 book was written in such a convincing/interwoven way that I had to stop myself at several points and be like "no, opal & nev was not an actual musical duo"

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, and Injury/Injury detail

alomie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

This was such a fabulous book, like a avant-garde punk version of Daisy Jones and the Six, with so much more to say. 

Steeped in conversations about race and gender, the winners and losers and who should be getting the spotlight, and how so many times the system fails women and people of colour. 

Nev is still a highly successful, white "rock star" but with all the ego and none of the sparkle, a talented musician sure, but a man who is willing to step on anyone to get the fame, and who allegedly started a riot, that ends up killing a man. 

Opal is by far the stand out of the pair, vibrant, powerful and with a richly layered past, brings a fire to the music and performance Nev can only wish, but as is the way, Opal is the one who is sidelined and not taken seriously, and ridiculed. 

I really enjoyed this book, and I understand why this was on the women's prize shortlist. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

katewhite77's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad 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

I really recommend consuming this novel via audio if at all possible as I should imagine it's the best way to differentiate between all the different colourful characters featured. 

On one level this is very entertaining and upsetting in equal measure spoof aural history of a spoof of a 1970s Anglo American pop duo and on another it says something important about racism sexism and capitalism on both sides of the Atlantic. 

I think fans of Daisy Jones and the Six would really like this as they are  similar in both Audio and print. I would say The Final Rival of Opal And New has another strand to it though. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Sexism

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! 

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

---

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. 

---

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